Name: Qasr
Brand: Sheherazaad

Tax rate EU

Default:19

Supplier EU

375 Media

Total Cap

Format detail

Colour details

Discogs ID

Limited edition

Colour

Format Music EU

Extended format

Extended format: Yes

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Download code

Download code: No

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Release date

2024-03-01

Format multiplier

Catalogue number

ERATP164LE

UPC / Barcode

3700551785360

Red LP

Biovinyl

Black

Extended format: No

ERATP164LP

3700551785377

Black LP

Artist

Sheherazaad

Label EU

Erased Tapes

Genre EU

Folk

Modern Composition

Erased Tapes Records is a London-based record label established in 2007 by Robert Raths, also known as Ghostworker. With the label code LC 15952, Erased Tapes has become renowned for its diverse roster of *artists* and *performers*. The label's focus lies on releasing avant-garde and experimental music across various genres, including ambient, electronic, and modern classical. Erased Tapes has gained a reputation for nurturing talented musicians and pushing boundaries within the industry. Their commitment to quality and innovation has made them a trusted source for unique and captivating musical experiences.
At Erased Tapes, they believe that music should be an immersive journey that transcends traditional boundaries. They strive to create an environment where artists can freely express their creativity while receiving support from a dedicated team of professionals. By fostering close relationships with their *artists*, Erased Tapes ensures that each release is treated with care and attention to detail.
Over the years, Erased Tapes has built an impressive catalog of critically acclaimed albums that have resonated with listeners worldwide. From the ethereal compositions of Nils Frahm to the mesmerizing soundscapes of A Winged Victory For The Sullen, each release showcases the label's commitment to showcasing groundbreaking talent.

The newest Erased Tapes signee Sheherazaad is an American performer-composer, whose contemporary folk-pop synthesis, produced by Arooj Aftab, joins the new wave of South Asian diasporic soundscapes.

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.&nbsp;

It’s from this space of flux that American composer and vocalist Sheherazaad derives song. Her 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.&nbsp;

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.

Native to the San Francisco Bay Area, Sheher studied Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu in an attempt to re-access lost heritage, where she quickly advanced and wrote test lyrics. These would result in her self-released 2020 underground project Khwaabistan, and garner the attention of Arooj Aftab, who offered to produce her 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); mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Ryuichi Sakamoto).

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.

For fan's of Arooj Aftab, Emel, Lhasa De Sela, Anoushka Shankar

Qasr  

Music EU

Discover Qasr by Sheherazaad. The newest Erased Tapes signee presents a contemporary folk-pop synthesis, exploring the strains of displacement and diaspora. Label: Erased Tapes.