Q&A: How to Be a Pop Star Scholar with Suroor Hassan
Pop star, poet, and scholar Suroor Hassan
Suroor Hassan—pop star, poet, and scholar—is like really creative. Read the Q&A from our interview available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
ZACK ORSBORN:
I am joined by Suroor. Suroor is a musician, writer, scholar, very talented hyper pop musician and transcendental performer. My friend Jay Opp told me about you.
SUROOR HASSAN:
Oh, okay. Shout out to Jay.
ZO:
I was asking them who would be cool for the podcast, and they said immediately you. And when I researched you, I was like, I see why.
You're pushing the boundaries. You're on the cutting edge of pop. So I had to have you on. Thanks for joining me.
SH:
Thank you so much. That's such a sweet, sweet introduction. You know, we're out here. We're trying to push the boundaries.
ZO:
Yes, always push the boundaries. Speaking of pushing the boundaries. One thing that really I connect with you—I was reading about you about when you discovered Britney Spears.
My first cassette tape was Britney Spears “Baby, One More Time,” and I was five years old.
SH:
Okay, hell yeah. So we have the same experience.
ZO:
From there it led to a Britney Spears poster. And that was my first poster ever. She was sitting on the back of a truck. I'll never forget that. And that also began my obsession with pop and pop stars.
And I want to know what about pop and pop stars attracts you.
SH:
I'm going to speak more from the perspective of baby Suroor right now since you asked me about Britney Spears. You know that was one of the first memories I can like remember having. Just like not even my first CDs or whatever.
It was like one of my first, like earliest memories that I can remember because I remember seeing it and being like, whoa, this is so cool. This is so artistic in a very like, visceral sense.
And it really feels like she's like, curating a certain image and a certain—she is like presenting herself in a very artistic manner in a very, like, unapologetic, you know, this-is-me type manner. And it was really cool form of self-expression. That was like my first time really seeing that. And so that just, like, immediately captivated me. And yeah, I just remember from a young age, just really not only being captivated by that, but also like, interested by that, in the sense of like, where can this go?
Like this is a very interesting premise of the pop star, right? And it's like, where can we take that? And then you sort of go like—where I sort of discover more like experimental pop stars, like more of something like a Bjork or like they have that same sort of presentation and expression but they're doing something really like interesting and weird with that.
And I think from there, like my own personal vision develops a bit. But yeah, it all really starts from that moment when you discover that for the first time and you're like, this is really like cool and really also just, like, interesting and curious.
ZO:
Yeah, it's Britney, bitch.
SH:
It’s Britney, bitch. Literally.
ZO:
One thing I love about pop stars is the idea of a persona creation. Do you consider yourself a persona? How much is persona and how much is authentic?
SH:
Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I don't really know. It's interesting because, I feel like just me as a person, like in the iteration that I am right now, it's just so new to me.
And I feel like I started music at the same time that I was like, you know, starting just developing as a person. I mean to answer your question, there isn’t like a strong difference between my music persona and my in-real-life persona. And precisely because the time with me developing musically and developing as a person, sort of like was a Venn diagram that’s a circle.
So I feel like they've both just kind of like developed in very similar ways. It is definitely like an act of self-creation for sure. Not just in like a persona way, but like just even creating myself really. I mean, it's interesting— it almost is kind of like the reverse, where I've created this music persona and I've kind of stepped into it and even just like, my name is the biggest example of that.
Suroor was the name of my music project before it became my own name.
Suroor basically—it's kind of like a tough word to translate. It has a lot of, like, different connotations, but like intoxication, like sensory bliss, like visceral, like happiness. And then there's this famous ghazal—is what it's called, but it's kind of like a song—which talks about the intoxication that you get through music and that was my first version of like, oh, this is it would be a really good name for like, a music act.
And then after performing under that for a while, I just, like, adopted it as my own name because it just felt like me.
ZO:
You were talking about the iteration of you right now. Talk to me more about that. What does that mean?
SH:
Just, you know, in the sense of like, I think before—I've only very recently started giving a fuck about myself as a person.
You know, I feel like before, like 2 or 3 years ago, I was kind of just like going on autopilot. But more recently, I've started to actually develop as a person, and it's sort of like, gone very hand-in-hand with my development as an artist.
ZO:
So you started electronic music in 2020, right?
SH:
Yeah, I started diving into the rabbit hole in 2020.
ZO:
Same for me. The thing about electronic music is it's so experimental. You can alter anything. What about electronic music excites you as an artist?
SH:
I mean, yeah, it’s kind of what you said. The limits are endless.
