Qasr, by Sheherazaad

Qasr

by Sheherazaad

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Solituned Blown away by the absolute beauty of this album. One of those (many) times you're grateful Bandcamp is around.

Griffyn Louis Denizard As if London Grammar were playing an oriental tango, Sheherazaad is shaping coherence in invisible worlds. May this materialized in a new & more peaceful world!

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Limited edition sheet of six temporary tattoos
Size: 8 x 8 cm (3 x 3") colour: red

Sheherazaad (free city)

Qasr (fortress)

Mashoor (famous)

Lehja (tone)

Azaadi (freedom)

Erased Tapes

written in Urdu with translations

on average temporary tattoos last between 2-10 days

includes 'How to Apply Your Temporary Tattoo' instruction sheet and test sample

Includes unlimited streaming of Qasr via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

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1.	Mashoor 04:30 video	lyrics	buy track
Mashoor Hum mashoor Hogaye, hum mashoor Kis liye hum mashoor? Neechay dekho Kya zyaada upar char gayi? Neechay dekho Kya zyaada upar char gayi? Aine mein, aks mera kahaan? Aine mein, aks mera kahaan? Kuch to alag hai zaroor Mashoor... Mera qasoor! Yeh qarz kisko vaapas de doon Saara lahu? Mujhe itihaas nahi chahiye Miraas meri nahi chahiye Ab hum besur Aur fazool hai, sab fazool Lautne ka raasta na maalum Kisne kaha manzoor? Kaise kiya humne kabool? Kabse yeh sab shuru? Bas dikhao ek bar mera wajood Mera wajood Kis liye hum mashoor? Have you climbed too high? Look down Have you climbed too high? In the mirror, where is my reflection? In the mirror, where is my reflection? Something is indeed different Famous… My guilt! To whom should I return this debt All the blood? I don’t want a History I don’t want my own legacy Now we’ve gone off-key And useless, everything is superfluous The road of Return we do not know Who said we agreed? How could we have accepted this? When did this all begin? Just once show me my existence My existence For what reason are we famous?
2.	Dhund Lo Mujhe 04:07	lyrics	buy track
Khuli khidki, hawa thandi Saans rukti, chillati koi… Paas baithi, ek jalpari... Glass mein machli Jo paisa maangti Almaari mein chaand Is mulk ki pagal rani Hai! Kase chali ؟ Oh sakhi...oh sakhi Dhund lo mujhe Ek chehra badsoorat Divar pe yahi Ek bhooki mareez Laal chipkali Gaiya ka khauf, ek ghanti tooti Ik tora waada, naraz hai ghari Aur chadar tale, kisi ka khoon Pillao mujhe, main pyaasi khatoon Ka kahoo main, Jiski aankhein nahin Oh sakhi...oh sakhi Oh sakhi...oh sakhi Dhund lo mujhe Dhund lo mujhe An open window, a cold breeze The breath stops, somebody screams… Nearby is seated, a mermaid... In the glass is a fish Who demands to be paid In the almirah is the Moon This country’s mad empress Oh! From where has she gone ؟ Oh companion...oh confidante Search for me An ugly face Is on this wall ahead One hungry patient A lizard that's red The female cow’s fear, a bell broken A promise ruptured, angry is the clock Beneath the blanket, somebody’s blood Make me drink, I am a thirsty lady What can I say, As someone lacking eyes Oh companion...oh confidante Oh companion...oh confidante Come and find me Come and find me
3.	Koshish 03:34	lyrics	buy track
Har sawaal ko, mera jawaab tayaar Aur main sunti nahin, sunti nahin Har kisi ki baat Ab thak gayi, aur main ne sab dekha Is duniya ki har ek jaggah Aur zaroori nahin peeche dekhna Maazi mera har pal mere saath Oh main ne koshish ki, bech di rooh apni Lekin phir bhi, hum ab to nahin Main ne koshish ki, bangayi qaidi Sab kiya bas tere liye Tere liye tere liye... Khudahaafiz apni jawaani Khatam hai vo kahani humari Maafi ka lafz hum bhool gaye Baahir se kitne sakht Magar andar hai kuch bhari Kuch ghalat Har sawaal ko, mera jawaab tayaar Main sunti nahin Har kisi ki baat Oh main ne koshish ki Sab kiya bas tere liye, Tere liye, tere liye And I do not listen, I do not listen To what anyone has to say I’m tired now, and I’ve seen Everything This world’s each and every place It’s not important to gaze backwards The Past stays with me every moment Oh I Tried, sold my soul Nonetheless, “We” are no more Oh I Tried, became a prisoner Everything I did was solely for you For you, for you... Farewell to Youth Finished is that story of ours The word “forgiveness” we have forgotten From the outside we appear so rigid But within there’s something heavy Something Wrong For every question, my answer is ready And I do not listen To what anyone has to say Oh I did try Everything I did was solely for you, For you, for you
