The Crane Wives’ Lee Emi on Solo Album DESTROY EVERYTHING and Why Streams and Followers Don’t Define an Artist

Photo credit: Lori M Gottschling

After more than a decade as a primary songwriter, co-lead singer and guitarist with The Crane Wives, Emilee Petersmark is stepping into a different kind of spotlight with her debut solo album as Lee Emi. DESTROY EVERYTHING grew from songs that had been sitting unfinished for years, before the pause of the pandemic gave her the space to return to them and begin building a project of her own.

The record is rooted in questions of identity, reinvention and belonging, shaped in part by Petersmark’s experience as a Korean adoptee raised in Michigan, her return to Korea and a period of serious illness. But making it also meant learning to trust herself in a new way: taking the lead on creative decisions after years of working within a band and separating the value of making art from the pressures of streams, followers and commercial success.

What’s the story behind DESTROY EVERYTHING, and what did making this album allow you to explore that you hadn’t been able to before?

DESTROY EVERYTHING started as a collection of songs in a Google Drive graveyard, songs that told a different story than the other material I was working on with The Crane Wives over a decade ago. They sat until 2020, when the pandemic shut-down forced me to rethink all of my plans for the future. Ben Zito, the bassist and manager of the Crane Wives, offered to record and produce my solo record at his studio while we were on a hiatus from touring, and the project just kind of took off from there. 

I drew a lot of inspiration from the work I was doing at the time to deconstruct my adoption story, revisiting Korea for the first time since I was an infant and using this solo project as an opportunity to process that experience. Making music has always been a deeply cathartic practice for me, but this was the first time I’ve had an outlet that felt wholly mine, and as a result there’s a lot about this record in particular that feels deeply personal.  

Making this album gave me my first real opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat when it came to making creative decisions. Throughout my career I’ve been surrounded by musicians with incredible talent, and it felt easy and safe to lean on their opinions when it came to building out a song in the studio. This record definitely pushed me to trust myself and my instincts, leaning into the sounds and textures that felt right to me. The end result is something that feels like an evolution from the work I’ve done with The Crane Wives, and I’m really proud of it. 

Starting something new can be intimidating even when you already have an established career. How have you dealt with the pressure of putting yourself out as a solo artist?

It’s absolutely terrifying to be alone in the spotlight after so many years of sharing it with a band. Not to mention switching things up and playing new music with a new band after sixteen years of touring with The Crane Wives. I’m doing the best I can to embrace the anxiety as part of the process. It’s a lot of change, and a lot of vulnerability, and I don’t think it’s possible to ignore the weight of that.

Thank God, I have the best team in the whole fucking world supporting me. Whenever I start to feel the self-doubt creep back in, I remember how many amazing musicians and artists have leant their time, labor, and talents to this project. I try to remind myself that a lot of people I trust believe this is going to work out.  

You’ve been making and releasing music professionally since 2010. What do you know about being an artist now that you wish you’d known when you were starting out?

Photo credit: Nick Greseth

I wish someone had told me that there is a difference between making art and selling art. It’s easy for an artist to conflate their success as a business with their value as an artist, and when business is slow it can feel like your art is worthless. I still get stressed out about streaming numbers and follower counts.

But not having high streaming numbers doesn’t make you less of an artist. Having lots of followers doesn’t make you a better songwriter. I wish I knew when we were starting out to have more confidence in the art I was making, even when a lot fewer people were listening.  

What’s your best advice for someone who is just starting to make their way in the music industry?

Don’t trust anyone who says they know the “right” way to become a successful musician. There’s so many paths to get to where you want to go, and what works for one person might not be replicable for someone else.

So do what feels best for you, even if that means taking breaks, touring less, waiting more than a year to put out a record. You could do everything on a label’s schedule and it’s possible your career still won’t take off the way you’d like. So make what you wanna make on the timeline that works best for you. 

What’s your favourite part of making music, and what’s your least favourite part?

My favorite part of making music is the songwriting process. I’ll never understand the folks who consider themselves AI musicians because the toiling process of making the song exist is the best part, and I can’t understand why anyone would want to skip it. It feels so cathartic to take a feeling and turn it into a melody. It feels like play. You get to experiment and take risks and tap into a specific part of your brain in a way that feels like meditation.

My least favorite part of making music is the mixing process, after recording everything in the studio. I feel like I get so deep in the weeds of micromanaging each second of music that the song starts to lose all meaning. It’s my perfectionism rearing its ugly head. I think we did over 10 rounds of mixes for this record, which is absolutely appalling. 

What are you listening to at the moment, and is there an artist you think more people should know about?

Lately I’ve been revisiting old playlists and listening to bands that I liked a lot circa 2015, like Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Mother Mother, and Metric. An artist that more people should know about is Angélica Garcia. Her album Cha Cha Palace was a surprising source of inspiration for Lee Emi, as she embraces a lot of different elements of her heritage in her music, leaning into her identity as a Mexican/Salvadorian American. 

Photo credit: Hwa-Jeen Na

If DESTROY EVERYTHING were part of a playlist, what other tracks would you put alongside it?

Sun Has Set - Beebadoobie

Happy Now - Michelle Branch

Oh Well - Fiona Apple

I Am King - Florence & The Machine

Heat Lightning - Mitski

Fever Pitch - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

How do you unwind and switch off when you’re not making music?

I like to draw and paint whenever I have the time. I used to do freelance work back in the day, and have illustrated children’s books, album covers, and lots of posters for other musicians. When I’m looking to switch off the creative part of my brain entirely, I like to find activities that get me outside, like hiking, kayaking, and rollerblading. 

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Follow Lee Emi:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify

How to Grow Your Music Audience: Claire Donzelli of Clarity Music Marketing

Claire Donzelli started out as a singer-songwriter before discovering that the creative spark she felt making music also carried into marketing. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, she began her industry career working the door at a Boston venue, where helping with its social media led to a role as marketing manager. After working at agencies and building her own roster of freelance clients, she founded Clarity Music Marketing.

Now based in Los Angeles, Claire supports artists, labels and creative brands with release strategy, storytelling and audience development. Alongside her agency work, she curates a playlist network with more than 50,000 followers and created Clarity Indie 50, which pairs emerging independent music with editorial coverage exploring the stories behind it.

How did you first get your start in music?

I started off as a singer-songwriter. When I first got to Berklee, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to major in, but I told myself, "Definitely not music business." Then, in my first semester, I tested out of the music production class and was put in an intro to music business class. Somehow, I found myself looking forward to it every week.

When I started releasing my own music, I was having vocal issues and wasn't sure I'd be able to record again. I put everything I had into marketing the music I’d already recorded and accidentally discovered how much I loved it. I realized that the creative spark I felt when making music carried through into marketing, too. I started helping other artists at Berklee with their marketing, and things grew from there.

My first job in the music industry came from striking up a conversation with a talent buyer at a venue about their sound system. I worked the door until they found out I did marketing, and then I became their marketing manager.

I worked at other agencies for a while and freelanced on the side. Over several years, my freelance work with artists grew so much that I didn't have time to work for anyone else. I'd also seen what worked and what didn't, and I wanted to take everything I'd learned and build an agency where I could truly focus my creative and strategic energy on each artist.

You’ve built a playlist network of more than 50K followers and launched Clarity Indie 50. What makes an emerging artist or release stand out to you when you’re discovering new music?

I've received thousands of submissions to my playlists and the Clarity Indie 50, and what makes a release stand out to me is when the artist is in touch with their story and willing to share it. Plenty of the songs I've been sent are outside what I'd normally listen to, but when I read the story on the submission, it made me stop and go, "Oh wow."

Great songwriting, production, and performance matter too, and sometimes we're moved by a song and find our own meaning in it, but I always want to hear what the artist has to say. The shared experience, the why behind a song, is really powerful to me. It's also why I chose to write an editorial alongside the Clarity Indie 50 playlist, even though a playlist on its own would be much faster and easier.

With so much emphasis on streams and follower counts, which metrics do you think artists should actually be paying attention to when trying to understand whether their audience is growing?

The most important metrics are the ones that show you're building real relationships with your fans. Streams and views can tell you how many people your music is reaching, but they don't necessarily tell you how many of those people are becoming fans.

I pay attention to things like repeat listeners, saves, and secondary actions like signing up for an artist's mailing list or coming to their show. Comments can also tell you a lot, especially when people are sharing how a song made them feel or what it means to them.

We sometimes get too caught up in the numbers that look impressive on paper instead of thinking about what we're actually trying to accomplish. I've had LinkedIn posts that only got a couple of likes, but then an artist's manager would reach out about working together and specifically mention one of those posts. It always surprised me because I didn't think the posts had performed particularly well, but they had reached the right people, and that's what mattered.

Artists are constantly told they need to create content. How can they promote their music consistently without feeling like they have to become full-time content creators?

The best social media plan is one you can realistically follow with your lifestyle and everything else you have going on. It's easy to tell artists they should post five times a week, but if once a week is more realistic for you, start there. Mix higher-effort content, like filming videos, with easier-to-make content.

Some artists like to batch content and film it all in one day. For one of my singles, I created enough content for a month in a single day, and that's what works for me. Other artists like to film in the moment when inspiration hits them. Find your own rhythm, and know there's no one path to success.

Some artists' music does really well on playlists, and that's where they find their audience. Others love touring. You don't have to be the best at every type of promotion. The key is picking what feels most frictionless for you to get your music out there, or delegating the rest.

On challenging days, how do you switch off and reset outside of work?

I volunteer at the Westside German Shepherd Rescue on the weekends. I've written bios for new dogs that need to get adopted and even created some TikTok videos for them, so I can't fully escape marketing, but mostly I walk the dogs because I love animals.

As much as I love music and marketing, I think it's important to have hobbies that have nothing to do with either. I live in LA, and both of my siblings are in Northern California, so I also recently started a book club with them (hopefully they see this and finish reading The Honjin Murders).

Three things you can’t live without in your bag?

Noise-canceling headphones, my phone or laptop so I can work on the go, and a great book.

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Claire Donzelli on Instagram | Clarity Website | Instagram |

Masia One on Building Southeast Asia’s Reggae and Dub Communities

Singaporean rapper and artist Masia One has spent more than two decades working across hip-hop, reggae and soundsystem culture. Known as the “Far East Empress”, she has collaborated with artists including Pharrell Williams and RZA, while building connections between Southeast Asia’s independent music communities through her project Singapura Dubclub.

Her Singaporean identity runs through her music, including her verse on “Neighbourhood”, a collaboration with Emma Dilemma, Dende the Sensei and Jay Coast. Drawing on everyday language, local characters and life beyond the city’s business district, she brings the Singapore she knows into the record.

In our interview, Masia discusses what it takes to build a music community, how artists can reach international audiences while staying connected to where they come from, and the practical decisions behind a sustainable career. She also shares advice on collaboration, protecting your work and finding the confidence to make your own decisions.

You’ve spent years helping build reggae and dub culture across Southeast Asia. What have you learned about creating your community?

Community and great music cultures go hand in hand, and growing together as friends, experts and music lovers is a very fulfilling journey for any music culture. 

I learned the importance of having a great team that enjoys working together, brings to the project their own strengths and are all excited about what we are building together. 

I also realized that SE Asia is in itself a small community - if sub-cultures and music scenes in ASEAN work together what might be a small show can grow into book routes, festivals and shared knowledge.

You’ve built an international career while staying connected to your Singaporean and Southeast Asian identity. What advice would you give artists who want to reach global audiences without losing what makes them distinctive?

Sometimes you have to start building where you’re at, even if you have theories about how you’ll “blow up” elsewhere. Start small and build a tribe with your friends, your neighbours, your city, your region. As you authentically bring who you are to your artistry, the rest of the world may grow curious and pay attention so lean into what works for you, not what trends and algorithms dictate. In Canada, the cover of my first album was of the Singapore merlion re-imagined as a Louis Vuitton luxury print. Most people in Canada didn’t know about Singapore or the merlion at that time, but I knew I would be the first female Hiphop artist representing in the Canadian mainstream, so representing myself accordingly was very important for me.

I also am constantly amazed by the diversity of culture, colors and sounds that come from SE Asia and, with the rise of AI slop, I know that these nuances of humanity are the future that remind us how to stay connected and inspired by the magic of real life. 

What’s your best advice for someone just starting out in the music industry?

Take an inventory of what you’re good at, get friends & allies that will help you with what you’re not good at, record and release music to build your catalogue, the music is the magic but often it’s not the money so build into your business plan where you can diversify and never ever sign anything without a good lawyer.

I haven’t given advice about the creative side as I believe that artists already know themselves and can express creativity, but often they undervalue their works and ideas, and need to protect their financial interests so they can pursue music as a career and not as a part-time hobby.   

What’s your best tip for networking and building genuine relationships in music?

Collaborations with people you actually want to make music with is a great way because the creative connection is something that can build genuine respect and friendships.

Offering sincere support, advice and assistance when building a community and network is also valuable. Often people reach out asking what you can do for them, without sharing what they are capable and willing to do to add value to someone else’s life.

When networking, present yourself in an authentic and professional manner, for example “Hey I’m just reaching out because I follow your work and saw that you’re sharing great Hiphop content” is much better than “Yo you need to hear my new mixtape”.

After more than two decades in music, what’s one lesson about building a sustainable career that you wish you’d learned earlier?
Never make decisions from a place of fear - address the fear, make lists of the pros and cons if you need to, and don’t let fear get in the way of you expressing your most authentic self as an artist. That and, get a good lawyer lol.

What’s your favourite part of making and performing music, and what’s your least favourite?

I love connecting with the energy of the people, feeling that momentum and having that musical back and forth dialogue with the crowd. This   realization that something I wrote in isolation from a place of pain or deep reflection, can be shared through melody and sound to connect strangers reminding us all that we are not alone in the hardships that we face, or the joys we’d like to celebrate together.

Least favorite part…the music opportunity attracts a lot of opportunist and bad actors that are predatory on the hopes and dreams of creatives. As well, the current model of music business that benefits corporations over the creators, makes me very concerned as there is no viable way to have a sustainable career as an artist today. In the current model of remuneration for artists that is being sold to the masses it would not be possible to have a sustainable career - artists will need to take the business of their vision into their own hands.

