Nefisa's Archives - March 2005

MARCH APRIL MAY 2005

MAY 30- Added a review of REBEL RADIO, which is a compilation album from DeepThinka Records, associates of nefi#10- Covert, who's jus' another one of us artists tryin to get their voice heard in the big, big world. The review was written by nefi#13- O, cos you know I like to keep this all in the nefi-family. AND, you can download the whole album for free if you check the review, so check, check if it's yo thang ;) peace, Y.

MAY 29- That was the best show of my young life so far (see below if ur confused) . Thanks to everyone involved and the hundreds of you who showed up, that was the best and by far biggest audience I've ever seen. Peace, Y.

MAY 27- It is the 10-day anniversary of my albums release! I get more and more words of support and e-mails everyday, in fact I got one text message from a friend on the phone today who bought my album in one of the local shops here... how exciting it was, so if you haven't got your copy then buy it now! hehehe.

now...equally important and only one day away!!!!.....

LIVE LIVE LIVE.... more money spending, money! Money everywhere, it's sick! I bid you to come to the night which is advertised in the SOUK section, on Saturday it is! This Saturday, where I shall be performing two new songs!. It's a pretty big venue with 300 or so already confirmed, and for all you nefi's out there, if you live locally then e-mail me I might be able to sort you out with some £4.00 tickets (very limited supply so e-mail me!) . Also here is a MAP, the closest tube station is RUSSEL SQUARE I do believe, but check the map out for yourself! Bottom line, this is a show for everyone, I hope many of you can make it out and I look forward to talking with lots of you cool cats. In the words of... someone, "Don't be shy, give it a try!" Peace, Y.

PS- All of the nefisa quotes have been updated, have a little sneak peek around the sections to see my ever changing philosophies on life reflected through short and satisfying sound bites of varying depth and meaning! More updates coming soon on nefisa generally too.. "how do I do it?" u ask? Truth is I don't. A robot called "Irwin" is actually responsible for this whole nefisa idea... I'm just the human face, the "puppet-government" if you will ;) peace and life, y.

MAY 22- Here's something I wrote which you may find very interesting if you have the time/patience to read all the way through. Peace. Y.

MAY 21- Album is doing well, thanks to all those who've helped support the Yoshiman so far.... HOWEVER, this is a nefisa update! In other words it's not just about me. First of all, I want to share a photo of nefi# 20, David, who recently came back from a trip to Thailand and Vietnam, this photo is a cool one, so I thought I'd share, check it! The second update... actually I'm not going to have time for the second update, as I'm just about to leave to go and see Harold Budd in concert, I should have put a few reviews up of some of Harold Budd's albums, he's an amazing musician who I've loved for many years, and he's also in his 80's now (he's a pianist) and tonight is going to be his last ever, ever show. Before he officially finishes with music and just... stops! haha, it's going to be interesting. So I shall update you with more nefisa related goods soon. In the meantime, check out my album! haha, but seriously!!!! Peace to all, Yoshi.

PS- I never mention sports, my favorite football team is Arsenal, they just won the FA Cup. That means nothing to a lot of you! How funny. Take care, Y.

MAY 17- My album is out. It's 5am. I'm too tired to smile, but needles to say I've been up all this time working for you! So... go check it out my friends and assorted fans! First one to buy it gets a special suprise, last one to buy it gets a special suprise. Support! Enjoy! www.nefisa.co.uk/flowers&trees peace, y.

MAY 16- CANCELLED! And after all that fuss I made too! Apologies to all hoping to head down for my live performance on the 17th, but the show has been cancelled. Apparently there was some other big BBC club-night going on nearby and the promoter was worried that no one would show, and what do you know, they panicked and pulled the plug on our ethnic-butts! You know what though? I don't mind one bit because opportunities come and go in life, and there'll be plenty more coming God-willing.

A great day for me besides, and I have much to be grateful for. ALSO a great day tomorrow because my album is released! CHECK BACK IN A FEW HOURS TO SEE SOMETHING QUITE MAGICAL TAKE PLACE :) goodnight, goodnite everyone, goodnite...Y.

MAY 11- I'm still busy with my university work until the 16th so please be understanding. I am updating however because I have another live show confirmed, which will also be taking place in the capital city of great big London on the 17th of May... here's the info you need to know- taken directly from the online flyer...

