Curator's Couch

Dubai by way of Cairo, the jack of all trades, Bayou joins the couch for episode 10. Division 1 football athlete, artist, producer, vocalist, scholar student, fashion designer are just some of the things he's dabbled in. You name it, he's done it. Bayou joins the couch as he finds himself at a crucial stage of his creative career, with a more than impressive discography and plenty more in the vault. He's chosen to release strictly singles thus far and its done wonders in building his core fanbase, but fear not as an EP is on the horizon. We also discuss some of his other creative passions, creative differences with other artists, and tons more. TIME STAMPS: 0:00 - How long you been making music? 3:51 - Practicing singing 5:42 - Creative process 8:15 - Working with others 12:37 - Releasing singles only and cover art 18:37 - Other creative passions 26:00 - COVID's impact 38:00 - Outro BAYOU'S CURRENT ROTATION: Drugs N Hella Melodies - Don Toliver & Kali Uchis The Voice of Heroes - Lil Durk, Lil Baby Been Through That - Majid Jordan Special shouts out to: @tmorgvn @prodbyeros @jonsantanamusic @mayaghawi @moshuajedford CHECK OUT BAYOU'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bayousworld/ CHECKOUT BAYOU'S SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/09ff0T1Qio2d5f04uGKeL3?si=AJGh2pTtSsy2EAubjZD_Jw&dl_branch=1

After a long, unforeseen hiatus, we are back with episode 9 featuring fellow Egyptian, Engy Mahdy of One and Four Studio! From Egypt to Saudi Arabia to New Zealand growing up and now based in Dubai, culture shock is a term that no longer applies to Engy. This one is a fashion-heavy episode with an OG in Dubai's creative scene. 11 minutes in and fabric suppliers are ringing her phone. In a branded graphic-tees world, One and Four's simplicity cuts through it all to provide ethically sourced and sustainable everyday clothing. Cut from a different cloth. They've got it all, from quick-dry fabric bodysuits and vegetable dyed cardigans, to simple recycled cotton polos. Engy will go to any lengths to keep her promise to herself to hold ethics and sustainability above all else, even as far as partnering with a Peruvian family to produce cardigans for one of her collections. Shout out Elma for sowing the buttons on those. Will it ever be possible to convince fast fashion to become sustainable, or is it up to the people to educate each other to consume more consciously? Tune in to find out. In this illuminating episode, we explore the challenges of freelancing, being independent, event collaboration, the role of social media, advice for up and coming designers, and much more. 0:00 - Who is Engy? 5:15 - Why are creatives marginalized? 9:41 - What is OneandFour Studio? 11:01 - quick business call 15:10 - Sustainability in fashion 21:20 - Motivations behind OneandFour 22:30 - Learning new design methods in quarantine 29:00 - Egypt and Sole DXB collaboration 34:46 - Graphic tees 37:33 - Stopping freelancing/client work 44:47 - Whats next for OneandFour? 45:38 - Effects of social media 46:44 - Engy's message to aspiring designers 48:10 - Other creative passions outside fashion? 49:43 - Story behind the name OneandFour 51:03 - Outro SUPPORT PALESTINE! HERE'S HOW: Palestine Red Crescent Society: https://www.palestinercs.org/ Palestine Children's Relief Fund: https://www.pcrf.net/ Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ DISREGARD YOUR TRADITIONAL NEWS SOURCES!!!!! FOLLOW @mohammedelkurd ON INSTAGRAM FOR LIVE FOOTAGE/UPDATES.

3 years after the inception of her street wear brand - Lahjtna, Aisha joins us for episode 8 to discuss the brands origins and journey so far.  In the intensely saturated field that is streetwear, Aisha managed to create her own unique lane through representing numerous Middle Eastern cultures. What started off as an assignment for a class and black and white tees, has now grown into a fully fledged business and expanded into vest bags, sunglasses, cargo pants and so many more items. As a visual communications student, she chose the creative route in higher education and it really shows in every aspect of the brand, she even has dreams to one day create her own Arabic font one day.  Just as she managed to make streetwear her own, she's made this episode her own as she's the first to switch seats with me.    0:00 - Who is Aisha and Lahjtna? 6:19 - Majoring in graphic design 9:57 - Handling criticism as a creative 11:20 - Lahjtna's customer engagement  19:23 - Creating her own fonts  21:54 - Apocalypse collection  26:20 - Collabing with Lamborghini and Nike for a collection  29:48 - How she secured those sponsorships 34:15 - Over-saturation of street wear and fashion markets 36:44 - The approach to creating each collection  38:53 - Her fav collection  41:29 - How to maneuver suppliers and ordering quantity as a beginner 47:20 - Being your own biggest fan  53:20 - Top 3 songs in rotation and fav concert    Aisha's current rotation:  Daydream - Bayou  Venus is her name - MARCELINA  Suburban - Zeina CHECK OUT LAHJTNA'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lahjtnaae/​  CHECK OUT LAHJTNA'S WEBSITE: https://www.lahjtna.com CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​  CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/​