What are you listening to at the moment, and who’s an artist from Southeast Asia you think more people should know about?

I’m listening to: 

Ezra Collective ft. Lila Ike: Well Organized - amazing to see great musicians from around the world come together to create at the highest levels. 

Chronixx: Survivor - I like to make music that makes people feel brave, this is a song that makes me feel brave.

Theira Whack: Wax Paper - Great emcee, amazing visuals and 100% herself. 

Jazz Cruise Series Vol. 1 is by Kelvin Momo and Stixx - relax for the mind and soul.
Jhene Aiko “Westside Whimsy” - The lyricism on this new record goes harder than most rap albums.

Southeast Asian artist:

I’m listening to Srirajah Rockers (Thailand) phenomenal band that took Dub, and made it so unquestionably and uniquely Thai. 

I also just got off playing Rototom Festival with Yella Sky Soundsystem, pioneers of soundsystem culture in Jakarta, and I was shocked to find out many of the songs I loved were original productions by them with guest artists from around the region. 

Dhira Bongs out of Indonesia is someone I’m excited to see take over - a great songwriter and an amazing voice. She has a very creative outlook in how she shares her music through content and relatable  engagements.

If you could put together your dream soundsystem night anywhere in the world, where would it be and who would be on the line-up?

I would set a sound system that tours different communities, setting up at regional Temples. I would likely build a sound that follows blueprints set by Mungo’s Hifi: Tops with clarity, Subs with ultimate bass frequency, and sharing music that crosses genres. I would invite all my favorite soundboys from across the region including:

Yella Sky Sound System (Indonesia)

Gonja Hi Fi (Thailand)

Red I Sound System (Philippines) 

Heavy Hong Kong (HK)

Formosa Sound (Taiwan)

Langkawi Dub Club (Malaysia) 

Totalize Sound (Japan)

Bahnya Sound System (Korea)
…and of course my own family Singapura Dubclub (Singapore)

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Masia One on Instagram

shesaid.so at ADE 2026

shesaid.so is delighted to continue its longstanding partnership with Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in 2026, with a programme of conversations and networking that reflects the evolving priorities of the electronic music industry.

Since 2017, we’ve worked alongside ADE to champion diversity, inclusion, education and professional development. What began as a mentoring partnership has grown into one of our longest-running collaborations, spanning ADE Pro, ADE Lab and community-led events that have brought together thousands of artists and music professionals from around the world.

Through our we.grow mentoring programme, we’ve connected early-career talent with experienced industry professionals to share knowledge, support career development and build lasting relationships. Our conference programme has explored artist development, music technology, publishing, sync, entrepreneurship and representation.

For 2026, we welcome UPTAK, the nightlife safety brand and newest member of the shesaid.so ALLIES network, as a new partner. Together, we’ll present conversations on nightlife safety and representation in electronic music, alongside the launch of UPTAK FOUNDATION’s new research on nightlife safety and drink spiking and the official shesaid.so x UPTAK networking mixer.

We’re also partnering with Equal Beats by AlphaTheta for the ADE Friends Talk “Can We Really Close the Gender Gap?” on Thursday 22 October, 13:00–13:45, at When Nature Calls. Featuring Keleigh Batchelor (AlphaTheta), Tiwa (Homecoming), Martha Bolton (NOT BAD FOR A GIRL) and Alex Tripi (Pete Tong DJ Academy), the conversation will examine barriers affecting women and gender-diverse artists, including access to opportunities, mentorship and representation. Looking beyond lineups, the panel will ask who holds responsibility for change and what sustained action could look like.

Across the programme, we’ll bring artists, industry professionals, researchers and organisations together to exchange ideas, build connections and discuss how we can support safer, more inclusive music spaces.

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shesaid.so ADE 2026 - WhatsApp Pop-up Group

Join the shesaid.so @ ADE 2026 WhatsApp group

Heading to Amsterdam for ADE?

Join our pop-up WhatsApp group to arrange meetups, share tips & insights from the conference, and connect with other community members and industry peers. We’ll also share reminders about the shesaid.so programme throughout the week.

Coming solo or know someone who’d like to join? Share the sign-up link with friends and colleagues attending ADE.

Please keep conversations relevant to ADE and respectful of everyone. No spam or unsolicited DMs, and keep event promotion to the dedicated thread.

Sign up to join the group.

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Programme

shesaid.so x UPTAK: ADE Mixer

Music • Networking • Drinks

Day: Wednesday 21 October 2026

Time: 17:00-18:30

Location: Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam

Join shesaid.so and UPTAK for an evening of networking with artists, industry professionals, researchers and organisations attending ADE.

The mixer offers an opportunity to connect with members of the shesaid.so community, the UPTAK team and music professionals from across the global electronic music industry in an informal setting.

Further programme details and music announcements will follow.

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shesaid.so x Equal Beats by AlphaTheta

ADE Friends Talk

Can We Really Close the Gender Gap?

Day: Thursday 22 October 2026

Time: 13:00-13:45

Location: When Nature Calls, Prinsengracht 581, 1016 HT Amsterdam, Netherlands

Speakers:  Keleigh Batchelor (AlphaTheta), Tiwa (Homecoming), Martha Bolton (NOT BAD FOR A GIRL), Alex Tripi (Pete Tong DJ Academy) 

Moderator: Mai Jammeh

Description:  

What would it actually take to close the gender gap in electronic music? This panel brings together voices from across the industry to explore the barriers affecting women and gender-diverse artists, from access and opportunities to mentorship and representation.

Looking beyond the lineup, we’ll ask where responsibility sits and what meaningful, long-term change could look like.

Attendees can sign up to access the DJ House with AlphaTheta at When Nature Calls and Pete Tong DJ Academy, which is where our panel will be held. 

Discovr® is the platform for DJs and producers that celebrates only the best of what's next. The artists and the sounds that deserve to be discovered. An open house in the heart of ADE where DJs and producers drop in, play, get heard and meet the people shaping DJ culture.

Sign Up to Access the DJ House with AlphaTheta and Pete Tong DJ Academy at When Nature Calls HERE.

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ADE Pro Talk

The Shrinking Gatekeep

Day: Thursday 22 October 2026

Time: 14:45-15:30

Location: Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam

Speakers: Novah, SPFDJ, LYZZA, HoneyLuv

Moderator: Connie Chow, shesaid.so Amsterdam Co-Director

Description

The Shrinking Gatekeep brings Novah, SPFDJ, LYZZA and HoneyLuv together at ADE Pro to talk about their experiences as artists in electronic music. 

As electronic music's infrastructure consolidates into fewer labels, fewer festivals, and fewer booking agencies, who actually gets through the door — and does that door get harder or easier to find?

This panel brings together Novah, SPFDJ, HoneyLuv and LYZZA, four artists working across very different corners of the scene's sound, to talk about gatekeeping not as an abstract issue but as a live structural question.

As algorithmic and data-driven booking increasingly decides who gets stage time, does that open things up beyond old networks, or simply automate the same biases at scale? Does techno's harder-edged, male-coded culture face a different set of barriers than club and pop-adjacent spaces? And beyond visibility panels and awareness campaigns, what has actually changed access in practice — mentorship, transparent booking data, quotas — versus what's just been talk? A grounded conversation about power, access and what comes after representation.

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Panel @ ADE Lab

Safety As A Community Practice

Day: Thursday 22 October 2026

Time: 15:45-16:30

Location: Het Ketelhuis, room 'Filmzaal 2'; Free to attend without any ADE pass

Speakers: Aynouk Tan (RITA Community), Eva Santos (CCO & Partner, UPTAK)+ Youssef Ahmed (Club Raum)

Moderator: Victoria Mazzone (Community Manager, City Collective Amsterdam).

Description:

Rather than assuming an extensive understanding of the structural dimensions of safety, the conversation will create an accessible and practical entry point into the topic. It will explore why safety is not necessarily experienced in the same way by everyone, and how identity, discrimination, previous experiences and the communities and spaces we move through can affect whether someone feels safe, how they respond to an incident and whether they feel able to report it.

From there, the conversation will move between prevention, community care, technology and reporting: how promoters and communities can think proactively about the people entering their spaces; what looking after ourselves and each other means in practice; how emerging tools can contribute to safer environments; and what accessible pathways for reporting and support can look like when harm occurs.

The session will include the presentation of key findings from UPTAK Foundation's new research on nightlife safety and drink spiking and a wider conversation about prevention, responsibility and creating cultures of care across nightlife.

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Access

Please note that an ADE Pro Pass is required to attend the shesaid.so Pro panel and mixer at Felix Meritis. A limited number of guest list spots are available.

The Lab panel is free to attend to all.

If you're a shesaid.so ALICE, NINA or ALLIES member, get in touch with us to access your exclusive ADE Pro discount.

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Culture & Entertainment Lead Nina Scott on Music & Brand Partnerships and Building a Career in Culture

Nina Scott is a cultural partnerships, talent and entertainment specialist working at the intersection of global brands and contemporary music culture.

Across her career, Nina has worked with some of the most influential youth-culture platforms, shaping partnerships that sit authentically within music, nightlife and creative scenes. Her experience spans brand, fashion, film & tv and music culture, including previous roles with Red Bull, Nothing Tech and ASOS, where she helped develop culturally driven projects and collaborations withestablished artists and emerging talent.

Most recently, Nina was Culture & Entertainment Lead at Diageo, where she developed cultural collaborations for brands including Johnnie Walker and The Singleton, developing collaborations and initiatives that united artists, venues and creative communities.

Her work focuses on building long-term cultural platforms rather than traditional sponsorship, supporting new scenes and movements, championing new voices and creating opportunities for artists and communities to grow. She is part of a new generation of brand leaders exploring how global companies can contribute meaningfully to the wider music ecosystem - creating long term support of cultural movements and considering long-term industry sustainability within that.

Nina brings a rare perspective on how brands, artists and cultural institutions can collaborate in ways that are credible, community-driven and creatively ambitious, helping shape the evolving relationship between music culture and global brands.

For someone interested in working in cultural partnerships or brand entertainment, what skills do you think are most important to develop early in their career?

I think the most important thing is to love what you do and be interested in the scenes/ spaces you work in (not just the idea of the fun events/ shoots) and to educate yourself on how it works and how everything fits together. 

Observation, education, evaluation: Go to shows and events, follow industry news, see what's popping off on social. When I go to events / shows I look at how it was promoted, take notes of the production and merch, the fan bases, key highlights. I take photos and take notes - always good to know what's working, have inspo to reference and sometimes know what doesn't work/ what to avoid. If you’re starting out go out and take notice of what's going on and who’s behind it.

Relationships: most of my contacts now are the ones who I met when I was starting out. 

The admin: A huge part of what I do involves a lot of organisation. It’s the less sexy side of things that people don't really talk about. Get to know contracts (not just deliverables). Build budget templates - get to know how much things cost. Know how to communicate what you are trying to sell in - Can you explain it in a sentence…sounds super obvious but the simpler something is to explain the better it’s understood. When you share ideas and decks you don't know who the reader is and you don't often get facetime any more - keep it simple.

Communication: You’re often the middle person - straddling brand side with talent / partner side. It’s important you understand both sides, the perspectives and priorities and know how to communicate and translate each sides desire and needs to each side. 

Make it make sense: I think this is most important. Know why something or someone makes sense for a project / campaign. There’s an element of gut feeling (for me anyway) mixed with numbers and insights. 

For an artist, collective or independent music organisation looking to work with a brand, what makes a strong first approach? What information should they have ready before reaching out?

Know the brand and what they do and have an idea of why you want to work with them and why you think it’s a match.

Personally I like it when someone approaches me that they have something specific they want to work together on. Know what you’re asking for, how the collaboration will work (how is it mutually beneficial), whats the output/ deliverables

If you’re reaching out to a number of brands make sure you do a proof read first - is the correct brand mentioned and have you spelt it correctly. 

A period of illness recently led you to reassess your relationship with work and work-life balance. If you’re comfortable sharing, how has that experience changed the way you approach your career and what you prioritise?

Brain tumour and brain surgery were definitely not on my bingo cards for the year. It was very sudden and meant a handover at work and being off comms for a few months.

For someone who loves what they do and someone who loves to be in the details and in control this was a really hard concept to grasp pre surgery. Post surgery when I was at my most fragile my only focus and priority was staying alive and doing whatever it takes to encourage healing and building strength. My focus was me. 

When this is your only focus it really helps you zoom out - focussing on the important things, letting go of smaller details. 

When I came back to work I kept this - focus on the bigger picture. This has really helped with longer term vision and planning. Knowing what you want to get done, how to get there and letting go more and putting more trust in people. 

The balance isn't clear cut especially if you don't do a 9-5 BUT I prioritise myself and make time with my friends and family. 

If someone doesn’t already have contacts inside major brands, how would you recommend finding and approaching the right person?

For bigger brands it can be quite complicated especially when it’s a huge organisation with multiple departments. I would always lean on industry contacts and friends as the first point of call. If it’s someone brand new/ you have no links to them - We’re lucky now because we have linked in and social. Know loosely the direction you’re going in/ what department you’re looking for. 

There’s also a lot of exciting agencies who are doing incredible creative work with big brands. Get to know the agencies who are bringing some of the bigger brands' visions to life. If you can't find the brand contact you can also approach agencies. 

I think the world has changed so much - it's not always the major brands you should be trying to get in with - there's so many exciting new brands and people doing amazing things. 

Networking is such a big part of music and cultural industries. What’s one networking habit or approach that has made a real difference in your own career?

Get face time if possible. For me an in person meeting where possible is great for starting a relationship. A chemistry / vibe check is important especially if you’re planning on big projects/working together for a longer period. It’s always good to be seen as a person.

Reach out when you have something to talk about. Eg. If its someone you want to work with to get an idea of their roadmap for the year OR if you have something specific you want to present to them. 

Be nice, the world is small and so is the industry. 

In industries where being constantly available and visible can feel like part of the job, what have you learned about setting boundaries while still progressing in your career?