"The creative pairing of spoken word poets / rappers / musicians, Yam Boy and Last Mango in Paris has produced the multi-faceted show… Karmalised.

Karmalised part 3 is happening at CATCH BAR, 22 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch on Tuesday, May 17th 2005.

FREE ENTRY

LIVE: YAM BOY (website) , LAST MANGO IN PARIS , MC YOSHI and a special DJ set by MAGICAL ANJALI BHATIA (website)"

yes they called me MC YOSHI, but who cares? I don't, which is why I didn't even mention it to my man Yam Boy (aka Nikesh Shukla from the friends of nefisa page). Call me what you want, I'll still rock the crowd like no other... In fact they could call me Andrew for all I care, even Jonas! It's going to be an absolutely amazing performance, God-willing. I'm going to be jam-packed full of tension which will joyously release itself as the evening goes on- because in case you didn't know, the 17th of May is my first day for 20 something years that I'll be out of university/college/secondary school/primary school/nursery .... and it's also the official release date for my 2nd LP 'Flowers & Trees' ... and on a personal note, with the month or so that I've had, I'm really looking forward to letting myself be loose and putting on a very different show for u, which will involve some very euphoric-expressionist elements to it. . . (and yes, I do know what I mean by that!) So be there if u can to catch the greatest Yoshi on earth. God willing. Peace to all involved in the daily struggle, if ur in pain then im with u and i love u, summertime is a strange time when things are not as you'd like them to be, or when things are hard, but there's so much to be grateful for when we open our eyes. As Oasis say on their new album, "let there be love" it's everywhere, even when things are at their worst. Keep moving forwards and keep evolving, Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi

PS- please also check the update directly below this for the other show I'll be doing on May 28th!!! I should have a 'live performances' section on this site now, shouldn't I?

MAY 07- As many of those who saw the friends of nefisa page may have noticed the last time I updated it, I have been working on a project with some great dudes from Muslimyouth.net who are creating a CD that's going to have some pretty serious distribution in the UK. It's all been going very well recording-wise, in a very nice London recording studio with a cool producer and some great facilities. I am going to appear on 3 songs on this CD, one of which I have produced, and one of which was producedby my budsky and friend of nefisa, Victrola! More info will follow on regarding the CD soon...

Before all of that though, there is going to be a live show (yes a LIVE SHOW!) in London to showcase the music that we've made. So yes, yes I will be performing these songs along with my brothers and sisters who've been working hard with me in the same studio over the last few weeks (u can see profiles of some of those dudes at the same website if you look to your right) .. and there will also be an interview with me coming up in the very near future too so check back here.

As for the concert, it's going to be a great night, so I advise you all (in the UK anyway) to check out the SOUK section right now where you can buy (yes buy!) tickets for the evening at a reasonable price. Go on, try it. Peace, y.

MAY 03- a quick taste...

APR 28-

"Windmill, Windmill for the land.
Learn forever, hand in hand
Take it all in, on your stride
It is sticking, falling down...
Love forever, love is free
Let’s turn forever, you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?"

Yoshi's busy with his university work right now, if you need to contact him or speak about anything else then leave a message at the bleep. Furthermore, keep checking back because you never know what's around the corner; as always things are moving definitively... reflect on ur daily life and enjoy the life-force handed down to you. Peace to all, Y.

APR 21- Album update... My second album is starting to get on my nerves, simply because of the frustration I feel at not being able to get it out to you right now! I DO however, have a definite release date for you finally (if you are still interested!) Tuesday May 17th is going to be the day of release for 'Flowers & Trees', and to celebrate that evening there will be another live show, this time in our nations capital- London. More infomation will follow on that later (i.......h) Also, yesterday I had an interview about the album, which went great, and hopefully you'll be reading that in the not too distant future. Things are moving...

Right now I'm listening to an album by Sami Yusuf and it's... interesting, positive music. I ask you to look outside your window right now and smile. Life is growing everywhere and this is a beautiful time of year to be alive. Peace to all my friends, and if you've just come across nefisa for the first time... take a look around. Just click things if you don't know what all those sections mean ("What does 'nut-shell' mean???") click and find out! Don't be intimidated, be curious. Peace, Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi.

APR 18- Nice link for us voters in the UK. I am voting for the Liberal Democrats at this years elections, just thought you might like to know that legendary music producer Brian Eno is doing the same ;) We can make a difference if we think making a difference is important... I happen to think that we have a duty to remove dishonest people and scare-mongerers from public office. Peace and love to all of u, Y.

