Mosno Al-Moseeki

Hello friends,  I simply wanted to wish everyone a happy shiny new year. I apologize for not being in the scene much, I can't promise that I will in the future, but I still wanted to send love to those who visit this side of the web :) An announcement I wanted to make, my music page is updated to have my 3 albums, all are free to stream and download, feel free to go have a listen. Enjoy the new year. See you all soon. Big Hugs & Lots of love. Mosno.

It is difficult, very difficult, and I'm sure many of my Sudanese diaspora around the world feel like I do. My beloved Sudan is going through some extraordinary changes, and unfortunately it has brought forth many lost lives, and even more instability in my beautiful home-land. Being a foreigner in a foreign land, it feels..odd, and powerless, knowing that all I can do is re-tweet, or write blog posts about the situation there, while many are fighting for their lives, for the soul and future of our country, and ergo for me. Saying "Shukran (Thank You)" is not enough, saying "I love you" is not enough, saying anything is not enough, but saying nothing is unacceptable. When I started my musical journey many years ago, I had made a decision, it was to not sing political songs. I wanted to be a prototype, not a stereotype. The main reason for that was, to sing to my Western audience songs that they would relate to, songs about love, about heart-break, about....

Hello Mosnonauts, This is a quick mobile update for you. The first week of the Christmas Special Show went really well, we are having so much fun with this show. Its set like an old fashion radio show, with a sound effects guy and everything. I get to do 3 full songs, 2 christmas songs (done my way, with the full band), and the finale tune, an original song called "Better with you" by the talented Maia Rodriguez. This upcoming weekend is your last chance to see it. I highly recommend coming out, its so much fun. The dates are in the calendar page, and you can buy your tickets at www.ChristmasSpecialShow.com Love you all dearly. Have a safe holiday everyone. Mosno Al-Moseeki A Mobile Update 

My crazy Mosno brain is hyperactive with happiness right now. Even those these new tech/entertainment news are "unrelated", I'm making some crazy connections between them. THIS FALL Playstation has announced that they will be releasing their PS VR System this Fall, this is HUGE. There aren't many (if any) Virtual Reality systems that are accessible to the main public at the moment. So for SONY to be releasing such a system for you to have in your home, is AMAZING. 2019 : READY PLAYER ONE One of my favorite novels "Ready Player One" is officially being turned into a movie, this is an awesome adventure story, set in a not so far future, full of 80's references. Its a page turner, lots of fun, and is VERY awesome. WHAT'S THE RELATION DUDE? Now your wondering "how are these two related"? Well. In the "Ready Player One" book, everyone has a Virtual Reality System (VR). That's where they log in to go School, to go to Work,...

So many complaints this year, and its only MARCH. Good god people! Apparently the new #Ghostbusters movie is getting complaints, holy moly. I saw the trailer, and I have to say the only complaint I have is how they choose to portray the African-American Lady, she's very stereotypical. Not sure what the point of that was. In the Original film, Winston Zeddemore was not the "token black guy", in fact he was more of a Technical Writer, he would translate the technical scientific speak into understandable terms for thegeneral public. Which would mean that he had to have some kind of Scientific background...sooo why didn't they just do the same here? Personally a movie about 4 smart women fighting ghosts is very Sexy, but hey, That's Just me I guess!! Be well out there, and just love each other, ok!? Shukran, Thank you --- Into the creative beyond we go. Shukran for reading, Love you lots, Mosno Al-Moseeki [  www.mosno.net  ] Mosnonauts  /  Instagram ...

That is honestly how I feel. I'm not writing this to complain, or to be pessimistic. On the contrary, I'm trying to be helpful. Being a patron to the arts is a great thing, if you can do it. But now in the last days 2015, I believe people have "Generosity Fatigue".   Kickstarter the crowdfunding platform started back in April of 2009, back then it was fresh and exciting, and people were enthusiastic in helping artists, bands, and gadgets come to life. The platform still exists, but since then a whole array of different platforms appeared as well, like Pledge Music, Indie GoGo & Go Fund Me.  Then in 2013 a new kind of platform appeared, popularized by a company called Patreon. In this platform, they  wanted to focus on "sustainable" income for the arts, which also worked when it started out. I found that it was more visual artists focused. Many of the artists either provided videos, or art work, but it is open for all arts.  Now Bandcamp announced...

To be honest, I'm following my gut on this one. If you follow me on social media (links are below if you don't), then you know I'm constantly working on projects. My current one is a 7 song moon based album, and I already have a semi-completed "Autumn, Desert, & The Moon" poetry/music/art project that will follow that. I really love sharing these projects with everyone, and one way that many artist use is this site called Patreon . Which they would have different levels for different rewards. Supporters would agree to give "x-amount" per month or per content, and in return receive what ever art that level gets them. But here is the thing, I want ALL my supporters to be able to access ALL the content. I don't like the separation part of all this. SO, I've decided to still use Patreon, but I will have only ONE price on there: $3. Yup. One price to rule them all . I have the page set up for $3/month , not per content, that way you are on...