Honestly, I’m only just learning about boundaries now (mine and other peoples). I’ve always been always on all systems go. 

Now I ask myself:

Is it urgent?

Is it essential?

Will it help my career or benefit me personally?

If the answer is yes - reply to that email/ text, go to that event etc. 

If the answer is no - do what makes you feel good. You don't have to and don’t need to be at everything all the time.

After a particularly busy or difficult day, what helps you switch off and decompress?

I’ve recently discovered and started to appreciate ‘gentle mental’ activities. Things that help me focus on the task at hand, feel creative, really relax me and also help block out all the outside noise. My favourites are lego and colouring in. I’m also enjoying walking. Not just walking to the station but actually going for a walk. I don’t know if I should admit this but I love feeding the crows in the park. I find this particularly relaxing.

What have you been listening to lately? Any artists or releases you keep coming back to?

Playboi Carti is very much on heavy rotation. I’m seeing him live and love to get in the zone.

I always keep coming back to Dua Lipa Future Nostalgia. One of my favorite albums of all times and has so many incredible memories attached to it.

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Nina Scott on Instagram | LinkedIn

Belgian-Tunisian Artist Sara Dziri on New EP Sacred Disorientations, North African Trance and Launching SILT

Belgian-Tunisian DJ, composer and performer Sara Dziri has become a distinctive presence in Brussels’ electronic music scene. Her work brings together club music, composition and performance, often drawing on both the city’s underground rave culture and her North African heritage. Following her 2022 debut album, Close to Home, she premiered Black Hole at Kanal Centre Pompidou in 2024, combining sound, choreography and light.

Her new EP, Sacred Disorientations, also marks the launch of her label, SILT. The record grew partly from time spent in Tunis and Cairo, where she met practitioners connected to stambeli, isawaya and zar traditions. Instead of sampling the recordings she made there, Dziri drew on what she learned about repetition, ritual and music’s ability to change how people experience time.

Ahead of the EP’s live premiere at the Jaou Tunis Biennale on 30 October, we spoke to Dziri about the personal experiences behind the record, her research into North African trance traditions, starting SILT and what she has learned from creating her own spaces in music.

Your new EP, Sacred Disorientations, is also the first release on your new label, SILT. What’s the story behind it?

2020–24 profoundly changed me. During that time, I was caring for and eventually lost my father to Alzheimer’s, while living an extremely intense creative life. Looking back, the music I was making became a place where I could process states I couldn’t fully articulate: chaos, grief, release, hope, and the desire to dissolve into something larger than myself.

Close to Home, the album I released on Optimo in 2022, was a first expression of the depth of emotions I was experiencing then. Sacred Disorientations also grew out of that period, but through a newly developing obsession with trance, not just as a musical language, but as a way of thinking about altered states, repetition, ritual and our desire to move beyond the individual self.

The EP draws from North African trance traditions and research you carried out in Tunis and Cairo. What did that research involve, and how did what you discovered find its way into the music?

I spent time in Tunis and Cairo, where I worked on the music and met several traditional practitioners of different trance traditions, such as stambeli and isawaya in Tunis and zar in Cairo.

Our meetings were exchanges about their practice and the meaning they gave to it. Of course, they also involved musical explorations and recordings, although I decided not to use any of those recordings on the EP. I wanted to understand and translate something of their underlying logic, rather than simply sample their sounds.

What stayed with me most wasn’t necessarily a particular rhythm or sound, but the idea of music as something functional: something that can alter your state, change your perception of time and create a collective experience. That has increasingly shaped how I perform too. During my live shows, especially through singing, I try to enter that state myself rather than simply “perform” it for an audience.

I’ve started thinking about DJing in a similar way: creating a relationship between myself, the machines and the room, and allowing an intensity to build until something shifts. I’m interested in what happens when I can reach a state of ecstasy through performing and whether that feeling can become contagious in the room.

What made you want to start your own label, SILT, and what kind of space do you hope it can become for other artists?

SILT, for me, represents a platform that can bring together all the different strands of my artistic practice, with music at the heart of it. It’s a music label first and foremost, but I also want it to be a structure through which I can experiment with different experiential formats for music, such as listening sessions, installations and performative concerts.

Sound-wise, I’m drawn to music that exists in the in-between: between different musical lineages, between experimental and dancefloor music, and between stillness and intensity. I’m interested in artists who don’t fit neatly into one musical world and whose work can shift the state of the listener in some way.

You co-founded Not Your Techno in 2019 to help create a more intersectional, queer and POC-centred electronic music scene in Brussels. What did building your own platform teach you about creating community in nightlife?

It taught me how important inclusive nightlife formats can be for partygoers and how much freedom, belonging and self-expression those spaces can create. For me, it came out of a necessity to break out of the usual tropes you see in nightlife, to have fresh faces, fresh approaches and just a crazy mix of people coming together and letting go. In a lot of ways, SILT actually stems from the same values: freedom, self-expression and weirdness.

It also taught me how fragile independent community structures can be. Grassroots collectives often create enormous cultural value with very few resources, and larger institutions sometimes benefit from that knowledge, audience and credibility without returning enough resources or recognition. It made me much more conscious of how collaboration should work and what equitable partnership actually means.

What advice would you give to emerging artists who are still trying to find their own path in the industry?

Your artistic voice is often already present in the things you keep returning to before you know how to articulate it. Pay attention to your recurring obsessions. Expose the work to people whose feedback can actually make it better. Don’t isolate yourself, and enjoy the process!

Networking can feel intimidating when you’re starting out in electronic music. What has helped you build genuine relationships and community throughout your career?

Don’t think of networking as meeting important people. Build relationships around shared interests, curiosity and doing things together. My experience is that the best connections often happen very humanly and through people who champion each other.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Lately, I’ve been returning to some records I have at home: Susumu Yokota’s Acid Mt. Fuji and Muslimgauze’s work. What I love about both is the way they create a very specific sense of space and time through sound. I’ve always been drawn to music that can do that.

What are three things you can’t live without in your bag when you’re touring?

My noise-cancelling headphones because I like to be in my own bubble, my favourite comfy T-shirt to feel at home anywhere, and my Kobo reader with a huge collection of fiction and non-fiction.

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Sara Dziri ‘Sacred Dissorientations’ Out Now

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Iranian-British Duo From the Lips to the Moon on Bringing Their Live Project to Their Self-Titled Debut Album

Photo by Josh Snaps

Iranian-British artists Pouya Ehsaei and Tara Fatehi have developed From the Lips to the Moon as a live meeting point between music, spoken word, poetry, performance and visual art. The project began with a series of nights at London’s Reference Point in 2022 and has since travelled to venues including Café OTO, the Southbank Centre, the V&A, Vinyl Factory and Grand Junction, as well as cities including Berlin, Cologne, Mexico City, Tijuana and Nice.

Its self-titled debut album brings together material shaped through more than 25 live shows. Across 12 tracks, Ehsaei and Fatehi are joined by musicians and spoken-word artists including Tamar Osborn, Kareem Dayes, Yelfris Valdes, Koroleko Moussa, Hammadi Valdes, Tim Etchells, Nisha Ramayya, MA.MOYO, Maureen Onwunali and Oluwaseun Olayiwola. Each track captures a different combination of voices and instruments, moving between electronics, poetry, raw vocal performances and acoustic textures.

Recorded live aboard Lightship 95, a studio on the Thames, the album retains the working method at the centre of the project. Musicians and poets responded to one another in real time, allowing improvisation and unexpected exchanges to shape the recordings. Ehsaei then rearranged, produced and mixed the material, condensing these performances into shorter pieces without removing the immediacy of the original encounters.

The album also draws inspiration from the long relationship between poetry and music across the Iranian Plateau, including the traditions of travelling storytellers and musicians. Rather than recreating a single live show, it documents how From the Lips to the Moon has changed across four years of performances, collaborations and conversations.

After several years of evolving as a live project, From the Lips to the Moon has finally taken the form of a debut album. What did the album allow you to express that couldn’t exist within the live performances?

The album allowed us to gather snapshots of some of the ephemeral moments of our live shows. We’ve had many voices and instruments in our live shows, and the album is an attempt to document at least some of them. Of course, we also wanted those further afield to experience From the Lips to the Moon.

During the production process, we tried to preserve the spontaneous connection between the artists alongside precision in the recording, editing and mixing.

The album brings together a remarkable range of musicians, poets and performers, yet it never feels fragmented. How did you approach weaving so many different voices into something that still feels like a singular artistic statement?

We led the album with the energy, atmosphere and tingling vibrations of our live shows—from the curation of the artists to the months-long mixing process. The flow of the album was really important to us. Each track has its own voice while also contributing to a larger whole. The album is a stream of sounds and half-stories that takes the listener to different places, highlighting the significance of all the little moments and details.

You chose to record at Lightship 95, preserving the spontaneity of musicians and spoken-word artists responding to one another in real time. Why was it important for the album to retain that sense of risk and immediacy?

This is how we make art: risky and immediate. It gives us the freedom to be current, urgent and responsive to what is happening inside us, around us and in the world.

Photo by Josh Snaps

If there’s one idea or feeling you hope stays with listeners after the album ends, what would you like it to be?

That many voices from different backgrounds can come together and create something unique when they are given the freedom to express themselves in a responsive environment. We’d like listeners to feel the rage, sadness, excitement, tenderness, confusion and brutality of our lived experiences—with a smile.

The result is exciting, even though you can’t quite pin it down. You’ve built From the Lips to the Moon into a community as much as a performance project. What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about finding the right creative collaborators?

We’ve spent years working across music, performance and writing, and have built our community year by year. It takes time. The right collaborators are those who are excited about the work, contribute generously, tell us afterwards what they discovered through the show, and elevate our work while being elevated by it.

For artists starting out, there’s often pressure to network constantly. In your experience, what’s a more meaningful way of building lasting creative relationships?

For us, networking can never be forced. We look for genuine connections with our peers. Our emotional bond with another person matters more than what they can do for us. This creates long-lasting relationships that won’t feel hollow when we don’t “need” each other.

Photo by Jemima Yong

What advice would you give to emerging artists who feel their work doesn’t fit neatly into one scene or genre?

Things that fit in are often boring. Don’t compare yourself to others. Free yourself from conventional ideas of what a successful career looks like, let your intuition take over and trust that your authenticity will be appreciated by those who matter. The only way to establish a new genre is to keep doing it—and doing it well.

Beyond music, what’s been inspiring you lately?

It could be a book, film, exhibition, place or even a conversation that has stayed with you.

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From The Lips To the Moon

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Fragment A on SOS COLOMBIA and Supporting Experimental Music From Abya Yala and Latin America

Fragment A Team: Hagamos Ruido (artist and co-director), Lliure Hilla (production and booking) and Efe Ce Ele (artist, founder and co-director). | Photo by Camila Goa

Founded in 2018, Fragment A is an Abya Yalan platform and record label based in Barcelona. Originally created to compile work by artists participating in the Estéticas Expandidas International Festival in Pasto, Colombia, it has grown into a platform that publishes and supports experimental Latin American sound from an intersectional and decolonial perspective.

The Ballantine’s True Music Fund alumni Fragment A have joined forces with En Tiempo Real and Mala Sangre to release SOS COLOMBIA, a fundraising compilation supporting communities affected by the recent earthquake in Colombia.

The release brings together 56 artists from around the world across 58 tracks, spanning acoustic music, rock, soundscapes, club-focused electronic music and rhythmic experimentation.

Fragment A has become an important platform for experimental electronic music and transdisciplinary arts from Abya Yala. What inspired you to create it, and what gap were you hoping to fill?

We feel that Fragment A's mission has evolved over the last few years. From the beginning, we have tried to bring visibility to Abya Yala's experimental sounds internationally, while building a network of collectives, venues, events, and individuals across the continent to support one another through an intersectional lens.

However, after the pandemic, Fragment A relocated to Barcelona with its current directors. Here, we experienced firsthand how the Abya Yala diaspora remains on the margins—not only socially, but also regarding access to music production and performance spaces.

While we preserve our founding purpose of bringing global attention to Abya Yala's music, we are now focusing on creating opportunities for the diaspora, particularly for our migrant queer peers who are constantly striving for a place in this industry. We are currently focusing on education and exhibition, recognizing that visibility alone isn't enough; one of the biggest challenges for our migrant community is gaining access to the resources needed to learn, develop their creative potential, and produce music at a professional level.

For someone discovering Fragment A for the first time, which release would you recommend they start with, and why?

It’s difficult to single out just one. One of the defining characteristics of Fragment A is that the music we release is very diverse. We don’t define ourselves by a specific genre or style, but rather by the questions we ask about what electronic music is and what happens when it is produced by artists from the southern regions of Abya Yala.

For that reason, we recommend listening to TMF x Fragment A, a compilation featuring tracks from each of our albums. It offers a great overview of the diversity and range of our catalog.

Xyamm Angel - Showcase TMF Fragment A 2026 | Photo by Frank Tinjaca

Fragment A approaches music through an intersectional and decolonial perspective. How does that philosophy shape the artists you work with and the stories you want to tell?

First, I think it’s important to acknowledge that keeping this perspective in a coherent way is our biggest challenge. We are constantly questioning ourselves, especially because curating a platform inherently involves inclusion, but inevitably exclusion as well. Because of this, we continuously review our reasoning behind why we choose—or don't choose—an artist for a release.

For instance, in VAs and collective events, we aim for a minimum of 60% women (cis/trans) and non-binary artists. Within the remaining 40%, we ensure that at least 20% are queer male artists, leaving very few spots for cis men—and when we do include cis men, we prioritize racialized individuals. Our roster consists exclusively of artists from Abya Yala or the diaspora, and when we partner with other platforms, we actively seek out collectives that work with artists from the Global South and/or the queer community.

Of course, we cannot always hit these exact numbers, but they serve as our active guideline. Ultimately, we are far more committed to supporting artists within these communities—even if they aren't 'professional' (a term we don't particularly align with)—than to chasing quick recognition through 'famous' names. We know our role is to create space for artists who haven't yet had the access or opportunities to gain the visibility they genuinely deserve.

gugol maps - Showcase TMF Fragment A 2026 | Photo by Frank Tinjaca

XIWIRE - Showcase TMF Fragment A 2026 | Photo by Frank Tinjaca

Fragment A has worked with nearly 100 artists from across Latin America. What have you learned about running an independent record label that you wish more emerging founders and artists understood?

