Amy Stretch Parker
This is such an incredible record. Not only are Sheherezaad's vocals perfect, but they compliment the guitar so beautifully and the production is breathtaking. I've been listening to this on repeat since its release and can't wait to hear more.
Favorite track: Mashoor.
Olio Flux
Sheherazaad may be my new favorite vocalist! Her voice is melancholic, haunting, alluring and beacons to be heard. I find myself closing my eyes to concentrate on every syllable and inflection. The simplicity of a single guitar and her voice, with just the right amount of reverb, is art in of itself. I cannot wait for more material. I dig it. You will too.
david braun
one of the finest, most sensitive songs I heard in some time. It is a little melancholic, a little "thoughtful", or like having a cup of tea at dawn on the rooftop of some quiet place.
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about
Sheherazaad is an American performer-composer, whose contemporary folk-pop synthesis joins the new wave of South Asian diasporic soundscapes.
Native to the San Francisco Bay Area and brought up second-generation in an immigrant household, 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. Sheherazaad’s original lyricism modernises certain existing Hindi-Urdu poetic forms, channelling questions of displacement, mother tongue, imagined homelands, and beyond. Currently, she allows the experience of shifting between India and Brooklyn, NYC to shape her eccentric and hyphenated musical aesthetic.
Sheherazaad’s namesake is the revolutionary figure from the largely Middle Eastern and South Asian epic collection of folktales The One Thousand and One Nights, more commonly spelt Scheherazade. This major character’s storytelling prowess brings an end to the mindless genocide of women.
Expanding further, Sheherazaad says: “She has been a favourite and beloved character of mine since childhood for her ferocious storytelling ability that saves lives. Also, in Hindi and Urdu, Sheherazaad translates to ‘Free City’. I love the idea of a person, especially a woman, being a kind of ‘city’ entity in and of themselves. In the South Asian context, this idea of ‘sheher’ (city) is more visceral with metropolises historically being centres for innovation, forward-thinking, and more social mobility for women specifically.”
Introducing her alluring debut single for Erased Tapes, Mashoor speaks to the glamour as well as the dis-ease surrounding the experience of Fame. The song is also a larger commentary on the values we are fostering as a world society, where particular people, institutions, or countries are celebrated, despite being inherently narcissistic and perverted.
lyrics
Mashoor, hum mashoor
Hogaye hum mashoor
Kis liye hum mashoor
Niche dekho
Kya zyaada upar char gayi?
Niche dekho
Kya zyaada upar char gayi?
Aine mein aks mera kahaan?
Aine mein aks mera kahaan?
Kuch toh alag hai zaroor
Mashoor...
Mera qasoor...
Yeh qarz kisko vaapas de doo?
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 vajud
Mera vajud
Kis liye hum mashoor?
credits
released October 25, 2023
Composer: Sheherazaad
Lyricist: Sheherazaad
Arranger: Sheherazaad
Urdu Consultation: Bilal Sami
Dearest Arooj, firstly thank you. My brother died this year n what can be said about such loss n sadness. I saw n heard you at The end of the Road in England. I spent many years in India n love all the music, poetry of your heritage. Thankyou Arooj❤️ ben1769
Collaborating remotely with 12 songwriters from all over the world, Kim Edgar emerged with a work of striking art pop. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 11, 2023
my god. he never plays this instrument from the outside, rather he plays deep within it, absorbing as he presses keys, the materials, space and vibrations w such an honesty that the most intensely beautiful stories of sound can be the only result. thank u for taking us with you to this sacred place. all recordings are exceptional. Highly recommended w decent hphones Ews Nsj