It's like you can literally create whatever sound you want. It's really just like the the amount of power it gives you. Before I started doing electronic music, I often felt like kind of a bit bored with music, or I felt a little like, I guess maybe even helpless in a way, in terms of, like, you know, I'd be writing songs, I'd be like, this isn't hitting.
It would hit, but it wasn't like what I wanted to make. And then when I dived a little bit deeper into electronic music, just like the sheer scope of all the different sorts of textures that you can play with. That really helped me tap into my creativity in like a really deep way, in a way that like, this is it. Like, this is what I want to be doing.
ZO:
It’s your path.
SH:
Yeah, it was very apparent that it was my path. Like as soon as I dove into it, I was like, I’ll get this. Like, this is it.
ZO:
I’m bit of a project process nerd. I love to find out how projects were started and created. And with your debut album, Lavender Showers—what all went into that in terms of concepts?
How did you work on that? Like, what are the details on that?
SH:
So yeah, it's my debut album and—I started I don't know, it's my debut album, so it's like the album I dropped when I was really like coming into the scene, and I was kind of already sitting on a lot of material that I had just made since 2020, I guess.
At least little bits and pieces of it. So, when I started really getting into the Memphis music scene and I started thinking about dropping an album out, I had a lot of work that I could base as the foundation for it. And then I worked on some more songs and fleshed it out a little bit more.
In terms of the concept of it—I mean, the name really just like came to me because there’s the title track of the album, Lavender Showers. That's just kind of like a chorus, a refrain that just came to me. I was like, showering or something.
I was like, [sings lyrics]. And that like kind of came to me out of nowhere, and then I was like, okay, Lavender Showers would be a badass album name. It was very, I guess kind of like freestyled, the name of it. But, I mean, you know, nothing's ever really like freestyle, right?
It kind of comes from somewhere. And I think that what I was kind of going for is to this image of lavender—in queer culture, lavender has a certain like, indicator of queerness and, just like, you know, blooming, and I love the smell of it.
Obviously. I love the color. It is my favorite color. And then sort of like juxtaposing that image of blooming and coming into yourself with showers, kind of like in a chaotic way, and like, disrupting that a little, and I think that was very reflective of who I am as a person and also my music project.
So I think that was kind of like how it came to me. But you never really know. You can you try your best to understand where your ideas come from, but yeah.
ZO:
It hits you like a bolt sometimes. What kind of things do you consume that give you inspiration? Or do you have rituals or habits that keep your ideas, that tunnel open?
SH:
That's a good question. I don't know, I mean, I just listen to a lot of music. I'm a music nerd and I'm always searching for new stuff. I'm always thinking. I'm always thinking about, like, you know, what do I want to do?
What's happening right now? And where do I want to, like, take music in general? And I think just like the act of listening to everything that's dropping and also like, deep diving into history as well. Doing that a lot is something that keeps my artistic practice fresh, in terms of creating. It really just happens whenever. I don't have, like, a strong—I'm not a very ritualistic person.
I kind of just open up my laptop and just, like, go for it. And like, what happens, happens. And, you know, sometimes I'll have specific ideas of like, oh, like, it would be cool if I made a song like that. Or sometimes I just explore and take my guitar and mess around with some stuff and just see what happens from it.
It's more so related to like performing when I become more ritualistic. Because when I perform, I think I really get into a zone. And then there are some things that I do that helps me like get into that zone.
Like I always have a Clif Bar. Protein.
ZO:
Gotta have protein.
SH:
Protein. But also, like, I don't know, it's just something about it. It's my emotional support Clif Bar.
ZO:
What flavor?
SH:
Banana peanut butter, chocolate brownie, or white chocolate macadamia nut.
ZO:
The white chocolate macadamia is my shit. You were talking about researching history. What areas or topics of history are there that excite you, that you read about?
SH:
Well, I guess it's more so I meant listen. I listen to old albums.
And I really just try to explore whatever. Recently I've been diving a lot into, like, 80s goth music. Recently I've also been diving into a lot of like O.G. R&B soul stuff. And also, you know, Kraftwerk is coming to Memphis. I'm doing like a deep dive on Kraftwerk right now. I'm going into that too.
I’m so excited about that. But it's really just like—because when it comes to diving into history, I try to like dive into stuff that I don't have already a good grasp on to really like see what else is going on.
ZO:
Yeah. I can relate to that. There's a 500 Greatest Albums list from Rolling Stone and I'm like, slowly working my way through that—from 500 to 1.
I've listened to like 80 to 90 albums so far. That’s what I do when I workout.