4.	Khatam 04:09	lyrics	buy track
Hazaar saal hogaye hain Yeh musafir ab sahi pohanch gayi Aakhir mein Chahe haaray ya jeetay Is na-mumkin manzil mein Farq ab nahi Sab bol dia Sab kaha gaya Ab jaag gaye yeh khayalaat qadeem Yeh Dil toda Par khush hai bhi Oh bas letne de hume zara yahi Ladke hum aaye hain Ladtay, ladtay aye Hillna mat Ao, kha jayein hum yeh khamoshi Lekin pyaas ya bhook yaha nahin Jalte hue humaare saare alfaaz Wohi mansooba tha Humari khud-khushi Khatam Sab khatam Lehrein, lehrein Aayeein gayeeen Khatam Sab khatam Toofan saare Aye gaye Khaalipan Phail raha hai Apni nas nas tak agaya Meri vajhe se Kitnon ko zakhm pohancha Lekin yahan se wo sab nahi dekh sakti Isko kehthe hain intihaa Khaatma raah ka Par abhi main To hoon bas shuru mein hi ؟ A thousand years have passed This female traveler has arrived properly In the end Whether we’ve won or lost In this impossible destination There’s no difference now Everything was said All has been spoken Now these ancient ideas are awake The heart was broken But it’s also pleased Oh please let us lie down for a little while here We’ve come by means of fighting Fighting, sparring we came Don’t move Come, let’s eat this Silence But here there is neither hunger nor thirst Burning was our every word That in fact was the plan Our collective suicide Finished Everything is finished Waves, all the waves Have come and gone Finished Everything is finished All the storms Came and went Emptiness Is spreading It has reached our veins Because of me How many have been wounded But from here I can’t see all of that This is known as the Limit The Ending of the pathway But I’m just At the Beginning ؟
5.	Lehja 07:06	lyrics	buy track
Ek sheher hai aisa Jo azaad nahi Magar ghuroor uska itna Ki kuch ehsaas nahi Koi ek parchayi Bahir dariya pe rehti Naam jiska Lehja! Vo jo tedi Lehjaaaaa Jo tedi Lehjaaaaa Ek ghalti. Jis din vo paida hui Lehja ke labon pe, Vo zabaan-e-mamnoo baithi thi Jiske sur, jiski lai ne khuda ko daraaya Sheher walon ne usse kinare baithaya Shams-o-Qamar ne bhi aankhein pherli Aur lehja ke labon ko sabne silwaya Tab se Saari raahein band, Choti hogayi duniya lehja ki Nadi ke pani ne usse pala Aur door se pahadon ne bhi Lehja gun guna, gun gunati rahi Iske shab-o-roz guzre ufak ko dekhtey Sheher aseeri may raha, par dheere se Lehja ke labon ne ghulaami tor di, tor di, tor di, tor di Iski saheliyan ek bhoola hua sukha favarra, Ghataaein, kaali panchi, Aur sheher se ek dheemi-si azaan Lehjaaaa, sabse ajeeb Lehjaaaa, sabse ghareeb Ab roti nahi, hai jaanti Ki bolnay kay tariqay bahut hain Zubaan uski zehereeli sunehri hogayi Tum bhi, sheher valon ko bhool jao Azaadi! Azaadi! There exists a city That isn’t Free However it’s Pride is so much That it doesn’t even realize There is a shadow Which lives outside along the river Whose name is Lehja! The Crooked one Lehjaaaaa The twisted Lehjaaaaa The Mistake. The day she was born Upon Lehja’s lips, Sat the forbidden language Whose tune, whose rhythm scared God The city folk sat her on the riverside The sun and moon turned the other way And everyone sewed Lehja’s lips shut Since then All the paths closed, Lehja’s world grew small The river water raised her And from afar the mountains did too Lehja kept humming, humming along Her night and day passed staring at the horizon The city remained imprisoned, but slowly Lehja’s lips broke their slavery, broke it, broke, broke it Her friends were a forgotten dry fountain, Rain-bearing clouds, a black bird, And from the city a quiet azaan Lehjaaaa, The Strangest Lehjaaaa, The Poorest But now she doesn’t cry, she knows That there are many techniques of speaking Her poisonous tongue became Golden You too, forget the city folk Freedom! Freedom!