On one hand, we believe it is important to professionalize the way we work. Fragment A is a label that seeks to move away from the logic of mainstream platforms and production systems that exploit music workers. At the same time, we’ve learned that professionalism, at its core, is deeply rooted in mutual respect. The relationship between a platform and its artists must be reciprocal—working with methodologies that allow for a fluid, clear, and fair process helps prevent conflicts before they start.

One of the key things that defines us is that we work with people from very different backgrounds. For this reason, it is essential for us to understand and respect each person’s individuality and lived experiences. We recognize that every artist has different needs, but as a label, we also have expectations—such as respecting deadlines, maintaining clear communication, and putting agreements in writing.

Ultimately, we've learned that the level of resources or the scale of a project isn't what matters most. What truly matters is absolute transparency with every single person we work with. For us, professionalism isn't about reproducing mainstream industry structures; it’s about building honest, fair, and sustainable relationships that honor everyone involved.

You were part of the 2025 shesaid.so x Ballantine's True Music Fund. How did that support help bring this latest chapter of Fragment A to life?

The True Music Fund helped us tremendously in fulfilling our dream of truly accompanying the artists we worked with throughout 2025 and early 2026. We created a mentorship and support program for seven artists—including ourselves—to work intensively on producing and releasing an album (EP or LP).

Beyond the material resources, having the guidance and mentorship of shesaid.so and Engalanan was an incredibly gratifying experience. Being able to share our process with total transparency, explore potential solutions, and gain fresh, external perspectives encouraged us to keep pushing forward while thoughtfully evaluating new directions in a very careful, generous environment. It is truly a privilege to have that kind of support.

One of the hardest parts of staying aligned with our mission is that the industry rarely provides the material resources needed to support us (migrant, racialized, and queer artists from Abya Yala). As a result, we—and most independent collectives—end up working ad honorem most of the time. Having a portion of our material costs covered allowed us to dedicate the time these projects truly required, ensure fair compensation for collaborators, and, above all, execute the initiative without the usual precarity we so often face.

Camila Rizzo - Showcase TMF Fragment A 2026 | Photo by Frank Tinjaca

After presenting the releases live earlier this year, you've taken some time to pause and reflect. What have you learned from this chapter of Fragment A, and how is it shaping what comes next?

One of the main things we have learned is where we want to take the project at this stage. During this period of reflection, we realized that certain paths set by the mainstream "industry" are simply not the ones we want to replicate. That definition of "industry" often includes practices that just don't align with our values. Because of this, we need to prioritize creating our own models—understanding what tools to take from existing systems, and where we truly need to build new alternatives, interests, and possibilities.

On a practical level, we would love to secure a physical space where we can work, set up a studio, and access the resources needed to produce music under the best possible conditions. We have also been thinking a lot about building sustainable financing methods without selling out to major brands, turning ourselves into stress-generating machines, or reproducing economic models where resources always flow in the same direction. Instead, we want to cultivate economies where resources are distributed as equitably as possible.

Beyond releasing music, one of our major goals is to create a school where people can access knowledge related to cultural production in a democratic way, always informed by our worldview and political perspective. To make this possible, we felt it was time to step away from organizing regular events and focus instead on producing showcases and one festival per year, shaped by our own approach to the contexts and conditions in which live music is presented and shared.

Ultimately, what we are learning is how to build a project that is genuinely aligned with our way of making culture—one in which resources are not always funnelled toward the same people, places, or structures, and where dissident sounds from southern Abya Yala are heard everywhere.

Maia Basso (Artist) - Showcase TMF Fragment A 2026 | Photo by Frank Tinjaca

Can you tell us anything about what you're working on in the near future, or share any news about upcoming releases or future projects?

We have a lot of ideas! But the most concrete projects for the near future are two:

First, after the wonderful two-day showcase we hosted for the TMF releases, we decided it was time to bring back the festival we organized three years ago. We already have the dates set for the next edition: March 12 and 13, 2027, in Barcelona. We are extremely excited because we are planning some beautiful collaborations for this edition that will make it truly special. We can't reveal too much just yet, but stay tuned for upcoming announcements!

Secondly, as we mentioned before, we are working on a project that requires a bit more development and pre-production: the "Escuelita de Producción Migra." This initiative aims to provide free classes and resources in music production, composition, and technical skill development for migrants in Europe. We are currently in the funding phase, but we are confident that we will bring it to life next year.

Beyond that, we are always releasing music! While we slowed down a bit after delivering the seven TMF albums, we are now working on the debut release of Vieja Loka, a fantastic non-binary artist from Argentina. We are currently in the mixing and mastering stage, targeting a release in November, starting with a few singles before dropping the full EP.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone looking to build a community-led platform or independent label that champions underrepresented artists?

We should never forget something very important: a community is built around the common good. 

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SOS COLOMBIA - VV.AA

Initiative & Organizers: En Tiempo Real x Mala Sangre x Fragment A

All proceeds from Bandcamp downloads will go directly to local communities, families and grassroots organisations supporting reconstruction, community healthcare and food aid.

* Listen & Buy Link

Participating Artists (56): Aeonfelit, ágata, anímala, Arekipe, B4MBA, Blue Rojo, Carlos Vázquez, Carolina Morales Vallejo (with María Teresa Ramírez Nieva), Carolina Segura, Cátodo, Comusik, Diego Quintus, DJ GÄP, Eisebelle, ESE, Evelyn Vega, GENOSIDRA, Hagamos Ruido, Inés Terra, Jennitza, Jetpacc, Jorge Haro, JRM, Killer Estralandia, Kinda, La Bregadera, La Mujer Cabra, Lozk, Maia Koenig, MENJURJE, Mizu, Mookie, Mórbido, Mutant Thoughts, Natalia Trujillo, Natasha 95, ODDSKIN, Oksana Linde, Palos Que Se Fueron, Piaka Roela, Quizas Dúo, REI TIER, Rosa Nolly, Sara No Sonarás, Sara Persico, SERINADE, STILL, Tania Tovar, TEMNITSA, Titi Calor, Valle de Pantanos, Violeta Genciana, Vladimir Giraldo, Vlahebo, xyae, Zoitsa Noriega & Federico Demmer.

Fragment A on Instagram | Bandcamp

NAFS نَفْس Founder Drew Demetry on Building Community and Supporting Queer SWANA Creatives

Founded in 2019, NAFS نَفْس is a London-based platform dedicated to celebrating and uplifting Queer SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) creatives.

Created in response to a need for more authentic representation within the creative industries, NAFS curates exhibitions, workshops and cultural events where members of the community can connect, express themselves and advocate for change.

Bringing together joy, resistance and empowerment, NAFS is committed to ensuring that Queer SWANA artists are supported and valued.

NAFS Collective was created out of a need for more authentic representation of Queer SWANA creatives. What was missing from London’s cultural and creative spaces when you started?

I never saw anything that was really for our community. I couldn’t be Queer in SWANA spaces, and I couldn’t be SWANA in white spaces. I was constantly having to choose which part of myself I was allowed to bring into a room.

Growing up in Copenhagen, I would often go to Nigerian or Latinx clubs because they were the closest thing I had to finding that feeling of community. There was something about being around other people of colour, hearing music that wasn’t necessarily mine but still felt familiar, and being in spaces that understood something about what it meant to exist outside of whiteness.

We were always being asked to fight our way into other people’s cultures, without being given the opportunity to explore and celebrate our own. There was also a lot of internalised Arabphobia within our own communities, as if everyone was wearing a costume of another identity before their own.

NAFS came from wanting to change that. I wanted us to have a space where we didn’t have to choose between our queerness and our SWANA identity. Where we could exist as our whole selves.

Supporting artists is an important part of NAFS Collective’s mission. Beyond giving someone a platform, what does meaningful support for Queer SWANA creatives look like to you?

I believe we need a strong financial ecosystem around creativity. Music, art, fashion, performance, these things are not luxuries. Humans need the arts to survive, to be inspired, to enjoy, to connect and to share.

But with cuts across the arts, it is becoming increasingly difficult for creatives to focus solely on their craft. There is very little support from governments and established institutions, which means artists are increasingly expected to rely on their audiences to fund their work through ticket sales, merchandise and donations.

Even at NAFS, we make a point of paying our creatives fairly and ensuring that the venues and spaces we work with are also paid properly (when we have budget). That often leaves us with very little, but it is something I refuse to compromise on. We need to prioritise talent. The last thing I want is for someone to stop making art because they can’t afford to continue.

It has been done before, and we can do it again. Rather than spending £300 to see Beyoncé or £45 on a rave, support your community. Buy the £20 ticket. Buy the book. Buy the artwork. Buy a damn t-shirt. Pay the artist.

For creatives discovering NAFS Collective for the first time, how can they get involved with the community or share their work with you?

Reach out to us. You can always message us on Instagram or email us directly. We are always interested in discovering new people, new ideas and new work.

What have you learned through building NAFS that you wish you’d known when you started?

I’ve learned a lot about the different stages of healing within our community. Not everyone is in the same place, and there is still a lot of work to be done. We are still confronting transphobia, internalised homophobia, misogyny, internalised racism and classism.

As much as I love creating events that bring people together through dance, music and celebration, I genuinely love our workshops and symposiums where the difficult conversations happen.

We can talk honestly, without judgement, while still challenging each other and holding each other accountable, but doing so softly. That balance is really important to me. There are still things I am learning and unlearning. 

What are you working towards with NAFS Collective now?

We need a space, but not just for NAFS.

I’ve been speaking with a number of other POC queer collectives about creating a community centre together. Something that could include a coffee shop, restaurant, bookshop, clothing shop, bar, club, artist studios and more.

The idea is to create a financial ecosystem that gives our community jobs while allowing people to bring their own talents to the table. We can buy directly from our creatives, support each other financially and keep money circulating within the community.

As much as I hate capitalism, it is real,  and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So we have to become smarter about how we operate within it. We need to really challenge ourselves about where our money is going and who benefits from it.

Queerness, or being a person of colour, shouldn’t be celebrated once a month. Our skills, our businesses, our creativity and who we are should be celebrated,  and supported, all year round.

A lot of emerging creatives struggle to find spaces where they feel represented or understood. What would you suggest to someone who hasn’t found that community yet?

Your community is out there, but you have to look for it.

You won’t find your people sitting at home. You have to actively seek them out. Go to events. If you’re too scared to show up alone, bring a friend, allies are welcome too. Or reach out to the collective you want to join. More often than not, they will happily welcome you and find someone to meet you when you arrive.

You have to take the first step.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to create an independent cultural platform for their own community but doesn’t know where to begin?

I didn’t know where to begin either. I just did it.

But you also have to understand why you want to do it. Is it for yourself, or is it genuinely for your community?

I’ve been writing and speaking a lot about community lately, and I see people using the word to extract from others, building businesses that exploit their own people under the language of identity and representation. To me, that isn’t community.

When you start something like this, you quickly become the figurehead. You become everyone’s therapist. You help people find jobs, sometimes house them, connect them to resources, and do whatever you can to help them thrive, all while trying to maintain your own life and needs.

But community also means that everyone has a voice. Everyone’s opinion should be just as valid as the founder’s.

One thing I wish I had done differently is starting NAFS with other people. Sharing the stress, workload and financial burden would have made a huge difference. I think there is something important in remembering that a community platform shouldn’t depend entirely on one person.

What have you learned about creating spaces where people feel comfortable participating and expressing themselves?

I’ve realised how much I needed this growing up.

A part of me heals every time I see how many people show up to our events. And my heart flutters when I hear that people have met their partners, made friends or found their people through NAFS.

That is the real success for me. It’s not just about putting on an event. It’s about creating the conditions for people to find each other.

What have you been listening to at the moment?

I’ve been revisiting the old ’90s R&B albums I loved growing up, Brandy, Toni Braxton, Mariah, Whitney, Common, Boyz II Men, Eternal, SWV, mixed with a little pop, house and, I have to admit, I’m going through a bit of a K-pop moment.

I’m also constantly listening to DJ sets to discover new talent, so through NAFS I listen to a lot of techno and experimental music mixed with SWANA sounds.

And as an emotional Pisces, my mood changes, so my music choices change too. One day I’ll be completely immersed in Chet Baker and jazz; the next I’ll have a sudden urge to listen to Slipknot.

I think it’s important to be nuanced. We contain multitudes, and our cultural identities shouldn’t dictate a single soundtrack.

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Drew Farid Demetry on Instagram | NAFS Website & Instagram

From Providing Vocals for P!NK & Little Simz to 6M+ Streams: OURAA on the Reality of Going DIY

South-East London artist OURAA has been building a career across songwriting, vocal work and her own artist project since launching in 2016.

With over 45,000 monthly Spotify listeners, a feature on Nines’ Crop Circle 3 that has surpassed 6 million streams, and vocal credits alongside Demi Lovato, The 1975, Little Simz and Ella Eyre, her work has already reached well beyond her own releases. She has also performed at The Great Escape and Glastonbury, while earning support from the likes of COLORS, Wordplay Magazine and Noctis.

Now moving further into the pop and dance space, OURAA returns with In The Kitchen, a high-energy house track about the less visible realities of building a career independently. Using the kitchen as a metaphor for the creative process, the track explores working multiple jobs, funding your own ambitions and continuing to make music when the bigger picture is still difficult to see.

Following BABA and 3am, In The Kitchen finds OURAA reflecting on ambition, resilience and the importance of backing yourself before anyone else sees the vision. In this conversation, she talks about the story behind the new single, what working with established artists has taught her about collaboration, finding confidence in her own creative direction, and learning to step away and reset when the music isn't flowing.

What’s the story behind your new single In The Kitchen? 

It can get really draining when you feel like you’re making great music but you feel like it’s not being heard. The importance of trusting their vision is so key, even when the path isn’t clear.