APR 17- Added a live review of Love, which my man O attended last week or so. Check that in the cakes section.

Audio wise- I'm listening to this right now, just click on the LISTEN NOW function. It's an interview with one of my mentors and musical role-models RZA. If you hear him talking about how he makes his music, it might inspire you. Peace, Y.

UPDATE. My good friend and kind sis' Nadia Janjua (nefisa member #18) has a show coming up in beautiful Virginia, USA. You can view the flyer here (someone e-mail me if that doesn't work! and if it does work, ignore the underwear advertisement if you see it!) and please check out Nadia's updated website which is nice, tight and really fresh. New things are always appealing I think, and I hope anyone in the area can check out this show because I'm sure it's going to be inspiring and the artists all seem dedicated and sincere peoples. Spread the word, SATURDAY APR 16th, 2-6 pm! hopefully see you soon.

APR 12- Sorry for the lack of updates I'm incredibly sick with high fever, coughs hallucinations and all kinds of nasty things going on inside me. I can't do all the things I want to do right now for nefisa (actually I can't do anything) but as with such extreme sicknesses, (not that I've ever had it this bad before) there is something about it which makes me think it's purifying me and going to strengthen me if I come out of it okay. So picture that real and positive thought, (as opposed to the stumbling webmaster talking jibberish and crouching over a sink doing you know what.) Self-pity aside, there is a reason I'm forcing myself to turn on the evil computer today.... [I have just reordered these two paragraphs, just five minutes ago this paragraph was on top and the UPDATE was the second thing mentioned...but I realised that my friends gallery was a million times more important than my whining, apologies and sweet dreams]

Everyone be safe, Y.

APR 07- Added a review of the recent live performance by nefi's Yoshi and David with some photos included for all who are interested. Check the CAKES (reviews) section... Peace, y.

PS- more importantly there's an amazing AMAZING and SHORT piece of writing here which nefi18, Nadia Janjua just sent to me... Read it if you have time, it's almost like a tiny little detour. NPR is also a great radio station, my favorite when I'm in America, so tune in as much as you can all you American nefis' and nefi-friends. Peace, y.

APR 06- I've just come back from the performance. I have written something which is quite personal and I hope you'll forgive me for doing so. Here it is. Just keep in mind that what is personal to me is the same as what millions of others feel. I wrote that just now, although a few sentences and ideas were taken from my personal diary which I wrote earlier in the week. The show, and what has just happened after the show were lovely miracles of life, but they're nothing compared to this. Peace and love to all of you out there. My heart is with u if u are true, and I know so many of you, my friends and supporters, are true. In every sense of the word. Love, Y.

APR 02- [this is a reprint from a previous update on Mar 25th to remind local-nefi's...]

LIVE NEFI-PERFORMANCE Yes you heard it right people, there will be a live show featuring not one, but two nefi's on Tuesday the 5th April (see the flyer here for more info). It was mainly an idea I had all of a few months ago to do a showcase before my second LP drops (and yes, it is coming out soon!) but I quickly thought of my other fellow nefi David who is an aspiring MC producer jus' like myself as you well know... so the billing is shared, and the evening is set for a positive upbeat rendering of some of Yoshi's finest new songs, all of which feature on his upcoming album, which I can now confirm, is entitled, 'Flowers & Trees' (those of you who know me well will have known the title for the last 11 months or so, but hey, now everyone knows) And not to forget some of David's illest and grimiest tracks too, it's going to be nice ;)

APR 01- "All those who are not completely at home in this world of fleeting shadows and who yearn for their origin in the paradisal abode- belong to the family of birds.. for their souls possess wings, no matter how inexperienced they might be in actually flying towards the space of Divine Presence." - Seyyed Hossein Nasr, philosopher (thanks to my kind sister, nefi#18 Nadia Janjua for showing me the quote)

"So rest easy bro and be at peace with the One when u sleep.. say salaams to your loved ones before you sleep and make sure the last thing that comes out of your mouth everynight (and everyday) but more importantly every night is a good, kind word----especially to your family and friends.. cause God only knows when that last breath will come... " - D, amazing person, new friend of nefisa, new friend of mine.

friends of nefisa has been updated to include ewan, hiba, imran, kabage & niklas.

