We recently connected with Suroor Hassan and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Suroor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve never really had any formal training for music—most of what I’ve learned about my craft has been self-taught. Either through hours of youtube videos or going down rabbit-holes of research or just listening to a lot of music very closely and intently and reflecting on what draws me to it and how I can re-create it while putting my own spin on it and pushing it in new directions. Certain things were taught to me by friends and community members: when I was a little girl one of my neighbors taught me the basics of how to play the guitar. After learning how to play around on the guitar a bit I was able to write my first few songs and my taste as a songwriter started to blossom. Another important step in my musical development was when I started shadowing at a studio after moving to America: this helped me learn some techniques in electronic production and engineering from professional producers. But most of it has just been through a lot of research, intentional listening, and meaningful reflection on where I want to push the envelope. I try to always be a good example for people that are trying to break into the art world without a lot of resources. It can definitely be intimidating but I believe that good ideas and personality always shine through and usually make the biggest difference.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I like to call my music ‘industrial hyperpop’: it’s like pop music with an experimental twist and an eye towards cultivating an innovative mix of diverse genres. Last year I dropped my debut album “LAVENDER SHOWERS”, and in a week I’ll be releasing a new single called “!TOXIC!”. Next month I’ll be going on an East Coast tour and finalizing plans to release more music and tours for the start of next year. My instagram is the best way to keep up with details about all the new stuff I have going on

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the best way to support artists is to be intentional about engaging with their art, whether that be through streaming their music, buying their merch, going to shows, or telling your friends and family about them. All too often in life people take many things for granted, and artists can definitely suffer that fate as well. It can be easy to just become blasé about your local arts scene, thinking “oh I’ll just catch their show some other time” or “I’ll share their music later” and then never actually doing it, just like how people will often always be “meaning to check out” an event or a new restaurant and never actually carve out the time to do so. Intentionality is key, living your life with a sense of purpose and intention rather than letting it pass you by, and supporting local art is no different. People sometimes forget how important it can be and how reliant DIY artists are on local support: sustained engagement just fuels musicians to make more music and do more shows. This summer I did music full-time for the first time ever and it was pretty scary taking that step, but I only felt comfortable doing so because of the engagement that I had received from fans prior. If I hadn’t felt that support I definitely would not have done as many shows in as many cities as I did. And the success of this summer fueled my ambition with music even further and has pushed me with a greater sense of urgency in getting new music and tours together, and has given me the belief that I could do music full-time permanently in the near future. All this to say, as a fan even a little bit of engagement goes a long way in giving your favorite artist the motivation to put further energy into their art and ensuring they never stop.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Hmm I can think of 2 main goals that guide my approach to my music career. Firstly, I have a very specific vision for music that I haven’t really ever heard from any other artist as of yet. I think this is a real shame and I’ve made it my mission to create it cause I think it deserves to exist and because I want to hear it! I feel like I occupy a very rare and specific niche in terms of musical interest and I think a lot of unique art can come from it, so I really want to dive deep into myself to see what I can create and speak my passions into existence. Second, I’m really passionate about music-based community and I try to always push my career towards facilitating a thriving community. My work with Purgatory Pressings has largely been geared towards that goal, whether it be locally in Memphis through putting together shows, compilation albums, and festivals, or nation-wide through putting together tours, I’m always trying to use my career as a means to build community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://suroor.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/suroor.901
• Other: Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/artist/6muGce8lKX6FPc1MXJw4m3