about

Today, migration seems to be encoded into everyday habits. As so many of our minds and bodies aggressively globalise in unprecedented ways, previously fixed “genres” and identities of any kind are constantly being dismantled, made redundant, and born anew.

It’s from this space of flux that American composer and vocalist Sheherazaad derives song. Her forthcoming mini-album, Qasr, was engendered during a time of family estrangement, grief over a lost elder, and the racial polarisation of her country as she knew it.

Translating to “castle” or “fortress” in Urdu, Qasr is indeed a monument — like encapsulation of the real strains of displacement, the push and pull of diaspora, and the depravity of erasure and forgotten roots. These experiences and their inherent violence, hysteria, and romance imbue her sonic deep-dive into the world of the so-called in-between.

“It was maddening” Sheherazaad says, “that the music of my origins didn’t yet exist. So I knew I would have to make it.” Born to what she describes as a “fanatically art-centered, Asian-American household”, Sheher began her ear training at home, with both her parents being band musicians and her grandmother a trailblazing Indian classical concert producer. At home, she absorbed the life portfolios of Lata Mangeshkar and RD Burman, while beginning formal voice education in jazz and American Songbook from the age of six.

After years of singing competitions and performances of Western repertoire, Sheherazaad “stopped singing completely,” citing her “disenchantment with English as an emotive language” after encountering British colonial history. But she also felt a visceral disorientation resulting from long stays in India, where her mixed North and South Indian heritage further complicated and left a deep imprint on her hyphenated young psyche, and speaking accent.

Instead, she turned to experimental theatre spaces and Bollywood dance as a means to express her evolving positionality. Moving to New York for university, she quickly discovered a more radical South Asian arts community. Sheher began following the likes of the Swet Shop Boys, studying the UK’s historic Asian electronic counterculture, and eventually crossing paths with experimental Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab. “I felt determined to resurrect and recalibrate my singing voice”, she says, “to participate in this new wave I saw of diasporic music innovation and its links with political liberation.”

Relocating to California then, for vocal rehabilitation, Sheherazaad found her Northern Star in the Hindustani classical guru Madhuvanti Bhide, who helped Sheher reshape her old voice, using “gharana” methodology. In a further attempt to re-access lost heritage, Sheher also studied Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu, where she quickly advanced and wrote test lyrics. These would result in her self-released 2020 underground project Khwaabistan, and garner the attention of Aftab, who offered to produce Sheher’s next record.

Working long-distance from separate coasts during the pandemic, the pair got to work on Qasr. The collaboration would culminate in the heart of Brooklyn at the Glass Wall studio, during late-night, feverish recording sessions and utilising a groundbreaking cast of international musicianship, including Basma Edrees (Egypt), Gilbert Mansour (Lebanon), and Firas Zreik (Palestine).

It’s a record that plays with your perceptions. Sheher’s melismatic vocals emerge like a wisp of smoke on ‘Mashoor’ (“Famous), billowing through the earthy acoustic guitar of Ria Modak, lending the song an almost religious quality. But ‘Mashoor’ is in fact a rumination on the pitfalls of a society obsessed with fame and narcissism. Pizzicato fiddles cut through on ‘Dhund Lo Mujhe’ (“Search For Me”), almost unnervingly jaunty alongside her tumultuous delivery. “For me, it brings up this circus of the insane, carnival of the unhappy,” she explains. “It suggests a very specific insanity, that of the immigrant experience. There is implied bloodshed, glamour, hallucination, and schizophrenia.”

