Sheherazaad is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area but was raised in an immigrant household and draws upon her South Asian roots for her impressive musical debut.
Her lyrics boldly modernise existing Hindi-Urdu poetic forms and sonically she makes few concessions to western rhythms.
Her nom de plume translates as ‘Free City’; a name drawn from ‘The One Thousand and One Nights’ where the revolutionary figure in this classic collection of oriental folktales is more commonly spelled Scheherazade. To explain this choice, Sheherazaad says: “she has been a favourite and beloved character of mine since childhood for her ferocious storytelling ability that saves lives.”
The single Mashoor touches upon issues of identity with the lines “Mujhe itihaas nahi chahiye / Miraas meri nahi chahiye” translating as ‘I don’t want a History / I don’t want my own legacy.’ In the stylish video for this song, directed by Julia Zanin De Paula, Sheherazaad is portrayed with Ria Modak on classical guitar in the streets and subways of New York looking elegant and defiant.
As if to dispel any lingering notion that she is a woman lost in a big city, in Khatam she sings “Yeh musafir ab sahi pohanch gayi” which means ‘This female traveller has arrived properly.
Her sensual voice certainly sounds more assured than alienated and, in a statement of intent, Lehja she ends with the repeated cry of ”Azaadi! - Freedom!
The five tunes exude an exotic air of mystery and a full length album can’t come soon enough.
