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Pulse

by Qur'an Shaheed

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tate egon chavez
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tate egon chavez i like this album bc qur'an is cool and good at music Favorite track: Mixing Colors.
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MDonaldson → "Dreams" unfolds like its namesake, a bending flurry of instrumentation, vocal effects, and ever-changing mood board pins, while the cybernetic R&B of "Doo Doo Doo" sounds like Timbaland superimposed into Neuromancer. … Qur'an Shaheed is obviously on a mission, and the vision that holds Pulse together rewards multiple treks through its intoxicating pathways.

reviewed on The Tonearm → www.thetonearm.com/email/081a8d08-d679-43c6-86b6-9846b4673253/ Favorite track: Mixing Colors.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    - *now shipping
    - *edition of 200 black vinyl

    Includes unlimited streaming of Pulse via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.

      $11 USD  or more

     

  • TEST PRESSING VINYL
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    *edition of 4 unique hand-painted jackets
    *approved 12" test pressing vinyl
    *poly-protective outer-sleeve
    *experimental sealant and oil painting on jackets,
    it is advised to keep jackets in protective outer-sleeve as you enjoy listening.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Pulse via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.

    Sold Out
1.
Dreams 04:53
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2.
Fix It, Pt. 1 03:28
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3.
Fix It, Pt. 2 02:34
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4.
Variation 1 04:29
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5.
Doo Doo Doo 02:14
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6.
3am Wine Drunk 03:17
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7.
Urgay 01:45
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8.
Mixing Colors 05:02
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9.
Variation 2 03:32
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10.
Variation 3 05:00
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11.
Somber Eyes 05:37
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about

Pulse is Qur'an Shaheed's debut for Leaving Records —as a pianist, poet, and vocalist from Pasadena, based in Inglewood— she fuses formal classical training with a deep commitment to improvisation. Guided by spurts of instinctual, jazzy vocalization and lyrics that incant dreams of an exalted future, Pulse transcends genre, capturing a journey toward presence, revelation, and a liberated poetics of sound. Through this album, Shaheed offers looping reflections on transformation and acceptance, revealing the fruitful arc of her artistic growth.

Shaheed's musical journey began in a family of musicians, led by her mother, Sharon, a pianist and music school owner, and her father, Nolan Shaheed, who toured with Stevie Wonder and was Marvin Gaye’s music director. Introduced to the piano at the age of four, she trained rigorously, laying a foundation of discipline and technical skill that has now evolved into a freer form of spontaneous, genre-defying expression. Shaheed’s musical practice is an extension of her world—playful, bold, undaunted. A fluid approach to fashion—colorful, deconstructed pieces, geometric piercings, and intricate tattoos—mirrors their creative philosophy, where compositions dissolve into iridescent soundscapes.

Produced by Spencer Hartling at his Altadena studio, “Wiggle World,” Pulse reveals the synergy between Shaheed and Hartling. His tape looping and improvisational production imbue the record with a transfixing vibrancy and otherworldly glitches, showcasing a palpable collaboration that is equal parts immersive and omnivalent, with each element harmoniously intertwining to elevate the overall sound. “Spencer really helped solidify the demos that I had created. He truly added the magic. I had seen him perform a few times, and I loved his improvisation,” Shaheed shares. The album also features Maia Harper on flute and harp, adding hypnotic textures that deepen its emotional scope.
Pulse builds on the groundwork laid by her 2020 release, Process, but ventures far beyond, embodying the vulnerable evolution that Shaheed describes as “meeting myself where I was,” in reverberant explorations of longing and imagination. The album’s title lays the conceptual groundwork for an immersive aliveness echoed track after track. This record emerged from Shaheed’s desire to create fluid music that reflects the evolving self, unconstrained by convention or expectation. Beginning with late-night demo sessions, she experimented outside of digital audio workstations, using her keyboard and a Roland SP-404 sampler to craft each track. Shaheed’s ethereal vocals, shifting from dreamlike whispers to bold intensity, blend among jagged keys and neo-soul elucidations. “Improvising let me be free of expectation,” Shaheed reflects. “I wanted to make something that wasn’t bound by themes.”

Lyrically, Pulse traces the limits of felt presence and weaves threads of sempiternal connection, using poetic reflections written in Shaheed’s phone's notes app. Each track extends an invitation to both meditate and move. Tracks like “Dream” resonate with premonition and discernment: “I still dream. You can’t take away the things that I know. In my mind I know, I know.” Forging an effortless path for listeners to enter a portal of psychic reconfiguration and reflection. “I wanted each track to feel like a different window into my mind,” she says. Diaristic fragments and collaged production cues offer a window beyond Shaheed’s mind, calling into a transformative world. In “Doo Doo Doo,” listeners are invited to imagine an expanded existence through an unflinching manifesto: “I’m not here to help you. I’m not here to pull you up (no no no). I’m not here for you. I’m here for me. Enough for the jobs that won’t even pay me.” Simultaneously in devotion to self and critique of labor exploitation, Shaheed connects varied pieces—verse by verse—to a coherent future vision where liberation starts now.

Shaheed draws inspiration from movement, breath, and community: “Finding my flow—that’s when inspiration comes.” The record’s eleven tracks illuminate Shaheed’s resolve for wide-ranging, innovative musical techniques that merge intuitive composition with methodical devotion. Pulse is a spirited, unflinching approach to a new sound from Shaheed, inviting listeners into a field of lucid vision and resonance, capturing Shaheed’s voice in its most liberated form.

credits

released July 11, 2025

Arrangements by Qur'an Shaheed, Spencer Hartling
Recorded, Mixed and Produced by Spencer Hartling at Wiggle World in Altadena, Ca
Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering in Portland, Or

Qur'an Shaheed - Vocals, Synth, Piano
Spencer Hartling - Tape Loops, Drum Machine, FX Dubbing, Programming
Caleb Buchanan - Electric Bass
Mekela Session - Drums
Collins Oboh - Modular Synth, Drum Machine
Sonija "Maia" Harper - Flute, Harp
Sharada Shashidhar - Vocals on Tracks 7 and 8
Devin Daniels - Saxophone

Album art by Frank Dorrey

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Qur'an Shaheed Los Angeles, California

a woman and her piano on a journey to embrace femininity and love in this lifetime. Trying to soften through times of mental and spiritual strain that the world is presenting

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  • Jan 11
    Zebulon
    Los Angeles (LA), CA

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