Hey again, it's been a while
New music, upcoming shows, ramblings, and more
Last year, I committed to a weekly newsletter.
That commitment lasted for a whopping two and a half months before well, life happened. This year, I’m letting go of self-judgment for not being “perfect” and not hitting my self-set unrealistic goals. As a Virgo and Capricorn stellium, this is quite difficult for me to do. But if this year were to have a personal tagline, it would be: stop making excuses and start making systems. Beyond this tagline however, I can’t build systems or let go of excuses if I don’t commit to my own healing (I’m looking at you, negative self-talk). More on that in a later newsletter.
With that, my goal for this newsletter in 2024 is to touch base with you all at least once a month. I also wanted to recalibrate the purpose of this newsletter. Moving forward, I’m going to use this space to share updates on upcoming shows, new music I’m making, and of course, music I’m listening to. I’ll also throw in the occasional sprinkle of other musings like books I’m reading, movies and shows I’m watching, and recent hyperfixations I’m having.
I’ll be moving past my previous Friday Five’s format of five new songs every Friday, and shifting into sharing a plethora of things I’m digging and doing. Without further delay, here are some January highlights, with a look ahead into the first few months of the year.
Sundance
I had the pleasure of rocking three back-to-back nights at the Sundance Film Festival in snowy Park City, Utah last week (yes, my body paid the price for it this week). The good folks at Goldhouse, 1497, Sundance Institute, and Adobe all brought me in to bless their events. I played possibly one of the best sets of my life at 1497. Instagram recap coming once your girl has all the #content.
Where I’m playing next
I’ll be rocking the Acacia Mag launch party tonight at the newly opened Babel Loft. Acacia Mag is a magazine for the Muslim left, coincidentally launched by a childhood friend of mine who is an absolute badass. Get familiar.
Upcoming shows
I’m working on some really exciting things, including headlining New York shows this Spring and Summer, some top-secret ones I can’t wait to announce, and a US tour InshAllah! Stay tuned here for all upcoming dates.
January Muffintops
The one thing I have done consistently done for the last 14 months is put together a “Muffintops” playlist on Spotify. It’s a brain dump of all of the random stuff I’m listening to, minus all of the bootlegs I find on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. This month was particularly all over the place but might be my favorite playlist yet. Check it out here, and follow me on Spotify for all the goodies.
New Remix // Taal your Body
I played this blend live while I was improvising and decided to turn it into a full-length track. I dig it, and I hope you do too.
Books I read this month
The Big Leap & Kappa. I’m going for one fiction and one non-fiction book every month. I highly recommend both of these. The Big Leap slapped me in the face and reminded me that time management is my single biggest hurdle. Kappa is a whimsical story about mythical creatures in Japanese culture called Kappas. I’ve always been a big fan of Japanese authors, with Haruki Murakami being a personal favorite. This was a quick and quirky read.
What I’m watching
True Detective Season 4. This one ties back most to season 1, which was by far the best season of the show. Highly recommend. And Kali Reis is my new girl crush (who also happens to be a boxing champ!)
What I want to watch next
Griselda. Sofia Vergara. Say less.
Hyperfixation interest
Cycle-syncing. This is for the girlies that mensturate (but also still relevent if you’re in a relationship with someone who mensturates). I’ve been doing this a bit since last year, but committed to it fully in January and it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental and physical health. Most people don’t know this about me, but I am an extremely active person. I grew up playing a ton of sports, including soccer, track & field, cross country, swimming, and most importantly, fencing. I even went to the Junior Olympics as a sabre fencer! Nowadays, I’ve been in a groove with strength training, pilates, and Peleton. All this to say, I’ve always been a bit of a health nut, but didn’t truly understand “health” until the past few years after doing a continuous glucose monitor with Levels and getting more in touch with Eastern medicine. I could write an entire thesis on this, but I’ll leave you with this great article for now.
What I’m working on
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you might be familiar with my Cuffing Season Mixes. I’m excited to share that volume three will finally be dropping next month, but with a slight twist. Stay tuned!
Along with Cuffing Season, be on the look out for some exciting remixes and edits with some of my favorite DJs.
If you got this far…
Thanks for being here, and in following with previous newsletter tradition, I’ll leave you with a quote.
Until next time.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves”
- Carl Jung