You read that right, I'm daring you to Scare yourself. No I don't mean by watching a horror movie, and putting yourself in danger. I mean it in a creative way, it will be exhilarating. This has happen to me twice thus far in the last couple of years, and I have totally grown from each time it has happened. The first time this happened was in the Summer of 2015, I got asked to play at a local festival called SOWEBO. At that point, I had always had a percussionist to perform with me, and I NEVER ask for a percussionist, unless I am able to pay them, this is purely out of respect for them and their time. So when I found out that this was a non-paying gig, I panicked a little, because I was not going to be able to pay someone to accompany me. To add fuel to this fire, I was not going to be on the "singer/songwriter" stage, I was placed on the Americana stage, right in between two full bands. I was shaking like a leaf, but I put my big boy pants on, got up there with my ...

I had the honor of being contacted by Sudanese reporter Hana Baba for an interview on the NPR & PRI program "The World" on KALW, about the recent racist comments that were made recently to a Nubian soccer player in Egypt. The Full interview with Hana Baba Please Share, thank you. With Love Mosno

As many of you know, I have been working on a little EP, which is developing into quite the musical project, and I love it. It started off with me wanted to create a tiny 3 song acoustic EP for me to use to market myself, and it is now developing into a thematic, artistic album, which I'm super excited about. There is one thing different though, I've decided to join forces with my friend and talented producer Maurice Carroll of Stinkiface Studios . Maurice and I have worked in the past on original songs, that are off the beaten path, they always come out amazing. Something happened this past week that has gotten the gears in my head turning, I have always played the role of Singer/Songwriter & Producer for my songs, I even produced a song for Sahffi Lynne 's " Exceptions " album called " Heart Strings ", so it was different for me to step back and let Maurice do his thing with my song "In This Place" from the Moon album I'm working o...

I love it when I learn new words, my new favorite one is Selenophilia . You have no idea how excited I was to learn that this word existed! It basically means "A Love of the moon", which would make me a Selenophile "(n) a person who loves the moon". How freakin cool is that!!? Photo by: Johanna Grace / Edited by: Gela Ghaderi I have always had a healthy obsession with the moon, I never knew why, and I never questioned it. I've just always found comfort in sitting or standing, and stare at the moon. It always clams me down. In my desert culture, the Moon is used as a symbol of beauty many times, and as you may ha ve heard in many of my songs, I use the moon quite often in my writing. The cool thing is, I learned about this word, just as I had finished writing a new song called " Sahara Moon" , of course. So this new exciting discovery lead me down a moonlight rabbit hole, and now I'm working on a 5 song EP of love songs that are moon the...

As many of you know by now, Baltimore is in an un-easy place. Due to the death of a young African-American (Freddie Gray), while in police custody, riots and looters have taken to the streets. The local police have joined forces with the National Guard. A curfew has been put into place (10pm - 5am), last night was the 1st night of its activation, it was intense. But what the media doesn't show, are the peaceful, protesters who are also out there. I was having a conversation with my friends while checking up on them and I said "The Lovers need to be as loud as The Rioters". That evening I get invited to the " I Am Love - Baltimore march ". How can I refuse. The gathering will be at 4:30pm The corner of Charles St. & Northern Ave. At the Ynot Lot. I will be going out to the Love March this afternoon, will take my phone with me, and post videos both to my YouTube and to my Instagram in hopes to show the Peaceful side of these protests. I couldn...

It was a shiny, bright, warm day, the Sun gloriously beaming on where I stood. I was on a sidewalk, with grass at the end of both sides, as I stood there, observing this warm world around me, I notice something under my meet. I see a few un-alive worms, clearly have been stepped on (hopefully by accident), but there was one long alive one. Part of it was stuck to the ground, the other part wiggling for dear life, I looked at the direction it was wiggling towards and I saw shady grass. I knelt down to one knee, carefully picked it up, I was worried the stepped on part would separate but it didn't (yay), and I placed it on the grass it was wiggling towards. I swear, I have never seen a worm move so fast, as soon as I put it down it dug a whole like a BOSS, and slid right under there, but what I did notice, was that after it was almost all the way through, it stopped for a few seconds wiggling at me, and then it disappeared into the cool grass. I smiled and went along with my day...

It sure is, and I get it every year, multiple times. Its as if its going out on purpose to get me. The problem is, not only do I get on my own, but I get it from other people as well. If I see someone going through it, I get it. If I speak with someone who has it, I get it. And worst one, is when said person (sometimes multiple persons) seek me out to be part of a collective that has it, because 9 out of 10 times, I will say "Yes please". The infectious infection I'm talking about is "Creativity", get your mind out of the gutter :) Last week I had a good week of music adventures, and it ended with a grand show in which I met new friends, got to see old friends, shared a stage with inspiring friends, and oh yes, picked up another infection, i.e. agreed to have a creative session which may lead into something sonically super awesome. And I'm hoping that I can make that project a reality, but am a little apprehensive about it. I bring this up because I thi...