“In The Kitchen” is about staying committed to your craft, making the most of what you have, be it small or plentiful and continuing to build something meaningful despite challenges, setbacks or limited resources. I want the song to remind people that success rarely happens overnight. Sometimes you’re just in the kitchen putting the work in, and that’s where the magic happens.

If In The Kitchen belonged on a playlist, what other three tracks would be on it to complete the mood?

I’d start with “Uncomfortable” by Jayda G because sometimes, in the middle of everything, it can feel super uncomfortable putting yourself out there, promoting your music, asking people to listen and wanting feedback.

Then I’d go into “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera and Jazzy. Somedays I really do want to sail away when things get hard, but then I “keep it moving on” because I genuinely don’t see myself doing anything else. I love creating, I love performing and this is it for me, which I’m really grateful for.

Then we have “In The Kitchen”, which ties into the details and reasoning I shared in question 1. It represents the reality of being an independent artist, working, creating and constantly finding ways to keep things moving.

Finally, I’d resolve with “Waste My Time” by Jsilos and Corey Cali. For me, it’s a reminder not to waste time worrying or overthinking and to just do the thing. Sometimes you have to stop delaying your creativity and trust yourself enough to go for it.

Alongside your own music, you’ve provided vocals for artists including P!NK, Demi Lovato, The 1975, Little Simz and Ella Eyre. What has working with other artists taught you that you’ve brought into your own project? 

Working with other artists has taught me the value of collaboration and, more importantly, to be more open to co-writing. It’s something I didn’t really allow myself to explore before.

I’ve realised how creatively freeing it can be to have someone else bring a completely different perspective to a song and take it in a direction I never imagined. It’s made me much more open to trusting the process and seeing where a song can go when you create with other people.

What advice would you give to an artist who has a clear vision but is finding it difficult to get other people to believe in it yet?

You have to believe in your craft. If you don’t believe in what you’re creating, how can you expect anyone else to believe in it? And if you’re struggling to believe in yourself or your vision, take some time to really ask yourself why. Sit with it, work through it and find a way to get yourself out of that funk. You can’t always wait for other people to validate what you’re doing. You have to be the first person to back yourself.

What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about making music?

One of my favourite things about making music is creating a really catchy hook and instantly being able to hear how fun it’s going to be live. I always try to write something that I can imagine an audience singing back to me. There’s something so special about creating a moment in a song that people can connect with and then getting to experience that moment together in a room.

When you’re having a difficult or unproductive day creatively, what helps you reset?

When I’m having one of those days, I put it in God’s hands and let Him sort the rest out. I’m in a season where I’m really trying not to let anxiety be my conclusion because, honestly, it’s never helped me in the past, it’s only made things worse. Instead, I pray about it, take a moment, do something completely different and come back to it another time.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to finish it that day, and that’s absolutely fine. Sometimes you just have to give yourself permission to step away and trust that you’ll come back to it when the time is right.

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OURAA Spotify | Instagram

Mastering Engineer Izzy McPhee on Preparing Music for Release and Building a Career in Audio

Bristol-based mastering engineer Izzy McPhee has built her career around understanding how a track should sound and, just as importantly, how it should feel. Growing up surrounded by a wide mix of musical genres, she developed a strong ear for music that was later shaped by more than ten years of DJing and critical listening.

Over the past four years, Izzy has accrued more than 700 mastering credits, working across a broad range of genres with artists including Walt Disco, Dream Wife and Newton Faulkner. Her work has also earned recognition from the Music Producers Guild and Arts Council England, which identified her as an emerging talent in mastering.

Alongside her studio work, Izzy is a passionate advocate for greater diversity, equality and inclusion across the music industry.

For anyone who might not fully understand what a mastering engineer does, how would you describe your role and where mastering fits into the process of releasing music?

Mastering is the final step in music production — polishing a song sonically so it sounds great on any speaker, and technically so it's ready for release, whether that's streaming, CD, or vinyl. I break the process into three steps.

Step One: Quality Check — I critically listen to the track in my studio, checking for issues like unwanted distortion, dropouts, or other anomalies, while getting a feel for what the track needs to really shine.

Step Two: Audio Processing — I handle essential repairs like de-clicking or cleaning up noise in the intro/outro, then apply EQ, stereo enhancement, and limiting to give the mix a finished sound and a volume level that holds up against other tracks in its genre.

Step Three: Creating Formats — Once you're happy with the masters, I prepare the final files for distribution, complete with the right metadata — whether that's digital WAV files for streaming platforms, vinyl sides for pressing, or a DDP file for CD manufacturing.

Mastering brings a fresh, objective perspective to music you may have spent weeks, months, or even years creating. I have actively listened to thousands of songs, I've developed an ear for exactly what a track needs to get it over the finish line. That comes with a deep understanding of different genres and how listeners actually experience them, so your song sounds great whether it's coming through AirPods, a car stereo, or a big PA system at a live show. Just as important is understanding your vision as an artist — whether you want the track delicate or in-your-face, crystal clean or grungy — and making sure that comes through in how I approach the master.

You’ve now worked on hundreds of tracks across different genres. What do you listen for first when a track comes to you for mastering?

First of all, I’m checking if the track is in a position where I can technically proceed with mastering. Are any of the instrument stems missing? Is the audio cut off 3 seconds early? Is the track high resolution? It’s my job to flag and rectify it before I continue.

Then, I’m listening for anything that helps me understand the context of the track and how it will be consumed by the average listener. For example, what genre does this track sit in? Will it most likely be listened to on a phone speaker, or a club sound system? I need to take all of this into account when mastering so I can ensure the track translates well across the board. I will often use reference tracks provided by the artist, or ones that sit in similar genres to help me map out the approach I want to take in mastering.

Then I focus on things that help me understand the artist’s vision. This can include the feeling it evokes, the pace, the key, the instrumentation, the lyrics. What does the artist, producer and mix engineer want to really sparkle in this track? What can I do to make that happen?

What’s your favourite part of being a mastering engineer, and what’s your least favourite part?

I love that each day can look completely different! As I could be working on electronic club music in the morning, country in the afternoon and film score in the evening. Traditionally, mastering engineers don’t specialise in one genre, we get to work on lots of different ones. This suits me as I enjoy a really wide breadth of music, and that’s what I get to enjoy in my working day.

My least favourite part is staying on top of archiving and backing up files. The nature of working on potentially 8 different tracks a day with 8 different clients, means 8 different projects and lots of files that need to be correctly stored, in multiple places. After a certain amount of time, they get moved to an offline hard-drive. It’s not the glamorous part of the job, but super important! It’s a part I’m happy to do as I am very grateful to work on amazing music everyday.

Networking can feel quite intimidating when you’re new to the music industry. What’s one networking tip that has genuinely helped you?

As an introverted person, this part of the job was very scary at first. I’ve been lucky enough to have a fantastic manager, Brendon Harding, who has shown me that networking can actually be a way to forge wonderful, long-lasting professional relationships in an authentic way that doesn't always have to feel transactional. By showing up and supporting your friends and colleagues in their ventures, being in the room and being authentic in what you put out, it allows you to build relationships with good people that you align with.

One tip that has really helped me, is to have a ‘networking buddy’. Someone who is in a similar field to you, at a similar point in their career and who could also benefit from meeting new people too. Aim to attend events together, and then you can bounce and riff off each other. In my experience, it makes networking way less scary!

For someone interested in mastering but with little or no professional experience, what would you suggest they start doing now to develop their ears and skills?

Critical listening! This is still something I practice even after working in mastering for 4 years. But at the start when I was still finding my feet, I spent hours listening to music, especially on the speakers and headphones I was mastering on at the time. I didn’t start with top of the range audio equipment, but I knew it really well and knew exactly how music should sound on my setup. I challenged myself to listen to as much current and popular music as I could, but also genres that I wouldn’t normally reach for.

I would then turn on my ‘critical ear’, so listening for production choices, mood, pace, key, dynamics. How did all of these elements make the song what it is? As I have been a DJ for over 10 years, dissecting music in this way already came naturally to me, so I just continued to develop this skill.

You’ve already built up more than 500 mastering credits. What do you think helped you turn those early opportunities into consistent work?

Always being open to improving and continuously learning how to be a better mastering engineer, which has meant I have been able to grow with clients that were with me from the start.

But also, a big part of the service I offer is being a good communicator. I have a lot of important info clearly laid out in PDFs so people know exactly what I offer and what I need from them for us to work together. I also strive to make sure the artist, producer or mix engineer always have a direct line of contact to me if they want it, and that they feel they can ask questions and give feedback. One round of revisions is included in the initial cost, and I am always happy to do this in order to get it right.

Basically, being part of the team! Being on their side, working to get the music to it’s full potential, whilst being empathetic to every process, hour and decision that has already happened before the track makes it to me.

What’s one mistake you see artists or producers make when preparing a track for mastering, and what should they do instead?

It’s always worth checking in with your mastering engineer how they want a pre-master to be delivered. We are often fast-approaching a deadline when we get to the mastering stage, so ensuring your pre-master is to the specification your mastering engineer needs, can avoid wasted time rectifying the issue.

Often people put a few plug-ins on their master bus, such as a compressor. I always ask people to export their pre-master with anything contributing to the ‘vibe’ of the track ON, and anything contributing to loudness (so basically just a final limiter) OFF. The reason for this is, compression, saturation or even clipping on the master-bus has contributed to the sonic character of the track, and this is what the artist, producer etc. has therefore approved. By leaving the limiter off, it allows me headroom and the ability to get the track to a competitive volume that I deem right as the mastering engineer.

It can be helpful to deliver a ‘loud reference’ or ‘listening copy’ along with your pre-master. This is a version with the limiter on too, so I know what sort of level you’re aiming for.

What’s your best piece of advice for a young person trying to build a career in music or audio right now.

Spend time absorbing as much music as you can, and be open-minded to genres and styles you might not naturally reach for. You don’t have to have thousands of pounds worth of equipment to get started, training your ear is something you can start doing now for pretty much free! There is a great website called Tone Gym, which offers free ear training games too. All of this is honing your critical listening skills and your breadth of musical knowledge. 

Also, always prioritise being a good person and showing up in a way that feels authentic to you, forge meaningful connections and get involved in musical communities that make space for you. When I connect with people in these spaces, I often feel way more comfortable to ask questions and speak up.

For example, I’m very passionate about gender equality in music so I always seek out spaces, platforms and organisations that centre this - like shesaid.so!

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Izzy McPhee on Instagram | Website

ZAINAB on Canal View, Her Debut EP for Ninja Tune’s Technicolour, and Bringing Lahore and New York Together

ZAINAB photo by Enmi Yang

ZAINAB is a Brooklyn-based DJ, producer, curator and event producer whose work brings together club music with sounds rooted in South Asia and the wider Global South. Previously known as ZEEMUFFIN, she built her reputation in New York’s club scene before turning towards original production, with sets and performances spanning Coachella, Glastonbury, Boiler Room and Dialled In.

Her debut EP, Canal View, released on 14 August via Ninja Tune’s Technicolour imprint, takes its name from the Lahore neighbourhood where she was born and raised. Across six tracks, ZAINAB connects the musical worlds of Lahore and New York, drawing on South Asian and Arab sounds alongside house and dance music. The record includes the Urdu-language “Jadoo”, “Her Eyes”, built around a sample of Libyan-Egyptian artist Hamid Al Shaeri, and “Banglahore”, her collaboration with British-Bengali producer and rapper Surya Sen.

That exchange between place, culture and music also informs Azadi, ZAINAB’s party series and future label — its name meaning “freedom” in Urdu — through which she creates spaces centred on community and cultural exchange.

Your debut EP Canal View brings together Lahore and New York, two places that have shaped you in very different ways. What’s the story behind the EP, and what did you want it to say about who you are as an artist right now?

Canal View EP artwork

The EP is named after the neighborhood I grew up in, Lahore, before immigrating to New York.  In many ways, it’s an homage to the two cities that shaped me as an artist. Both cities are beautifully chaotic, messy, and multi-layered in their energy, much like the music on this project. Being exposed to the music of both cities was such a privilege because I learned about cultures from around the world while also staying connected to my roots. 

When I started to work on the EP, it was not necessarily an intentional choice to bring in rhythmic or percussive elements from my Pakistani heritage; it just came out of me during the process. The result, I think, is very reflective of music that has influenced me both from the South Asian and Arab world, which were the sounds of my youth- to my early days as a DJ here in New York City that evolved out of being a kid who grew up in the punk, indie hip hop scene, eventually finding my way into dance music. 

“Banglahore” brings together your Pakistani heritage with Surya Sen’s Bangladeshi heritage, while also acknowledging the difficult history between the two countries. What did making that track together mean to you personally?

I've been a fan of Surya Sen for so long and knew I wanted to work with him on a track. I was lucky that it ended up being on my debut project. We both performed at the Arrivals stage at Glastonbury in 2024 and stayed in touch after that.  The original beat for the song was just an instrumental, and I sent it to him over a DM, and he went absolutely mad over it.  I don't think it took him more than a week to send me back one of the best verses ever. I was literally jumping up and down in my studio chair when I heard it.

He actually made up the word “Banglahore”  in the middle of his verse. I thought that it was brilliant and really represented the coming together of both of our countries, which have a very contentious history due to the Pakistani genocide against Bangladeshis in the 70s. I knew in that moment that the song meant more than just a collaboration between two artists. By no means did we bury the entire history of our two nations with a song, but I think our collaboration shows that while our governments may separate and divide us, we are all from the same land and can create magic, as well as heal old wounds, when we work together. 

For emerging artists who are still figuring out what they want to sound like, what helped you develop confidence in your own musical identity? What advice would you give to someone still trying to find their sound?

ZAINAB photo by Enmi Yang

I think my musical identity is not fixed and is still evolving - to me, that's the best part of making music and being an artist: you can evolve as you grow and collect life experiences. Some of the best artists that I look up to have all had eras and evolved their sound as they grew.

My next project will probably sound nothing like this one, and that is the exciting part of building your musical identity. As someone who comes to production from a DJing background where I have never stuck to one specific sound, I think that is my unique superpower: I am not bound by genres or labels, and therefore I don’t get into the studio telling myself “I’m going to make x genre”.

