Having fallen completely in love with American composer and vocalist Sheharazaad last year, with her spellbinding debut single ‘Mashoor‘ being one of my tracks of 2023, I’m so glad to hear that she’ll be releasing her full album, Qasr, next month. Having grown in up in San Francisco in a second generation immigrant household, the Brooklyn based artist focuses on themes of displacement and diaspora throughout the album, whilst fusing together influences from both Western classical music and her own South Asian sonic lineage through her exquisite interwoven soundscapes.
Our second taste of the album comes in the form of colourful new single ‘Dhund Lo Mujhe‘. Propelled by uptempo danceable melodies and sweeping strings, as Sheherazaad’s rich vocals soar throughout, it ripples with a glistening splendour. As stirring waves of sound intertwine with a somewhat buoyant energy, the track’s celebratory tone is at once juxtaposed with a disconcerting undercurrent. A swirling rich cacophony twinkling with a captivating allure, exuding a stark reminder to embrace our own unique joy in the face of damaging stereotypes. Of the track, Sheherazaad explains:
“For me, it brings up this circus of the insane, carnival of the unhappy… It suggests a very specific insanity, that of the immigrant experience. There is implied bloodshed, glamour, hallucination, and schizophrenia... This <song> is about delighting in our wickedness, especially as gender expansive people, where we’ve previously had little control over our sonic narrative in Hindi and Urdu music.”
Produced by Arooj Aftab, and featuring an array of talented international musicians such as Basma Edrees (Egypt), Gilbert Mansour (Lebanon) and Firas Zreik (Palestine), Qasr is set for release on 1st March via Erased Tapes. Pre-order here.
Mari Lane
@marimindles
Photo Credit: Zayira Ray
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