The tendency, she explains, in the US context, is for Asian people to fit the “model minority myth”, and hide the more ominous dimensions of themselves. “I want listeners to unleash all of that unabashedly,” she says. “This 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.”

‘Koshish’ (“Try” in English), is a track about ageing that brims with infatuation and nostalgia for people or places. “It’s a way of paying homage to my Californian upbringing, revamping the surfer genre with brown beach bodies and hidden Oud as the axis of the song.” In the slow-burning, velvety ‘Khatam’ (“Finished”), live piano melts around harmonised voice layers, as she sings of time, clashes of civilizations, and apocalypse. Here, she weaves a warped fable about a feminine traveller journeying through epochs, stumbling upon alien lyrical terrain that has rarely been sung through a brown femme gaze.

Luminous, eccentric orchestration ebbs and flows through the record like a bioluminescent ocean, alongside quiet textural elements: a trickle of water, a ticking clock, ghostly whispers, twinkling manjira. Singing in a delicate, chiffon vocal which defies genre and expectation — satirically hymnlike, then an erratic vibrato — Sheher’s poetic lyrics about marginalised genders and imagined homelands pour out over lush, enlivened instrumentation. There is no one way to behold the magnetic Qasr. “This may sound like some kind of third-culture reclamation,” she muses, before pausing, “Or it could just be like, you know, new-age, contemporary American folk.”

That freedom to interpret is in keeping with a bigger sense that haunts her work – indulgence to be our messiest selves, the selves that openly defy rigid codes and protocols of race, creed, or gender. As an additional ode to freedom: ‘Sheherazaad’ translated in Hindi and Urdu means a “free city”. Whilst her artist name is a tribute to Scheherazade, the revolutionary figure from the epic collection of folktales, The One Thousand and One Nights, whose storytelling prowess brings an end to the mindless genocide of women.

It’s fitting then, that the final track on the album, the arresting seven minutes long ‘Lehja’ (related to language and speaking-style), is a foray into Sheher’s literal storytelling ability. The song brings to life a mythical city she refers to as “Sheher” (a meta-reference to her artist persona). Lehja examines the turmoil that may surround mother tongue, pronunciation, and the fight to preserve disappearing ancestral languages. The song culminates in a refrain of “azaadi”, a chant that serves as an unequivocal call for freedom across much of South and Southwest Asia, closing the album as mysteriously as it begins.

And so, on Qasr, Sheherazaad gives us a beguiling new soundscape, not yet of this world. But she also stokes the flame of fantasies inherent to the nomadic experience, which may finally be brought to the fore. Overall, the bewitching album finds an artist building her own fortress, while enticing us to forge our own castles, musical queendoms, and impossible dreamlands.

Words by Tara Joshi

credits

released March 1, 2024

℗© 2024 Erased Tapes Records Ltd.
All rights reserved. All tapes erased.

All songs written and arranged by Sheherazaad
Published by Erased Tapes Music Publishing Ltd.

Vocals: Sheherazaad
١ Classical Guitar: Ria Modak; Percussion: Gilbert Mansour
٢ Percussion, Strings: Runar Blesvik; Violin: Basma Edrees
٣ Percussion: Dave Brophy; Guitar: J. Valleau; Oud: Lion Tortolero
۴ Piano: J. Valleau; Synth: Arooj Aftab
٥ Piano: Runar Blesvik; Percussion: Gilbert Mansour; Kanun: Firas Zreik; Synth: J. Valleau; Additional Synth: Arooj Aftab
Urdu Consultation: Bilal Sami

Producer: Arooj Aftab

Recorded at The Glass Wall in Brooklyn
Recording and Mixing Engineer: J. Valleau
Vocal Mixing Engineer: Runar Blesvik
Mastered by Heba Kadry, NYC
Lacquer cut by Jana Falcon at Schnittstelle, Berlin

Creative Director: Robert Raths
Artwork by Dinisha Dandwani
Design by Shaz Madani

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about

Sheherazaad Brooklyn, New York

Sheherazaad is an American performer-composer, whose contemporary folk-pop synthesis joins the new wave of South Asian diasporic soundscapes.

Sheherazaad gleans from Western classical and South Asian sonic lineages.

Her contemporary voicing, though inherently genre-defiant, may be described as alternative folk or experimental ballad. ... more

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