We were lucky to catch up with Tasneem Islam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tasneem , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Last year, I released a song called Lost + Found. It had been in the early stages of vocal production when I started it a few years ago, and the beat production was essentially complete when my friend Skywalker Mike sent it to me, expressing it would be a good fit for my vocal style — and he was right! However, I took a pause from it for much of 2024. Fast-forward to the late fall of 2024, I was able to complete the lead vocals and all the beautiful layers that make the song’s world of sound I so deeply enjoyed designing. The lyrics, the production, and the vocal production hold enormous weight and depth; it was such a pleasure to create, and finally release last March. Mixed and mastered by Simpatico, he sent us a few different edits over the course of a few months. Sky and I went through each revision before we decided on the one we wanted to drop. In 2025, we created a bunch of video and visual content in preparation for the release.

What was particularly meaningful for this song was the whole creative process but also a scary life experience I had endured in the middle of it: from starting the song with a lot of excitement and hope in 2023, to the unrelenting support my friends and family provided me to break free from a deeply insecure, manipulative individual in 2024 — I am grateful to have long-term protection from that individual — and the healing return to the music that evolved as a result in 2025. I’m thankful to have such loving parents, family, and friends; I feel incredibly strong now and I’m not afraid to show it. Lost + Found encapsulates this deeply personal story, and the outro “I finally found myself” speaks for itself. I hope it speaks to a wide audience, as my story — as private as I’m being — is unfortunately quite universal.

The next, related project that I’d say is just as meaningful is called “Year of the Ocean.” It just was released this past Sunday, February 15th, I’m thrilled it’s finally out, and in a nutshell, it’s about a celebration of freedom through faith and a statement about men’s mental health and the historical lack of education around it. “Year of the Ocean” is currently charting on the Top 100 R&B Charts on Hypeddit. I feel incredibly honored. I’ll share more about YOTO another time, but for now I’ll share the direct link through my social media (@musicbymalsi everywhere).

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a music artist, mix and master engineer, and a music producer, although I primarily focus on vocal production at this point in my career. I started vocal and piano lessons when I was 5, and started performing professionally in my teen years. I also started learning how to produce when I was a teenager, and put a lot of effort and time into it in college. Currently, I’m most proud of my vocal production. I love creating strong background vocals and crafting a “world of sound” that emphasizes the vocals. And, creating a strong and complex lead vocal is another part of my craft that I’d consider my strongest suit. I have a very alternative, and sometimes experimental, sound and I have grown into it over time. I’ve also grown my mixing and mastering skills in depth, so I’ve been slowly taking pride in that more recently.

I’d really like to help other artists with their original music when it comes to mixing and mastering, even though it can be one of the most time-consuming and challenging parts of the music production process. It’s a more recent service I provide as I dedicated a lot of time to it last year, and steadily over the past 8 years. I also have solid songwriting experience and vocal production experience, so I provide those services as well.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This might go opposite from common advice, but post when you want to and post things that are meaningful to your art, craft and even your life as you’re comfortable. Some creators say post every day — and that insight holds value — but if the content you’re posting frequently isn’t impactful in some way, many people will gloss over it or mentally mark it as “just for show”. I think having the genuine intention to share something meaningful is key, rather than just posting for engagement.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I can’t say this enough: COMPENSATE THEM, even if it’s not always cash. And don’t get me wrong, paying money is obviously helpful! Compensating artists through free photography services, high quality video content, meaningful collaboration opportunities, etc., at the very least is so important. Personally, I love collaborating with fellow creatives since it helps us grow together and — yes — make money together.

When the creative ecosystem thrives, society does too. I believe that art is political and has the power to influence not only society but governments and global audiences; with all the destruction occurring in the world now (whether it’s the horrific changes happening in the States on an administrative level to the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza), we need real, human artists now more than ever.

Contact Info:

• Website: musicbymalsi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicbymalsi/
• Facebook: facebook.com/musicbymalsi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicbymalsi
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/musicbymalsi

Image Credits
Nabil Khan, Armaan Ajoomal, Michael Llamas