Good Morning!
Have we all been marked safe from last weeks’ solar eclipse?
I did manage to resist the urge to stare directly into the sun, and also to you? As this summer has felt apocalyptic enough, and 58 years long, I suspect we’ll be needing both retinas to seek fresh water sources in the not-too-distant future. My fan has been on full-power, in a never-ending midnight hum, and I for one am excited to banish it back into storage this week.
Shall we start with a bit of news? ‘Backbone’ has been out for a little over a month and has had c. 40,000 streams, which is glorious. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you’ve been enjoying the Beyoncé of this collection of songs. Since then, it’s had BBC radio play, support from the best babes at Hot Press and I managed to shoehorn it into my own radio show…
… which leads me not-so-seamlessly into telling you that I was invited to do a one hour takeover of Voices Radio, courtesy of Habibti Nation a couple of weeks ago, and if you missed it, you can listen back here! I did accidentally shout out Michael Jackson, which is why I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near live media, but I also talk about the history of Libyan reggae, and how it was used to subtly undermine Gaddafi’s regime. Her range! If that doesn’t pique your interest, it’s a fun mix of electronic, arabic and crossover pop/r&b, to warm you up for…
… my set for the Habibi Funk Open Air Weekender this coming Saturday! The good people of Voices Radio have kindly invited me back, to take part in their SWANA live takeover on 29th August - the festival is ticketed but my set is free entry (5 - 7pm at Hackney Bridge) and I can’t wait to play some arabic heaters for you! Yalla!
Aside from a trip to France, during which I ate most of the nation’s annual baguette quota in a couple of days - liberté, égalité, buffet? - that’s all the news I have for you this month! I’m just a girl, standing in front of a Substack, 48 hours late on hitting send (!) but I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and are girding your loins for the bank holiday weekend?
If you’re free on Saturday, come have a dance!
SPEAK NEXT MONTH!
Shaef xxxx
PSA-FRI:
You may notice that I’ve turned on the paid subscription tier to this newsletter! This won’t affect the content you receive - paid subscribers won’t get any extra bonus content but will receive my gracious thanks - you will simply be supporting this monthly newsletter, if you’re able and would like to. Should you wish for more exclusive musical content, you are also very welcome to slide on over to my Patreon instead - recession indicator: me asking nicely for cash!
SHAREFRI
TO SEE: Edinburgh Fringe - The Palestinian Circus - I saw this performance at the Soho Theatre in Walthamstow last month. The unimaginable difficulty that the performers and their families have experienced, coupled with their joyful, resilient performance was unbelievably moving - if you are up at The Fringe I would really encourage you to go and see them perform.
TO DANCE: Habibi Funk’s Open Air Weekender of course - I’ll be playing at Hackney Bridge (which is the free bit, you’re welcome!) on 29th August between 5pm and 7pm. Come for a dance and to hear some beautiful music from the Habibi Funk collective and some pretty… unusual… blends from me. If you’re heading to Notting Hill Carnival and you fancy an afters, then head to Izzy Bossy’s Formula Baad!
TO EAT: one of my favourite girls, Rosie Mackean, has started a new recipe series, ‘Salad on Chips’, and I have, unrelatedly, started a new series, ‘licking my screen’. Fortune favours the Old Bay seasoning.
TO LISTEN: Phoebe Bridgers ‘Lost Weekend’ - this is a beautiful meditation on grief, should you need it/be in the mood. If you’ve got this far in the newsletter, you might as well dive in to that overwhelming feeling of dread?
😂😂😂😂