SH:
What's the number one?
ZO:
I don't know. I want it to be a surprise. I like really want to know what it is. But like it's exciting to me to see what's coming next.
Like I don't really look forward. I kind of want it to be a surprise. I mean, there are some that I don't really like, but I’ve found some really cool stuff through that.
So along with your music, you're also a phenomenal writer. I've read a sample of your poetry from Peeling the Petals. I want to know what went into creating that body of work. How did you compile it? What were the themes? What was going on in your life?
SH:
That was like my first poetry book as well. And it's kind of a similar story to my debut album. It's really just, I had like a bunch of material I had been working on and I was like, you know, it'd be cool to have a poetry book. So I kind of just looked at what I wrote from the past like 3 or 4 years, and picking like the coolest ones and just compiling it into something.
So in terms of like what was going on and what went into it, it's hard to really say because it's such a long period of time. But poetry is something that is in some ways, it's more therapeutic to me than music because music often isn't very cerebral for me. It's often a very like, visceral thing.
But poetry is more like therapy in terms of like unpacking what's going on. Kind of like a diary.
It's like my way of having a diary where I really just work through my feelings and trauma.
ZO:
What are some things that you unpack?
SH:
I mean, mainly like my childhood and how different it is to like, my current life, I think.
And just like the whole journey of my life, yeah. You know, the journey of immigrating here and sort of like adapting to a different culture. I know I have a bunch of poems that specifically deal with that. I mean, a bunch of those poems are also just kind of like breakup poems.
ZO:
Those hit hard. Those are the easiest to write to me.
SH:
Yeah. And I mean, some of them are also kind of like, you know, exploring like queer joy, just writing cute little gay love poems sometimes as well.
ZO:
The world needs those. I'm very impressed that you also have your own record label, Purgatory Pressings.
What goes into being a Purgatory Pressing artist? What do you look for? What's like the brand? What kind of music?
SH:
Purgatory Pressings, I run with Window and other Memphis artists and part of our vision with Purgatory was to bridge all the different subsections of the Memphis music scene.
I mean, in a word, like everything. Like we're both music heads and we love mixed bills and we want to popularize mixed bills in the sense of going to a show. And, you know, there's a hardcore band and a singer songwriter and a rapper and like, you know, different genres together, rather than it being just like, just like a hardcore night or like a rap night. We think it's interesting when all these things come together.
When we're curating shows and festivals and such, we really try to get a little bit of everything.
ZO:
So it’s more about discovery.
SH:
Yeah. The reason we exist is more like discovery and connecting the community together. Platforming artists that might not have a following in other areas of the scene and vice versa.
Just, like, really just like bridging everything. Because like you said, there's so much going on here. And I think trying to develop like a unity between all the subfields is something that we were really trying to do because we kind of have a foot in everything because, you know, we're both such, intergenre artists and we draw from all sorts of different genres.
And we go to all sorts of different shows. And we tried to really use that as a foundation and bridge things together and help the Memphis music scene just grow because it's a strong group when we're all together.
ZO:
Yeah, it’s the best.
SH:
And it definitely like needs to grow. We want the scene to grow. We need more people here. We need more exposure.
ZO:
Hearing you talk, you seem to be a very curious and adventurous person.
SH:
Yeah. That I would own.
ZO:
Where do you get that from?
SH:
My four Pisces placements.
ZO:
Oh wow! Big fish energy.
SH:
Very water sign energy. I mean, like all jokes aside—well, maybe jokes aside, it's my mom and my four Pisces placements. I mean, I really just—even just as a little girl was really introduced to a lot of, like, music and a lot of art and was always kind of like given the platform to explore that and given the encouragement to explore that.
And I think I really like took that on and and never looked back. Art is like the coolest thing ever for me. And I'm just like a nerd and I just like to explore everything that's out there to an extent where like, it gets overwhelming sometimes.
ZO:
Yeah, there’s so much information. I want to read everything.
SH:
Yeah, exactly. And I just go into rabbit holes and I'm like, no, I have shit to do, I have emails to send.
ZO:
Yeah, like I have to teach a class. Work on my dissertation. Are you still working on your dissertation?
SH:
Yes. I am in like my fourth year. I have around like two years left. And I'm kind of just starting on writing, actually writing the thing.
ZO:
How do you balance like, such an academic side with your art? Do they coexist? Do they merge?
SH:
They honestly feel very similar in like both of them to me. I feel like I tap into, like the same parts of my brain when I do both of them because, you know, teaching is like a performance too. Like when I go into the classroom, I feel the same, like parts of my brain being activated than when I am on stage. And yeah, even in terms of like, creation, like when I create a song or an album, it's kind of a similar process to when I create an article or a book. It's kind of like the same vibe, the same process.