Episode 7 features the rising photography star that is Lughass. It took a lot of grit and perseverance to get where he is today but he's only just getting started. We get deep into all the highs and lows of his journey, how he started, where his now, and his hopes and dreams for the future. One thing you'll definitely learn about Lughass from this episode is that his storytelling ability is just as good as his photography. 00:00 - Who is Lughass? 1:14 - The talk with family about pursuing photography 3:05 - Learning how to photograph 5:30 - Arthur Edwards: British royal family photographer 6:37 - COVID's impact on Lughass 11:03 - Favorite photographers 22:14 - Michele Morrone's shoot 29:11 - Signing to an agency 38:33 - SOLE dxb basketball court photo going viral 41:00 - Top 3 songs in rotation & favorite concert Lughass' Current Rotation: Lo Lo - Omah Lay Gorgeous - SAINt JHN Jealous - YG CHECK OUT LUGHASS INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lughass/ CHECK OUT LUGHASS WEBSITE: https://www.lughass.com CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/​

Episode 6 features our first ever female musician on Curator's Couch. The immensely talented and well-spoken, Dubai/California raised and UK based, MARCELINA. What started off as singing in the shower and being too shy, eventually became freestyling to 21 Savage beats and accumulating 20k streams on her first song ever. Now, 3 years deep into making music she joins the couch to discuss her journey so far. Oh, she runs a jewelry brand and goes to law school too. You don't want to miss this one. Our topics for this one include MARCELINA's creative processes, her origin stories behind making music and jewelry, spirituality's role in her creativity, the realest shit she ever wrote, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE! CHECK OUT MARCELINA'S SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/40uwOoRjkCTQY2hlBr0qQi?si=7zMP_Dk1SDWbCz2f4LSN8g CHECK OUT MARCELINA'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/marce11ina/ C HECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Who's your producer?! 7:40 - Creative process. 12:05 - Marcelina's music taste. 14:20 - Genres of her music. 16:29 - Jewelry brand - third eye jade. 19:26 - Spirituality's role in creativity. 23:23 - Realest shit you ever wrote. 25:39 - How she began music. 27:41 - First ever song release trending on SoundCloud. 30:20 - Working alongside other artists. 33:32 - Favourite concert and top 3 songs in rotation

Akira Kyle, Filipino born and Dubai bred photographer and videographer, joins the couch for episode 5. He's worked with the likes of Puma, Nike, Pickl, and countless other global and local brands. This one's filled with some serious exchanges about karma and getting what you deserve and corporations taking advantage of creatives. Among other lighter topics like his mount rushmore of Dubai photographers, growing up in a family of creatives, our favourite directors and movies, and how he learnt the technical aspects of a camera. Akira's current rotation: Norf Norf - Vince Staples Nothing Burns Like The Cold - Snoh Aalegra Double Up - Nipsey Hussle 0:00​ - Who is Akira? 3:18​ - Mount Rushmore of Dubai creatives and photographers. 9:00​ - Learning the technical aspects of photography. 12:52​ - Karma and big corporations taking advantage of creatives. 17:08​ - Working with Nike and Puma. 25:00​ - What fuels his art. 27:00​ - COVID and its impact on him. 29:00​ - Our favourite movies and producers and New York City. 35:00​ - Songs and favorite concert. CHECK OUT AKIRA'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/akira.kyle/ CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/

Ronald Ekore, pharmacy student and extremely talented musician based in Ajman, born in Nigeria and raised in Boston, MA joins the couch for episode 4. This man just has the most calming voice we've ever heard, both inside and outside of music. We chat about his creative process, the genres he feels he belongs in, his thoughts surrounding the idea of having no claim on what others label his music after its released, working alongside other musicians and dealing with creative differences, parents and friends reaction to making music, and more. Really just two dudes who are extremely passionate about music having a chat. First guest to ask about my favourite concert too, if you get that reference you a real one. One of the very first people to show love to our series and it was an absolute pleasure chatting to such a genuine and hardworking creative like Ronald. SUBSCRIBE! CHECK OUT RONALD'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/ronaldekore/​ CHECK OUT RONALD'S LATEST ALBUM - POWERS: https://open.spotify.com/album/2yJPcj...​ CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/

Amir Hanna, a fellow Egyptian, long-time friend and photographer joins the couch for episode 3. One of the hardest working people the couch has hosted and by far the one with the most contrasting passions. An engineering major and photography fanatic. His days start off by doing shoots for the likes of Virgin Radio or Emirates Airlines and end with studying fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. Yep, you heard that right. On the episode, Amir discusses how technology is beginning to find its way into creative industries in the form of drones, robots, and AI and how he sees it evolving in the future. And its no accident either, it's obvious he's a man with a plan and has aligned himself perfectly to combine his two passions into his dream career. The topics of this episode include how he landed his Virgin Radio RedFest gig, what he loves and hates about the current landscape of freelance photography, conversations with his parents on wanting a career as a filmmaker, and we even get into how grossly outdated the worlds education system has become. It's a great watch. One love to Amir for coming through. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkH...​ CHECK OUT AMIR'S WEBSITE: https://www.amirhanna.me​ CHECK OUT AMIR'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amirhanna.j...​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/​ CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeLd7jFC/​

Paired with the arrival of episode 2 is the couch's first ever female guest. Taya Shalaby A.K.A The Style Pharaoh comes on to talk about the launch of Maison 825, which is a cool and contemporary approach to redesigning classic board games started by two college roommates. We talk about the recent, generational shift in perspectives when it comes to looking down on creatives, her motivations behind starting her styling blog, growing up surrounded by creatives, and how the pandemic has affected creatives' work rhythms for the better. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkH...​ CHECK OUT Maison 825: https://www.maison825.com​ CHECK OUT TAYA'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thestylepha...​ CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/curatorscouch/​ CHECK OUT OUR TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@curatorscouch​