Today we’d like to introduce you to Tasneem Islam.
Hi Tasneem, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.My love for music started when I was 5 years old, taking lessons from my Bengali music voice teacher. I remember, vaguely, his wife walking in to listen to me practice during one of my first lessons and saying “Thaar gola khoob sundoor” (Her voice is beautiful).
Despite her compliment, I didn’t really know what “beautiful” sounded like. All I knew is that singing was something my parents wanted me to do. But, singing also made me feel connected to something bigger than myself.
Over the next 13 years, I took weekly singing and piano lessons, and with that came the joy of singing and the anxiety of performing. Looking back, I’m grateful I was able to perform live and earn some money at such a young age through my passion. I continued into college, as the singer for my university’s big jazz band and as the lead singer for a 7-piece funk-soul-jazz band called Jesus, the Crazy, and the Bad Kids (JCBK). My college memories of performing with both of those ensembles are priceless. I feel nostalgic right now reminiscing about how awesome every member of JCBK was, and how working with them provided me the inspiration and motivation to keep after my music dreams when I moved to LA.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Performing used to be really nerve-wracking for me, but my nerves started to die down during my college years and in Los Angeles since I was performing so much and, by then, developed a routine to get into a performance-ready mindset. Singing for live audiences is what I consider a deeply vulnerable act, so it would take me a lot of preparation and daily meditation to be open to it. I love it now, though, being on stage and connecting with members of the audience.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in vocal production. I’ve always loved music tech (and technology in general). I’m a builder at heart (I think I got that from my dad, he used to be an electrical engineer).
I enjoy creating unique vocal soundscapes, relying on minimal processing and interesting layers of sound to create a bath-like experience. I think what sets me apart is that I’ve never been in music for fame or glory. It’s just part of my fabric as a human, and I’m grateful to my parents for instilling a sense of hard work and shrewdness that allows me to continue creating.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
So many! I’m going to list a few: Podcasts I enjoy — The Art of Manliness, Freakonomics Radio, Revisionist History
Books — Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri), The Glass Palace (Amitav Ghosh), The Sandman (graphic novel series).
TV/Film – Ramy, Lagaan, The Big Sick, Dream Girls, Never Have I Ever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.musicbymalsi.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicbymalsi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicbymalsi/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwhQpp1uLpbl1M0MZHoEulQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/musicbymalsi
Image Credits
Jake Fiedler, Ben Griesinger, Ruben Urena, Tamara Issi, Michael Cornejo, and Jamilio Bautista