ZO:
I want to talk about your dissertation topic. Give like a brief overview and what made you want to explore that. Because it's such a cool topic.
SH:
Yeah, yeah. My dissertation is essentially like, it's partly historical, kind of exploring the types of Western conceptions of biological sex that the British Empire sort of imposed onto queer South Asian populations.
ZO:
Classic.
SH:
Yeah. Like, classic British Empire thing to do. Exploring that a little bit and also kind of making a theoretical intervention in sexual difference discourse essentially primarily in the field of ethnography.
I'm kind of like conversing with a particular, like a specific author, and she has this critique of Western ethnography where she essentially argues that the idea of sexual difference that the West imposes onto queer South Asian populations is they overstate the salience of like, non-normative sexuality for them because it seems non-normative from a Western point of view.
But from their point of view, it's not really. There's a lot of other things that come into how they define themselves, like spirituality and community and stuff. I'm essentially like yes-anding that in a way. I’m trying to put a bit more emphasis on to the very idea of biological sex that came into popularity in that era and going a bit deeper into, like, where did that concept even come from?
Because it's something that we like, take for granted, really. But there's like a very rich and particular like history of it and the ways that governments try to enforce it. So that's essentially like the project in a nutshell.
ZO:
Have you learned anything about yourself through that project?
SH:
Yeah. I mean, I guess I've just learned how like the sheer extent to which sex and gender was actually like a constructed thing, even like at a scientific level.
Essentially just kind of—I don't know if I've learned a lot about myself. It's more about I've learned a lot about the world and how the world came to be what it is right now.
ZO:
How everything is made up?
SH:
Like where this normativity even came from, right. And like the exact way that it was like enforced. So it's been like really cool to learn about that and contribute to that field of discourse.
ZO:
And so you have your debut album. There's going to be a sophomore album eventually one day.
SH:
Yeah, I mean soon, I think, I hope. I'm kind of getting into album mode. Hopefully this year I'm dropping a sophomore album this year. But we'll see. I'm sitting on a lot of material and I haven't finalized release plans yet.
I'll definitely be dropping singles this year. I might drop an album this year too, but we'll kind of see how it develops.
ZO:
Can you talk about the creation process of that and how it differs from your debut album?
SH:
Yeah, I mean, that's interesting. There's a lot of things that are very similar, and there's some things that are different.
It's more of an intentional process now because it's not like I have a lot of material that I'm sitting on. I'm creating material right now in service of like the vision of it. So there's a bit more like, preemptive plotting of the vision, I guess.
But it is still like pretty similar too—in terms of like how I create. It's very, very similar to the debut album. The big difference is now I'm working with the studio, whereas the debut album was all recorded in my bedroom, mixed and mastered by myself. So that's really the biggest difference.
ZO:
I want to talk about performing now. As someone who has an album, I've never performed because I'm scared shitless. If you could offer advice to people like me, what would you say about performing? What would you tell them?
SH:
I would say, just do it. Just do it. Even though you're scared, just do it over and over and over again.
Because that's how you become not scared. Because, like, I remember the first time I performed, I got on stage and I was like, what is this? Like? And it is a really strange thing to do.
But that's something about me is like, I do get scared of things, but I tend to do them anyway, even though I'm scared because I feel comfortable in sitting with with the fear.
ZO:
How did you learn that?
SH:
Well, I guess out of necessity because anything that I wanted to do required sitting with it because I kind of like, I knew that I wanted to become a performer, that I needed that.
And I just did it. And I was like, you know, there's no question about it. Like, if I'm scared, then that sucks for me. But I'm still gonna do it.
And I guess another, more like practical advice maybe is, go to open mics because that's a good way to start doing like low stakes performances and then work your way up to, like, an actual bill. I didn't do that then. So that's like learning, retrospectively learning. And that's like an advice I give to a lot of people who are trying to perform is like go to open mics and like, try to do low stakes performances before like jumping into it because, you know, my first performance was a really big one.
It was at Memphis Current, an older venue. It was a cool venue. And that was my first, first ever performance, like in my whole life. And it was really overwhelming. Like, I got on stage and it's one thing that they don't tell you is that like, the spotlights are so bright.
And I got on stage and I was like, and the spotlights are right on you, right? So you can't see anything. And I got on stage and I was like, I can't see anything, right? Like, why didn't anyone tell me? But you know, when I got the offer to do that show, like I just said, yes. I didn't even think about it because I knew that I needed to do it.