My advice to someone trying to find their sound is simply to live your life. There's a lot of conversations online these days about “ finding your personal style”  and I think that conversation is reflective of finding your sound in music as well -  it's not something you consciously do; it's something you develop from living life and then processing those experiences into a work of art: whatever your medium might be.

Get clear on who your Inspirations are, go see artists you've never heard of perform live, and most importantly, put in the reps in the studio. You can only know what your musical style is by throwing darts at the board and seeing what you like and don't like. That’s the unsexy part, but it’s the most important.

You’ve gone from building your community in New York to playing Coachella and now supporting Channel Tres across North America. What have you learned about creating opportunities for yourself rather than waiting for them to come to you?

The fact is, if you don't advocate for yourself and continuously put yourself out there, nobody is going to hand you opportunities.  I think one of my strongest qualities is that I'm incredibly persistent and know how to pick myself up after failing over and over again.

It's really easy to blame the industry for things that go wrong, and there's definitely some validity in that, but I realized a while ago if you continue to hold a victim mindset, you're only shooting yourself in the foot and preventing opportunities from coming your way. You constantly have to jump out of your comfort zone and adapt to your environment, especially as a woman of color and a minority in this space; you have to work 10 times as hard to get half the recognition.

What’s your favourite part of making music, and what’s the one part of the process you could happily do without?

My favorite part of making music is collaborating with other artists -  I love the process of bouncing ideas off of another person and seeing where that takes us.  Much like a jam session, I think that's the best way to make music. I especially love sessions where we talk about inspirations and share music that we love for hours before we even get to making music.

I always find the best music that way and learn about things I never knew about. I could happily do without mixing and mastering my own music. That's a skill that I feel like there are a million people who are better at than me, and I'd rather leave it to the experts and focus on the things that I'm better at.

What are you listening to at the moment? Is there an artist or track you’ve had on repeat recently?

Currently, I have the new Strokes album Reality Awaits on repeat. I'm a lifelong Strokes fan and really love how they pushed the boundaries on this album, especially the way Julian Casablancas manipulated his vocals and the lyrical content.

I've also really been loving the new Ecca Vandal album - Looking for people to unfollow. I went to her first-ever show in New York City and saw her perform Ghosts before it came out. I was specifically waiting to hear that song on the album, and it completely lived up to the performance. She's an absolute superstar, and I can't wait to see what she does next, but for now I'm really enjoying immersing myself in this project. 

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Zainab on Instagram | TikTok | Canal View Out Now

Tour Dates: 
Tuesday, September 1  – Dallas, TX – Echo Lounge & Music Hall*
Wednesday, September 2 – Austin, TX – Emo's*
Friday, September 4  – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre*
Saturday, September 5 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground*
Monday, September 7 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
Monday, September 14 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall*
Tuesday, September 15 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre*
Friday, September 18 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic*

* Supporting Channel Tres

shesaid.so Announced as Plugin Boutique's First "Sharing Spotlight" Partner

Plugin Boutique has named shesaid.so as the very first organisation featured in their new Sharing Spotlight initiative.

What is Sharing Spotlight?

Sharing Spotlight is a new initiative from Plugin Boutique designed to highlight and support music-related communities through bundles curated by them and available on the Plugin Boutique storefront. Each Sharing Spotlight features a music-related community and a curated bundle of plugins, and when you buy through the campaign's unique link, a portion of the sale goes straight to that community. It costs you nothing extra, and every purchase directly funds the organisation's work.

Plugin Boutique believes the tools used to make music can do more than inspire creativity: they can help support the communities that make that creativity possible. So whether you’re looking for your next synth, mixing tool, creative effect, or production essential, you can make your purchase go a little further.

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Why shesaid.so?

As Plugin Boutique put it when announcing the partnership, shesaid.so is a global, independent community of women, gender non-conforming people, and allies working across every corner of the music industry, from composition and performance to labels, management, agencies, and tech.

Being chosen to kick off this initiative is a recognition of the work our community does every day: organising events, showcasing artists, running mentorship programmes, and pushing for a more equitable, inclusive music industry. Support through Sharing Spotlight goes directly toward keeping that work going, connecting members with industry professionals, opening doors to opportunities, and helping challenge outdated structures in the industry.

"We are so grateful and honoured to be selected as Plugin Boutique's first Sharing Spotlight organisation. As someone who loves music production, I was thrilled to hand-select the plugins in this bundle myself, pulling together a set of tools I love and think our community will have a lot of fun experimenting and creating with.

Thank you to the team at Plugin Boutique for designing such a thoughtful, intentional initiative to support real change in our industry, and to everyone who purchases the bundle, your belief and support mean the world to shesaid.so and our mission."

- Vix Brand, Community and Operations, shesaid.so

Not a member yet?

Join a global community of over 12,000 changemakers working to make the music industry more equitable for everyone.

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How You Can Get Involved

Here’s how you can support us through this partnership:

1. Use the Sharing Spotlight link to shop the curated bundle or any other product on Plugin Boutique.

2. Complete your purchase as normal (there's no extra cost or added step on your end).

3. shesaid.so receives 15% of the sale, which goes directly toward our mission of supporting women and gender non-conforming people across the music industry.

Whether you're after a new synth, a mixing tool, or your next go-to creative effect, this is a chance to pick up gear you already wanted while directly funding the community work that helps build a more inclusive music industry for everyone.

Shop now and support shesaid.so

Read more about the Sharing Spotlight initiative on Plugin Boutique's blog.

Cultural Strategist Becky Young on Building Artist Programmes, Community and Work at EarthPercent

Becky Young is a cultural strategist, community builder and producer working across music, culture and social impact. She is currently a Programmes & Strategy Consultant at EarthPercent, the environmental charity co-founded by Brian Eno, having previously served as its Head of Operations & Community.

At EarthPercent, Young works across programme development, strategy and artist community-building. Her role has recently shifted as the organisation enters a new phase, with Young helping to pilot a new artist development programme and support the growth of its artist community. As part of a small team, her work also stretches across operations, partnerships and communications, moving between long-term planning and the practical work required to deliver projects.

Her wider career spans grassroots music, festivals, nightlife and community organising. She has produced events for the Association of Independent Festivals, Bootstrap Charity and Mothership Group, and previously founded Anti Diet Riot Club, a body-positive community project that organised workshops, meet-ups and the UK’s first anti-diet festival.

Young’s connection to music also extends beyond her professional work. Growing up in a creative family alongside her younger sisters, singer Lola Young and theatre actor Meimei Young, she was surrounded by music and performance from an early age. She also DJs as Sloppy Spice, playing music rooted in London rave sounds and influenced by underground scenes and queer-led spaces.

Across her work, Becky is particularly interested in supporting women and marginalised people in music to build sustainable careers, stronger communities and greater influence within the industry.

What does a typical day at EarthPercent look like?

My role has just shifted from working as Head of Operations & Community to working part time as a Programmes & Strategy Consultant so days are a little different than usual right now, which I have to say I’m enjoying, as I really like variety. 

Either way, I act as a kind of a bridge between a lot of the different work streams - strategy, designing and delivering our programmes, process building, operations and even comms - so what’s “typical” depends on what is priority at the moment. However, same as my colleagues - we’re a small team! - we all absolutely have to get our hands dirty with tasks of all sizes.

One minute I could be writing and sending partnership agreements, the next having meetings with incredible artists and creatives who want to collaborate, then setting up the space for an industry gathering at Brian Eno AKA our co-founder’s studio. Working at a relatively new charity means getting stuck in and being humble about it!

Right now, EarthPercent is at an exciting moment of change and I’m helping pilot a new artist development programme and resourcing the growth of the artist community we work with. So I spend a lot of time working on the strategy and operational plan for this while trying to make sure I give myself some time to actually THINK and cultivate new ideas, rather than just answering emails which is so time consuming.

EarthPercent is working on some exciting projects with artists and the wider music industry. Are there any current initiatives you'd encourage our community to get involved with or support?

One of the most fascinating and effective initiatives EarthPercent is involved with is Sounds Right (a global multi partner project led by Museum for the United Nations - UN Live) for which we project manage all the music and artist elements of. In short, it launched NATURE as an official streaming artist on all DSPs so that when human artists want to feature the sounds of the natural world they can credit “NATURE” as featured on the track and redirect royalties to the Sounds Right Conservation Fund.

So they can literally use their music to support Indigenous- and community-led conservation of key biodiversity hotspots. It's on track to raise millions each year for nature protection and meanwhile impacting the global conversation about how we value nature.

For someone who wants to work in cultural strategy, community or programming, where would you recommend they start?

Put on your own events! Doesn’t have to be a party, or related to your profession in any way; it could be a panel talk, or a film screening, creative workshop, a meet-up of like minded people. It’s the fastest way to learn how you like to bring people together and how to create/nurture community.

In the work I do with EarthPercent and beyond, you need to know that convening takes many forms and how you build the relationships between yourself and the people who are going to make the programmes and partnerships happen is so, so important. The practical requirements of being in total charge of an event teaches you a lot, so start there. 

You've brought together communities around music, wellbeing and social impact. What's one thing you've learned about creating spaces where people genuinely feel they belong?

"Community" gets thrown around so much in corporate settings it's almost lost its meaning, but I've genuinely seen how powerful real communities are - how they nourish people, spark ideas and collaborations that wouldn’t have happened otherwise and create ripple effects that go way beyond just one person.

For EarthPercent, we’re noticing how in this time of deepening crisis, artists especially are seeking spaces and places that aren’t solely about furthering their career but connecting them with other artists who want to create art in response to the crazy world around us (as good art should!). 

From Anti Diet RIot Club to our Artists 4 Earth community, I’ve learned that one on one relationships are key (whether it's you or other members of the community having space to genuinely connect) and that everyone shows up differently. Some want to sit back, absorb, learn from others before they get involved.

Some want to be heard and contribute from day one. You need to create space for both these types of engagement, knowing that people’s energy and commitment will shift over time anyway. Treating the community as one-size-fits-all is a mistake; a community is a sum of loads of individual people with different needs. 

And honestly, it only works if you resource it properly. Community building takes real time and energy (and maybe funds), if you want it to be genuine and non-extractive!

You're also a DJ. How has spending time on dancefloors shaped the way you think about community and the kinds of spaces you want to create?

Dancefloors were (and still are!) a place of worship; I grew up Atheist and free parties, clubnights, raves, festivals…these were my temples - so much so I even spent my formative years going to DMZ night ‘Mass’ at St Matthews Church in Brixton! They showed me how complete strangers can move, sing, reach euphoric states together without needing much explanation or reason, and that that shared experience is very primal and very human which is why we seek it out.

They also taught me that ritual, awe, rhythm, play and of course music (and good or at least non-offensive lighting) are some of the potent ingredients for feeling connected, feeling belonging. All of this translates into community strategy too! 

Outside of work, what's been inspiring you lately?

The World Cup! I don’t follow or really care about national/league football but I get absolutely struck down with the fever when international tourneys come around (men’s AND women’s of course!). As someone who is obsessed anyway with festivals and bringing people together, it’s impossible not to love it.

I love the theatre of it, the stories of countries and fans crossing paths, the magic on the pitch, the way it interacts/crosses over with international politics, the memories made watching games in someone's garden or local venues/pubs that put show it (shout out the Old Nuns Head that hosted Foundation FMs world cup viewing parties, they were wild!) and the intense energy you feel walking about London before and after an England match. It’s entertainment primarily but also it’s been inspiring to me as I’ve started working on projects that use music and culture to fight divisive and hate-fuelled politics in areas of the UK - there’s was some really thought-provoking stuff happening in and around that tournament. 

What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m currently digging (virtually) and organising my tunes for sets at Boomtown - I’m playing the closing set at an art-punk, vermin-inspired cabaret and club venue called NACHTLICKER and so high-energy, silly vibes are on the menu. So anything from Tony De Vit, to JIALING, Henry King, KiKi, and POLO LILLI - a very wide spectrum of rave sounds basically. 

Also; on the flip side of my music taste… ‘wish you nothing but the worst’ by Jacklyn is a right earworm at the moment. Just released by an independent artist and Brit School friend of Lola’s - it's very dramatic and I can’t get it out of my head. 

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Becky Young on LinkedIn

Anna Caragnano on Her Album Tamburi, Working With Donato Dozzy and Pietro Micioni, and Why Artists Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes

Anna Caragnano is an Italian vocal artist from Taranto whose work spans experimental music, electronic production, film and television. She began her career alongside Maestro Beppe D’Onghia, mentor and longtime conductor for Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla, before gaining international attention through Sintetizzatrice, her collaboration with Donato Dozzy created entirely from recordings of her voice.

A track from the project, Parola, was later selected for a Fendi Spring/Summer campaign and featured in the television series L’Arte della gioia. Since 2022, Caragnano has collaborated with composer David Holmes on the soundtracks for the series The Woman in the Wall and Michael Winterbottom’s film Shoshana. She has also toured across Europe and South America with Mrak of Tale of Us and collaborated with Primal Scream on their album Come Ahead.

Her latest album, Tamburi, released in May 2026 via Nautilus Musica (Donato Dozzy’s new record label), is closely connected to the place where she grew up. The title refers both to drums and to Tamburi, the neighbourhood of Taranto where Caragnano was born. The area has been shaped by the relationship between its Mediterranean surroundings, industrial development, environmental conflict and everyday life, all of which form part of the album’s wider context.

Produced by Donato Dozzy and Pietro Micioni, Tamburi combines electronic production with traditional instruments from southern Italy, including zampogna, organetto, udu and percussion. Caragnano also uses dialect, breath, chants, syllables and melodic fragments across the record, continuing her exploration of the voice as a musical instrument. As she explains in our interview, the album brings together “ancient sounds, modern structures, contemporary thought, and folk language.”

Anna Caragnano - Photo by Lara Cetti

Your new album Tamburi is deeply connected to memory, place and the city where you grew up. What's the story behind the album?

Tamburi is a sonic tale rooted in memory but it grows in the present. In music, we often try to fit into well-defined genres (for creative reasons, to simplify listening), but the sonic tale of a life is made up of inconsistencies, often very poetic, that I wanted to put on the tracks.

