Coming off the release of her Erased Tapes debut last spring with the Qasr EP, Sheherazaad returns today with a new set of Belgian tour dates for January as well as a new single for the rest of us. Featuring the artist’s childhood friend Irfana, “Gulukara” is a continuation of her eerie music that’s indebted to both the American and South Asian definitions of folk music, as well as being a work of folklore itself. Sheherazaad continues to take influence from her One Thousand and One Nights namesake by spinning a radical tale of feminism as she trades verses with the Kodaikanal-raised rapper that focus on the plight and resilience of female artistry and sex work.
“‘Gulukara’ is an ominous carol filled with the ghosts of a hundred thousand women who were silenced or slaughtered in pursuit of artistic glory,” Sheherazaad shares of the minimalist folk track. “When I sing this song, I feel these girls’ fatigue, their street smarts. The lyrics taste of tobacco and blood and a fruit-flavored condom. The sultry, clandestine activity of these desperate, feminine infiltrators who move through the world as elegant double agents—their ammunition being a lethal breed of ambitiousness.”
Check out the new single below, and find her January Belgian dates here.