And I was like, this is going to be scary and it's gonna suck. And it did suck. I didn't enjoy that experience, but it was just something that I needed to do. And so I was like, I don't care if you're scared—you're going to do it. Which I guess I don't know if that's the healthiest approach to take in life, but.
ZO:
No, I love how fearless you are. Where do you see your performance—how do you see yourself pushing the boundaries in terms of that?
SH:
I mean, I am really inspired by artists that have like a huge, maximalist approach to performing in terms of having backup dancers and like, I really want to work with an orchestra. I want to have like a whole ensemble, and I really want to work with stage design and doing cool stage props and really getting creative with the sort of like, stage ambiance that I create.
I want to fly.
Because I went to a play and it was Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's like, flying and I witnessed that. And I was like, that's so cool. Like, I want to do that.
So I have a lot of ideas. And I guess it's about just getting the resources to do that and just kind of like going step from step. So, we'll see how it progresses and how soon we get there. But I definitely have like a vision for, like, elevating the live sets.
ZO:
I have no doubt you'll be flying. Sooner than later. My favorite question to ask artist is—and you were talking about resources—if you had all the resources in the world, all the free time, what would be your dream project?
SH:
My dream project would be to just like, create the most amazing live show ever, have like a whole ensemble of, not only like orchestra instrumentalists but like all the different kind of instrumentalists. Have like a bunch of backup dancers, like crazy stage props, and like sculptures and stuff. Like fireworks.
I sometimes use bubble machines in my live shows, and that's really fun. But it's like a small little, like cheap one from Amazon.
So maybe like a huge one. And it's like flying everywhere. I don't know—like really just trying to like get creative developing that.
ZO:
In the next few months, where's your art going? What are you focusing on right now?
SH:
Right now—well, I mean, kind of everything that we talked about, like getting into album mode, working on that and and trying to—yeah, just like seeing where that goes. I'm going on tour next month. It's like a midwest tour with this band called Ultra, and they're like one of my favorite bands, like, ever.
ZO:
How many cities?
SH:
Seven. I'm really excited for that. And then I'm also working on getting a summer tour together, but we'll have more information on that later. But you know, there are also a bunch of local shows I'm doing that I'm really excited about.
I’m going to be playing Memphis Concrete Fest in June.
So I'm really excited for that too. There's a bunch of cool, like, local stuff happening and tours in the works, and albums in the works. My dissertation is in the works. Yeah, I can't forget about that. Yeah, I kind of got to stay grounded on that while all of this is happening, too. Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot going on.
ZO:
Yeah, I guess my last question would be, with all this going on, how do you remain stable? Like, not overwhelm yourself. Like, how do you manage all that?
SH:
I'm kind of in the journey of figuring that out. It's hard and it's all very new to me still, right? Like I've been doing music for like almost two years professionally, but really it's been like a year since it's really like taken off and I've been like, touring all the time and working with the studio and like all that, all the other stuff that's kind of really elevated it.
So I'm still kind of like figuring out how to balance all that stuff. But I mean, I'm really like—I think one thing that really helps is I'm very intentional about getting rest. Like, I don't go crazy and, like, drink a bunch of Monsters and stay up all night working on stuff. I think that's sometimes the picture that people have of me.
Like, when I told someone that I get eight hours of sleep every day, they were like, really surprised. They were like, I had the exact opposite picture of you.
I'm very intentional about getting rest. Because I think that's something I've learned to like—because usually in the past have had this mentality of like, I'm just going to like work, work, work, work until I get burnt out, right? And that's like whenever that happens, that happens, and we get to it when we get to it.
And then, you know, you work, work, work and then you get burnt out. But when you're burnt out, you can't work anymore.
ZO:
And you have to be consistent to be a pop star.
SH:
Yeah, exactly. And I guess it's about like being proactive. Over the course of years of, like, growing into yourself, you kind of like—if you're listening to your body and your mind and your soul, you get to really, like, know yourself and what your limits are.
So it's about like, you know, being introspective about that and being, like, respectful to yourself and intentional with taking our time to rest and recalibrate and doing that proactively rather than reactively. And I think that's how I sort of like extend my battery life to its largest extent.
ZO:
Growth.
I want to thank you for coming on. I have no doubt that you are going to take the world by storm. You're going to be international. You're going to influence music. There's going to be like little Suroors out there dancing around in lavender.
SH:
Little Suroors! Hell yeah.
Where to find Suroor Hassan
Instagram: @suroor.901
Website: www.suroor.org