I sampled ancient instruments from southern Italy (bagpipes, accordions, udu, drums) to which Donato added synths. Ancient sounds, modern structures, contemporary thought, and folk language. The title comes from the neighborhood in Taranto where I was born, which in Italian means "drums." It all started there.

Your voice is the thread that runs through the entire album. When did you realise it could become more than a way of singing words, and instead become the foundation of your compositions?

I started playing guitar and studying classical music many years before I started singing. When I started using my voice to sing, I continued to think like a musician.

Whether they are sounds, words, melodies, songs, the voice is an instrument and I have always wanted to use it as such, as a vehicle of emotions, above all. But here, in “Tamburi”, I think that the voice has a great weight but the common thread is the drums, the sounds from underground.

You've worked with producers Donato Dozzy and Pietro Micioni on Tamburi. What made them the right collaborators for this project, and how did they help shape the album?

They were not only the right collaborators, they were and are the only people who could understand, embrace, make this idea their own. They have known me for a long time and there is a lot of respect.

I knew that putting this idea in their hands would mean making it flourish in the right way, in the direction we would never have had the courage to go in alone.

Anna Caragnano - Photo by Lara Cetti

Networking can feel intimidating, especially for emerging artists. What's the best networking advice you've ever received?

I've received a lot of advice, some very contradictory, but I've always observed rather than listened, and I've come to the rather obvious conclusion that you have to be yourself. A little less obvious is asking yourself: who am I? And trying to find out...

What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were starting out?

“Don't be afraid (of judgment, of making mistakes, of doing strange things). Fear only wastes time.”

When you've had a long or creatively demanding day, what helps you switch off and recharge?

Kung fu!!! And reading…

What are you listening to at the moment?

Boards of Canada, “Inferno” and a Bach Prelude in B minor that Alexander Siloti transcribed from Bach's original Prelude in E minor (BWV 855a).

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Anna Caragnano on Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music

Noods Levels x shesaid.so: How to Make It in Music

An Online Artist & Music Industry Development Programme powered by Back Market

Following our open call and community survey, Noods Levels and shesaid.so are launching How to Make It in Music; a free online artist and music industry development programme consisting of three online sessions for women and gender non-conforming people working across the music industry.

The programme has been shaped directly by feedback from artists and music industry professionals, who highlighted a strong need for practical support around building sustainable careers, understanding music publishing, strengthening marketing and branding, and accessing funding opportunities.

Programme Sessions

8 September | 6:00pm BST
Music Publishing, Royalties & Sync (UK Focus)
With Rachel Graham-Andrieux

Learn how music publishing works, where royalties come from and what artists and music professionals need to know about sync.

REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION

22 September | 6:00pm BST
Marketing, Branding & Audience Building
With Yewi Omo

A practical session exploring how to build a clear artist or professional identity, develop your audience and approach marketing in a way that supports your wider career.

REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION

6 October | 6:00pm BST
Funding, Grants & Income Streams
Funding With Mina

Explore different funding opportunities and income streams available to artists and music professionals, with practical advice on navigating grants and building a more sustainable career.

REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION

Join the Programme

All three sessions are free and open to women and gender non-conforming people working across the music industry globally.

Participants are encouraged to attend the full programme, but registration is required for each session separately.

Choose the sessions you'd like to attend above and register to secure your place.

Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions.

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About Noods Levels 

Noods Levels grew out of 10 years of DIY radio and community building through Noods Radio. What began as Sunday living room sessions evolved into a 24/7 global station, and in 2020 the not-for-profit arm was launched to support the next generation of creatives. Based in Bristol, it helps individuals and organisations build confidence, networks, and sustainable careers through long-term programmes and events.

Reine Abdul Ghafour on Building a Career in Audio, Live Sound and Working With SWANA Artists

Lebanese audio engineer and sound designer Reine Abdul Ghafour works across live sound, mixing and mastering, music production and audio for visual media. Based in the UK, her practice has taken her from intimate artist shows and independent releases to large-scale concert productions, including the 2026 Spring Sequence of New Sounds at Central Hall Westminster, as well as benefit events raising funds for Lebanon, Sudan and Congo.

Growing up in Lebanon, Reine played guitar and became increasingly curious about what happened behind the scenes of the music she loved. That curiosity eventually took her to London to study audio engineering, opening up a practice spanning recording, live production, sound design, mixing and mastering.

Moving to the UK also changed her relationship with the music and culture she grew up around. Having listened to relatively little Arabic music while living in Lebanon, distance prompted her to reconnect with her roots and develop a deeper appreciation for music from across the SWANA region. Today, working with SWANA artists has become an important part of her practice, informed by shared languages, cultural references and experiences.

That connection between sound, place and memory also sits at the centre of her final-year university project, an audio narrative exploring the emotional experience of conflict and distance without relying on images or dialogue. Drawing partly on her own experience of how sounds such as sirens and fireworks could transport her back to Lebanon and thoughts of family, the project uses recorded and designed sound to allow listeners to construct the story themselves. Reine now hopes to develop the work into an immersive sound exhibition in 2027.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and what first drew you to working in sound

I’ve always felt that sound could change the way someone feels. I’ve always found it difficult to express my emotions with words, but music has always been a language I understood. It became the easiest way for me to express myself and connect with other people.

I grew up surrounded by music. I was always listening to it, and I started playing guitar when I was young. The more I learned, the more curious I became about everything happening behind the scenes. I realised there was a whole world beyond performing, including recording, mixing, live sound and sound design, and I wanted to understand how it all worked. That curiosity is what eventually led me into audio engineering. 

What has working in live sound taught you?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the size of the event doesn’t determine how challenging it will be. I’ve worked on everything from intimate gigs to large-scale productions, and every show comes with its own unexpected challenges. One of the most valuable experiences for me was volunteering as a live sound engineer for the “2026 Spring Sequence of New Sounds” concert at Central Hall Westminster. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and reminded me how important it is to think quickly, adapt and stay calm under pressure.

Live sound has taught me to always have a plan B, and ideally a plan C. No matter how well you prepare, something can change at the last minute, so being flexible is just as important as being technically skilled. It’s also taught me to trust my instincts. Early in my career, I sometimes second-guessed myself, but experience has shown me that confidence comes from preparation.

If you’ve done the work and understand what you’re hearing, you have to trust your judgement while still communicating openly with artists and your team. At the end of the day, live sound is about solving problems without letting the audience notice them. The show has to keep moving, and that’s what makes it both challenging and rewarding. 

You’ve also worked closely with artists from the SWANA region throughout your career. How has your background shaped the way you collaborate and communicate with artists?

Interestingly, growing up in Lebanon, I didn’t really listen to much Arabic music. I never imagined that one day I’d be working so closely with artists from the SWANA region. It was only after moving to the UK that I began to reconnect with my roots. Studying music and audio engineering gave me a new appreciation for the richness and complexity of the music I had grown up around but never fully explored. The more I listened, the more I realised how deeply I understood it, not just musically, but culturally.

Working with SWANA artists has felt very natural because we often share a language, cultural references and lived experiences. That doesn’t change the fundamentals of collaboration, but it helps build trust and understanding from the very beginning. Today, I’m incredibly proud of where I come from. I want to play a part in highlighting the creativity, diversity and beauty of music from the SWANA region. Being able to support those artists, both technically and creatively, has become one of the most meaningful parts of my career.

Your final-year project explored the emotional experiences of people from the SWANA region entirely through sound. What inspired the project?

The project was inspired by the emotional impact of conflict and what it feels like to experience it from afar. Growing up in Lebanon, periods of instability were part of life. They didn’t define every day. We still went to school, met friends and carried on with our lives, but they were always there in the background.

When I moved to the UK, I found that certain everyday sounds affected me differently. An ambulance siren or loud fireworks could instantly take me back home and make me think about my family. I realised how strongly sound is connected to memory and emotion. I wanted to explore that through sound alone.

Rather than showing images or using interviews, I wanted listeners to build the story in their own minds. Sound leaves space for imagination, and I believe that can create a deeper emotional connection because everyone visualises the experience differently. The project wasn’t about politics. It was about people. It was about uncertainty, distance and the feeling of waiting for a phone call from home, hoping your loved ones are safe.

More than anything, the project confirmed something I’ve always believed. Sound can tell stories just as powerfully as images. It also sparked my passion for storytelling through audio, and I’m now working towards developing the project into an exhibition so more people can experience it. 

Networking can feel intimidating, especially when you’re starting out in technical roles. What’s the best networking advice you’ve ever received, or the approach that’s helped you build your career?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that networking isn’t about collecting contacts. It’s about building genuine relationships. Looking back, many of my biggest opportunities didn’t come because I had the most experience. They came because someone trusted me enough to give me a chance. From my first experience in game audio to the opportunities I’ve had in the UK, every step started with a conversation and someone who believed in my potential. That taught me that your reputation matters just as much as your technical skills.

Being reliable, turning up prepared, communicating well and being someone people genuinely enjoy working with will take you a long way. I also believe in saying yes to opportunities, especially early in your career. Volunteering and helping at community events allowed me to gain experience, meet incredible people and continue learning.

Every project introduced me to someone new and opened another door. The best advice I’ve ever followed came from my parents. Always be honest, stay true to yourself and treat people with kindness. Skills can be developed over time, but integrity, reliability and the way you make people feel are what they’ll remember long after the project is over. 

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you first started working in audio?

I wish someone had told me that you don’t have to know everything before saying yes to an opportunity. When I first started, I compared myself to everyone around me. I thought I needed to have all the answers before I could take on a project or even charge for my work. Looking back, that mindset only held me back. The truth is, experience comes from doing. Even now, I still get nervous before certain shows or projects. The difference is that I no longer let that fear stop me.

Confidence doesn’t come because you know everything. It grows because you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone and keep learning. I’d also encourage people to communicate honestly. If you’re unsure about something, say so. Ask questions, shadow someone more experienced or volunteer to learn. Most people are far more understanding than we imagine, and everyone started somewhere. No one begins their career knowing everything. The engineers you admire today were once beginners too. The most important thing is to stay curious, keep learning and not let fear stop you from taking that first step. 

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Reine Abdul Ghafour on Instagram | LinkedIn | Portfolio

Namibian Producer, DJ and Songwriter Gina Jeanz on Playing Music in the Sky, Life as an International Artist and New Motherhood

Namibian producer, DJ and songwriter Gina Jeanz has spent the past few years carving out a distinctive place within electronic music, blending Afro House, Afro Tech and organic electronica into a sound rooted in rhythm, movement and storytelling. Originally trained in classical music before immersing herself in Cape Town's electronic scene, she has since taken her music to festivals and venues including Montreux Jazz Festival, Amnesia Ibiza, Caprices Festival and KOKO Electronic, while earning support from Billboard, Beatport, Resident Advisor, DJ Mag and BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Her latest single, Ride, arrives as both a personal and creative milestone. Written in the lead-up to becoming a mother, the track embraces uncertainty, trust and transformation through warm percussion and hypnotic Afro House grooves. It also sits alongside one of Gina's most ambitious projects to date: a DJ set performed from a hot air balloon above the Swiss Alps, bringing to life a dream she'd been working towards for years.

Your DJ set filmed from a hot air balloon over the Swiss landscape is unlike anything we've seen before. What's the story behind the project, and how was playing music in the sky?

This Hot Air Balloon DJ set has been on my bucket list for the longest time. The idea first came to me after seeing a Cercle DJ set years ago. I booked a hot air balloon ride in Namibia to experience it for myself and stayed in touch with the pilot to see if we could make it happen one day.

A few years later, I reached out to him again and found out he'd moved to Europe to fly during the summer season. We didn't end up working together, but he connected me with a friend of his based in Zug. So what started as a dream in Namibia ended up happening in Switzerland, where I live now.

I couldn't have asked for a better outcome because the Swiss landscape is just as breathtaking. With a baby now, doing it here also made much more sense logistically.

I think when you have a dream and actually make it happen, it strengthens your self-belief and builds trust in your own ability to make things happen. This project was proof of that for me.

You've also just released a new single, Ride. Can you tell us a bit about the track?

I started producing Ride a few months before I gave birth. My creative process has shifted a lot since then. I no longer worry about the outcome of a song while I'm making it — I just let the ideas flow.

I've also been trusting myself to sing on my own tracks more, not as a "vocalist" exactly, but leaning into my voice as another instrument in the performance.

At the time, I was feeling a bit anxious about what life would look like with a child, and I didn't want to overwhelm myself with questions I couldn't answer yet. That's really what the lyrics are about.

I had to lean into trusting the journey and letting myself be excited for what's coming instead of fighting the uncertainty of becoming a mum while continuing to be a musician. This song carried me right up until birth, and it feels like the start of a new chapter for me.

You've built an international career while staying connected to your Namibian roots. How has your upbringing influenced the music you make today?

Being a Namibian creative is, in many ways, a radical act. I recently heard this expressed by two Namibian creatives, Betty and Pewa, who collaborated on a recent fashion project together. That really resonated with me because the creative industry back home isn't always built to support artists in the ways it should.

Being able to live from your art is still difficult, particularly for creatives coming from places that are often overlooked, underestimated and lacking in funding and resources.

For me, building an international career is about challenging what people believe is possible and showing others what can be done. I've spent years finding my footing, breaking barriers and learning how to make the most of the resources available to me, so there were a lot of firsts along the way.

There was often a sense that there was a ceiling to what a Namibian artist could achieve internationally. I wanted to push beyond that, not only for myself, but also to challenge those limitations.

My upbringing taught me resilience, adaptability and how to navigate different environments while remaining grounded in who I am. Those qualities have carried me through the many challenges and uncertainties of this industry.

Every step in my journey is connected to where I come from, and I hope that by continuing to build internationally, I can help create more space for the next generation of Namibian creatives to believe there is no limit to what they can achieve.

You've recently become a mum while continuing to tour and perform internationally. What have you learned about balancing motherhood with life on the road, and what advice would you give to other parents working in music who are wondering if it's possible to do both?

