She rose to fame with her protest song "Kelmti Horra" ("My Word is Free"), which became an anthem for the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring.

Her first studio album, also titled Kelmti Horra, was released worldwide in 2012 to critical acclaim: she combined Arabic roots with western influence.

"Holm" was included in the double album The Tunis Diaries which she recorded with just a voice, an acoustic guitar as the sole instrument and a laptop.

Holm is an Arabic remake of the Iranian song "Soltane Ghalbhaa" with music composed by Anoushiravan Rohani and original lyrics by Emel Mathlouthi.

In a four out of five star review, The Guardian praised the album for twisting together Arabic roots with western flavours – some rock but mostly cavernous trip-hop.

"The mix works well on stand-outs "Dhalem" and "Ma Ikit", where Mathlouthi's striking vocals find most melody; elsewhere, the understandably serious mood of protest and sadness flatlines somewhat.

As a politically aware musician, the songs in the album have made promising duty to speak out on any injustice that Emel has witnessed about her beloved Tunisia.

[13] On 28 July she gave a concert at the Sfinks Festival in Belgium, where she received a standing ovation for her cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah".

At the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, she performed two renditions of her song "Kelmti Horra," one accompanied only by a guitarist, Karim Attoumane, and the other with a full orchestra and chorus.

On "Ensen Dhaif" you hear a person refusing to compromise, a searing vision founded on real risks and the necessity of truth".

New York Times reviewed it saying; "As she sings about a mysterious experience, the sustained, modal melody and stretches of drone harmony hint at North African and Arab underpinnings, while its electric and electronic instruments pulse and hover in virtual space, maintaining the enigma".

AllMusic reviewed her performance saying, "opener "Your Sentries Will Be Met with Force" features the enchanting vocals of Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi, who adds a sublime new dimension to Moore's glowing, pulsating electronics".

In 2023, she collaborated with the filmmaker Shirin Neshat for a video titled the Fury,[33] about "the sexual exploitation of female political prisoners by the Islamic Republic’s regime in Iran".

[34] Issued in April 2024, Mra (which means woman) included the singles "NAR" and "Souty (My Voice)",[35][36] the album was released on vinyl, CD and digital.

[39] Mathlouthi lists her early musical influences as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Marcel Khalife and Sheikh Imam.

[18] Her other musical influences include Janis Joplin, Sinéad O'Connor, Led Zeppelin, James Blake, Roger Waters and Fuck Buttons.