By no means am I a car guy, I can't tell you the year of a car by listening to it drive down the road, heck I don't even know how many horse power my current car is, but I do find my self watching a LOT of car programs, and they actually inspire me. My Mosno brain works in mysterious ways, and I love it that way. Here is what I notice at these car programs: These mechanics, absolutely LOVE cars. I love it when they take an old non-functioning car, and get to work on it and fix it up and make it alive again, it really puts a big smile on my face, and I'm sure it brightens their day as well. These guys and gals are artists in their own right, it truly does take talent to do what they do. So I got to thinking... The mechanics get paid for doing something they truly love, they are happy, the customer is happy, and good karma all around. So why is this not happening more often in music and the arts? Then it hit me, People would probably say "Well paying a mechanic t...

Maybe I should move to Florence, they seem to like art..a lot. As you know, one of the big topics in the art world is getting patrons, to help keep the arts alive. So I wanted to do a little digging on the topic, which I think would be beneficial to both Art Creators & Art Lovers. So lets start of by the definition of "Patronage" : via WikiPedia  "Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes and the wealthy have provided to artists such as musicians, painters, and sculptors". Alright, that is simple enough to understand, we've seen these types of acts on "project-based" modles, such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and Pledge Music, in which you support a specific project, that is considered patronage, or "a Sponsor" of said project. Notability & Credibility : via A Brief Histor...

It has dawned on me a few moments ago that I have not blogged in quit sometime, because I have not put it in my calendar to do so, and I thought to myself "Why haven't I put it on my calendar?", and it hit me. Projects. Yup, I tend to do more blogging when I'm working on creative projects, which makes sense. I of course did a LOT of blogging when I was working on " NOVELLA ", and I loved every bit of it. A while back I was posting about The FAWM EP (now called Enchanting Paramnesia) , which is still happening with the talented Joe Scala who just finished his 3rd FAWM challenge , way to go dude. Earlier today I was reading this awesome post by my other talented friend Jon Patton of Midway Fair , it chronicles the process he took to writing the freshly released to bandcamp album " No Fortunes ". He wrote, recorded, & produced the entire 14 track album in the 28 days of February. So yea, my friends are kind of Bad-Ass when it comes to creativ...

I have, and still do, struggle with this question. "Am I patient, or stupid?", because I have to be one of the two, I don't see a third option here. Many articles have come up recently on the internet talking about the "Middle Class" musician, and how (in some articles) they are failing, and in other articles, they are doing well. In the "failing" articles, the bands aren't making much if any profit, but they are at least touring, some even on a national level. In the "doing well" articles, artists are making a living, strictly out of their music endeavors, I'm talking in the thousands of dollars. As an indie, unsigned artist, I tend pay close attention to these artist, and try to learn from what they are doing, to better improve my musical career choice. The problem is, I am doing most of what they are doing, yet I'm not receiving the same response. I applied to sites like Music Bed who specialize in having "music fro...

I knew this was going to happen, it didn't even take me a month, but it has happened. I have 3 new projects that I will start working on this year: 1- A goatFISH album. Sahffi and I have decided to work on a new goatFISH EP, so far we have a full new song, and have started a 2nd one, we shall be documenting this process and sharing it with you all soon. 2- Enchanting Paramnesia  Finishing up the Mosno EP that is being produced be Joe Scala , we took a little break from it due to Joe getting ready for his CD release on Jan/17th. Once that's over the break is done. 3- Autumn Desert & The Moon For those who followed me last year, you all already know about the love poet I wrote called "Autumn, Desert, & The Moon". Now I'm thinking of joining forces with a good friend of mine to create an accompaniment book to go with the 3 part poem AND to compose music for each section AND even possibly do some kind of Spoken Word album with it. I'm still wor...

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you've had a safe and delightful transition into 2015, mine was awesome, I played a benefit concert to help raise money for The Vegan Living Program , the same program that helped me transition into my beautiful,  peaceful Vegan life style :) One thing that happens every year is the whole Resolution thing, personally I'm not a fan of this, it has never worked, at least for me. You don't have to Change yourself every year, that is just exhausting,  and un-effective. I'd rather improve on what I already have, or even just make a minor adjustment, I found that to work much better. A good way to do this is reflect on the accomplishments of the past year, and use that as a building block for this shiny new one. I'm proud of many things I've done in 2014, most notably is the release of my 3 year concept album " NOVELLA : a love letter to culture clash ", getting it reviewed in Canada, Qatar, Baltimore, and even a Sudan/...