Motherhood has taught me to prioritise what's absolutely necessary which sometimes means I don't take every show while I'm still traveling with my little one. I've had to become a lot more mindful of the environment I'm bringing him into and that requires patience and foresight.

For me, logistics come first. I look at each show and ask whether it actually makes sense for both of us. Sometimes I’d have my husband join me and recently bringing a nanny on the road was one of the best decisions I made. I worked it into my budget because I knew I couldn't do this alone and still show up fully for my shows, so having the extra hands makes a huge difference.

Compared to traveling solo, there's just more to consider now like feeding schedules, getting ready, transitions between airports and cities. So most of the work happens before I even leave: planning ahead so that once we're moving, we can flow through it all with a bit more ease instead of scrambling.

It's absolutely possible, but the goal isn't to prove you can do everything exactly like before. It's to find your own version of balance, build in support, and give yourself grace when the old way of doing things doesn't fit anymore.

Many emerging producers struggle with confidence, especially when they're working alone. What helped you trust your instincts in the studio?

Confidence is something you can build and strengthen over time. For me, that starts with believing in myself, trusting my vision and giving my ideas the space and time to develop — the key word being time.

Working alone is often part of the creative journey, and it can teach you a lot about your own instincts. But I've also learned that you don't have to do everything alone. Knowing when to ask for help, seek feedback or collaborate with others is just as important.

Collaboration not only helps you grow creatively, but it also builds meaningful relationships, and this industry is built around working with people. Being part of a community and maintaining relationships matter, at least to me.

I've learned to continuously work on myself, both personally and creatively, so I can show up as my best self. The more I've grown to trust myself, embrace feedback without taking it personally and remain open to learning, the more confident I've become in my own creative voice.

Networking can feel intimidating, especially when you're starting out. What's the best networking advice you've ever received, or the tip that's helped you most throughout your career?

The worst thing that can happen is that someone says no — and even then, I try to see it as redirection rather than failure. A "no" doesn't necessarily mean you're not good enough. Sometimes it simply means the opportunity, timing or connection isn't right, and that there may be something better aligned with where you're going.

Networking has played a huge role in building my career, especially as an independent artist. When you're independent, you don't always have a large team opening doors or creating opportunities for you. You have to be willing to put yourself out there, as scary as it is, introduce yourself, share what you do and actively seek out spaces that can help you grow.

That's why I attend social events, workshops and industry gatherings. You never know who you might meet, what you might learn or which conversation could lead to a meaningful opportunity.

Networking isn't just about approaching people because you need something from them. It's about nurturing genuine relationships and becoming part of a community you're passionate about. The strongest connections are built through mutual support, consistency, trust and showing genuine interest in other people's work as well.

I'm fortunate to have worked with incredible people in my community who believe in what I do, support my vision and advocate for me in rooms that I may not be in. Those relationships exist because I was willing to show up and support them too.

You don't need to walk into a room knowing everyone, and you don't need to have all the answers. Start by being curious, genuine and open to conversation. Put yourself in the rooms where you want to grow, nurture the relationships you build and don't be afraid to ask. Sometimes one conversation can open a door — but you have to be willing to introduce yourself first.

For artists who want to start producing their own music but don't know where to begin, what advice would you give them?

Take the time to actively explore and discover what you genuinely love and what inspires you. The technical side is something you'll continue developing over time, and the tools are more accessible than ever today, so getting started with production is much easier than when I first began.

There are so many opportunities to learn and experiment, so take the time to develop your ear and personal taste. It's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, but your uniqueness comes from knowing your own perspective, your influences and the stories you want to tell.

Create habits, routines and practices that become part of how you move through the world creatively. You'd be surprised how much discipline can reveal about yourself, not just as an artist but as a person.

The more you commit to exploring your own ideas, the more you begin to understand your own creative language.

For me, producing music is also about world-building. You're creating a space, a feeling and an experience that comes from your own imagination, and that's really something special.

When you've had a difficult or stressful day, how do you unwind and reset?

I used to unwind mostly by reading books, which is still something I enjoy, but lately I've rediscovered a love for playing chess. I used to play casually for fun when I was younger, and now, as an adult, I appreciate it on a completely different level.

It gives me a chance to disconnect from everything else while still keeping my mind engaged. It's both relaxing and challenging at the same time, which helps me shift my energy away from the stresses of the day.

I also love pampering myself now more than ever as a mum — I need that time to love on myself.

Resetting is really about finding balance: having moments that stimulate my mind, moments that bring me joy and moments where I can simply slow down and take care of myself.

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Gina Jeanz on Instagram

British-Iranian Artist TĀLĀ on 11, Building Confidence in the Studio and Trusting Your Creative Instincts

British-Iranian singer, songwriter and producer TĀLĀ has built a career defined by curiosity, experimentation and an instinct for crossing musical boundaries. Drawing from her Iranian heritage alongside alternative R&B, electronic music and the UK underground, she first emerged in 2014 with her self-produced The Duchess EP, quickly attracting attention for a sound that felt both deeply personal and difficult to categorise. Over the years, she has continued to evolve as both an artist and producer, collaborating across genres, executive producing BANKS' fourth album Serpentina, and working with artists including ENNY, while establishing herself as one of the UK's most distinctive independent voices.

Her latest album, 11, released in July, marks another turning point. Inspired by a number that has repeatedly appeared throughout her life, the record explores duality, transformation and the search for balance, reflecting on the tension between light and darkness, certainty and doubt, and the experiences that shape us. It's an introspective collection that finds TĀLĀ looking both inward and outward, pairing deeply personal songwriting with the genre-blurring production that has become her signature.

Your new album 11 explores themes of duality, transformation and self-discovery. What's the story behind the album, and why did 11 feel like the right title?

I've always been drawn to the number 11, it showed up at so many important times in my life and there are so many synchronicities around it for me. I was born on the 11th, my daughter too and I got married on the 11th. The number represents duality which felt very fitting for the themes and sound of my album which explores the themes of how and we need the ups and the downs, the light and the dark and both things to find balance.  

Many emerging producers struggle with confidence, especially when they're working alone. What helped you trust your instincts in the studio?

My community and my friends who are creatives. Whenever I'm lost in my own head or fighting imposter syndrome it's my creative circle who I trust that pulls me out and gives me perspective. 

What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about making music?

My favorite is obviously making the music, especially with friends or when im in the zone, locked in and the minutes and days can just pass me by.

Least favourite is the business and admin side, I don't enjoy that side and thats why I have my manager to help me with those areas.

What’s your best networking tip to connect with the right people in the industry?

Just go to the gig, send the Dm to the producer you would love to work with, don't be scared to say hello and that you love what someone is doing. Your fav artist and producer appreciate it more than you think

For artists who want to start producing their own music but don't know where to begin, what advice would you give them?

Just do the thing. Get the music software program that feels fun to you, even if you dont know what your doing just experiment and have fun. There are so many tools and tutorials out there now. Bite sized tik toks that show you how to record vocals, ways to learn chords without a piano lesson. There is so much out there!!

Balancing writing, producing, performing and running a studio is a lot. How do you protect your creativity and avoid burnout?

I like to take walks and be in nature and when I've been going for too long on something, I just take a break, call a friend and make sure I have some space 

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TĀLĀ on Instagram

Stream I Need It

American-Armenian Art-Rap Duo Samuum on Coffee Cup Reading and Asking Questions Through Music

American-Armenian art-rap duo Samuum was founded by filmmaker and musician Ando Berberian and vocalist Lusine Kocharian, but the project really began with an accident.

During a rehearsal, a heavily delayed vocal effect transformed Kocharian's voice into what she describes as "a witch screaming somewhere in the middle of a desert." In that unexpected moment, the pair realised they had stumbled across the sound they'd been searching for after years of playing in other bands together.

Blending rap, punk, rave and Middle Eastern musical traditions, Samuum write songs shaped by the realities of life across the region, where conflict, displacement and uncertainty exist alongside everyday rituals that endure.

Their latest single, Coffee Cup Reading (Yaman, Pt.2), takes inspiration from the tradition of reading fortunes from coffee grounds, exploring how ordinary customs can become a source of comfort when little else feels certain.

For readers discovering Samuum for the first time, how would you describe the band, and what inspired you to create this project together?

You know, first of all, Samuum is the band we always dreamed of having when we were teenagers.

When I was young, I always imagined a band that felt incredibly powerful—something with the raw energy of System of a Down at its core—but at the same time something sophisticated and spiritual, almost like Krishna Das.

Before Samuum, Ando and I had played in quite a few bands together. They were good bands, but none of them ever felt complete.
Everything changed when we started working on what would eventually become Samuum. We didn't even have the name yet back then. I still remember the day we wrote our very first song, Asel. It happened completely by accident.

During one rehearsal, we accidentally put these long, distorted vocal delays on my voice while I was singing in Armenian. Suddenly I sounded like a witch screaming somewhere in the middle of a desert—and definitely not like the proper jazz singer I'd always been.
It may sound naïve, but that was the moment we realised we'd found something very special—almost like the universal language we'd been looking for to communicate with people.

Your new single Coffee Cup Reading (Yaman, Pt.2) explores anxiety through the tradition of reading coffee grounds. What's the story behind the song, and why did this feel like the right way to tell it?  

You know, we're from the Middle East, and here almost nothing lasts forever.
Governments change, wars begin, borders move—it's simply part of the daily routine here. Everything around you can disappear overnight.

The only things that seem immortal are the everyday traditions: making coffee, smoking a cigarette together on the balcony, reading coffee grounds with your grandmother, eating khash (a traditional Armenian pork soup) with apricot vodka during family gatherings.
Also weddings! And taking out bank loans to make them huge! All these things may seem insignificant at first glance, but in reality they're the only things that truly last. They're the pillars that hold everything together when everything bigger falls apart.  

Coffee Cup Reading is completely about that insight.
Musically, we also wanted the song to reflect what life here actually feels like. It begins almost playfully, almost peacefully... and then suddenly explodes in the chorus.

You've spoken about coffee cup reading as a ritual that brings comfort during uncertain times. Are there other traditions or everyday rituals that help keep you grounded?

Lusine: Definitely ayahuasca. (laughs) I do it often enough to consider it a ritual.
I've had some incredibly powerful experiences with it. It felt like meeting my ancestors, confronting parts of myself I'd never understood before, and opening a completely new chapter in my life.

Ando: I'm much less mystical. I just do 40–50 push-ups a day. I also do them in the middle of any boring process—while a track is rendering, while a video is rendering, or even in the middle of a dumb date.
Looks like I've found the ultimate cure for boredom.

Your music brings together Middle Eastern influences with rap, punk, rave and electronic music. How did you find a sound that reflects both your heritage and your own artistic identity?

We grew up listening to bands like Blink-182, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure and Radiohead. Later we discovered more experimental artists like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Lou Reed and The Mars Volta…

The interesting thing is that most of the music we loved had one thing in common: it wasn't giving answers—it was asking questions. We think that's the best approach when it comes to complicated topics in art, like heritage, traditions or identity.

We were constantly trying to understand ourselves and everything we saw around us in our society and in the Middle East in general. So we wanted to find a musical language that could fully reflect that constant state of questioning. That's how we ended up packaging Samuum's vision of life into punk, noise and rave.

We were also sonically shaped by a couple of random but incredibly powerful events. The first was a Young Fathers concert in Kyiv back in 2015. It was probably one of the most intense concerts we've ever experienced. Everyone was sweating, everything felt tribal and incredibly human.

The second was Yasmin Hamdan's album Ya Nass. Those two experiences made us jealous—in the best possible way. We thought, "We want to sound like this. We want to jump on stage like this."

You've spoken about giving a voice to emotions that often go unspoken, particularly for women in Armenian culture. Why is creating space for those conversations so important to you?

Because I think artists have something many people don't—the chance to be heard. And that's both a privilege and a responsibility. The people we write about often don't have the opportunity to express everything they're carrying inside.
So I feel responsible for translating those emotions. I've always seen myself as some kind of transmitter.

I grew up in Armenia during the difficult years of the 1990s. There was war. No electricity. No gas. No water. Cold. Darkness. And I grew up surrounded by incredibly strong women carrying enormous responsibility while many men were away at war. I saw women who lacked opportunities, security and emotional support. I've carried those experiences with me ever since.

So in many ways I feel like those women are still speaking through me. I'm simply trying to give shape to emotions that were always there.

Many artists worry about being "too political" or "too personal". Have you ever felt pressure to tone down your message, and how do you stay true to your voice?

We've definitely been criticized. But honestly, we've received much more love than hate.

I think that's because we don't present difficult topics aggressively. Mostly through irony. And, you know, it's much harder to argue against something said through irony than against something said through aggression.

Networking can feel intimidating, especially for emerging artists. What's the best networking advice you've ever received?

One of the best conversations we ever had was with Tony Duckworth. He was one of the heads of PIAS, and unfortunately he passed away shortly after Covid.

We met him at a music conference in Kyiv. At that point, getting signed to a label felt like the ultimate goal. We kept, probably quite annoyingly, insisting that industry professionals listen to our music.

Tony listened to our music carefully, said a couple of warm words about our songwriting, and then added:

"Guys, don't chase a label. Chase joy. Play more shows, make more videos, and we'll find you much faster than you think." 

We didn't leave with a record deal that day.
But we left with something far more valuable: a huge boost of confidence and much stronger self-esteem.

Thank you, Tony.

What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you first started making music?

Now that I'm getting closer to my mid-thirties, I realise I've probably lost quite a lot of time. Nobody ever told me how deeply success is connected to faith.
I grew up hearing things like: "Try it first. See if it works. But even if it works, keep a backup plan. Better yet, get yourself a good 9-to-5."

Today I think completely differently. If you genuinely feel that music is your calling—if every part of your soul resonates with it—don't wait until you're thirty to commit. Commit while you're still seventeen.

Don't split your energy between five different careers out of fear.Go all in.
I really wish someone had told me that with enough confidence back then.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why I regret never reading the Bible properly.
Because that advice has been there for two thousand years already. It says:

"According to your faith, it shall be done unto you."

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Samuum on Instagram | Coffee Cup Reading (Yaman, pt.2)