MAR 29- It's been a while since I gave you my diary, here's humans diary number 19, this may be the last update for a little while as the busiest period of my young life is about to come up. Y.

MAR 27- Added a book review in he CAKES (reviews) section, the book is entitled 'Marvin Gaye, My Brother' and I liked it. Peace, y.

MAR 25- LIVE NEFI-PERFORMANCE! Yes you heard it right people, there will be a live show featuring not one, but two nefi's on Tuesday the 5th April (see the flyer here for more info). It was mainly an idea I had all of a few months ago to do a showcase before my second LP drops (and yes, it is coming out soon!) but I quickly thought of my other fellow nefi David who is an aspiring MC producer jus' like myself as you well know... so the billing is shared, and the evening is set for a positive upbeat rendering of some of Yoshi's finest new songs, all of which feature on his upcoming album, which I can now confirm, is entitled, 'Flowers & Trees' (those of you who know me well will have known the title for the last 11 months or so, but hey, now everyone knows!) And not to forget some of David's illest and grimiest tracks too, it's going to be nice ;)

Come to the evening if you can, entrance is free, and the more of you I see there, the more motivated I'm going to be. Peace, Y.

MAR 23- I've just been e-mailed by a guy out there called Babuwa Tigbogbo, and he tells me that he's the first son of Agbo Tigbogbo, who was a rich farmer in Zimbabwe. Anyway, I don't know how he got my adress, but apparently some crazy things happened to his dad and it was all Mugabe's fault, and all Babuwa wants is a little cash. Help him out will you? It's your duty as a gullible member of public to give him your bank details as soon as possible. On another spam note, I kept a piece of spam-mail that went to my nefisa account for two whole weeks with the intent of sharing its subject-line with you. The sender was some anonymous lady, let me see, Nancy Xrvibru, and the subject was, 'We must furnish the delight of having the best' .... and I stared at that for a while and thougt to myself, "I can't figure out if that makes sense or not, but it sounds like something I would agree with, surely we SHOULD furnish the delight of having the best!" This wasn't an update to the website, just a reminder that I'm still around. Keep on hitting delete on those e-mails about Cialis, Herbal Viagra, LoanRates, and that dude called RomanRomen who seems to be the most important man in the world given how many emails from him I get daily. Peace, Y.

MAR 22- A new review, for those who are interested, of Roots Manuva's latest LP, 'Awfully Deep' can now be unearthed in the CAKES (reviews) section. Peace, Y.

MAR 20- I have an update in the ORBS (visual art) section for you, this was something nefi#19 Helen Tovey did on the last few nights of her amazing 3-month trek through South America last year. I always liked these and intended to put them on nefi-nefisa, but somehow they slipped through the net as a lot of things seem to do when I'm balancing this site with a million other things. At the moment my friend Helen is working in a theatre company, and in her free time singing with a Jazz band, she's also trying to buy some space in a studio so she can continue her art and be around creative people to further motivate her (which is what this website is all about, but the internet can only take you so far) so all in all she's being a busy lady which is a great thing for all to aspire to, to be busy (good busy!) We all have lives in the daytime, but if we don't spend time nurturing our gifts in our spare time, then what excuses do we have? Enjoy these postcard pieces in Helen's gallery, further the discussion also, if you wish... peace and respect, Y.

MAR 18- I apologize for the lack of updates or anything on nefisa thesedays. There are things going on both here and abroad that make it difficult for me to be really enthusiastic about smaller things, and right now nefisa is a smaller thing because of what's going down. I hope everyone is all okay and still checking back though, still turning off the damn computer and living in the real world too, I know I am and that's the best thing. There will be an art update coming fairly soon from one of our established members, but right about now I'm off to meet a teacher about my final-year dissertation at uni, then go to hand a cd to my friend who is mastering a CD, and then pray, and then continue working with my hands cutting and putting together, literally, all the copies of the album that will one day be in your hands. But like I said, things are going down that kind of dwarf all of this right now and my mind isn't exactly here with my music or with my studies, let alone nefisa- so apologies once again if you came here expecting more fresh fruit from me. It will come in the next few days that's a promise. Peace, Y.

MAR 11- This is something quite funny... but more sad to be honest. I just can't believe it. People just don't get it! I still want to be a teacher, but it saddens me when I think that this sort of way of thinking is around, to think that some adults are so perverted as to want to freeze the imaginations of children in such draconian ways scares me. At the same time it's a wonderful challenge to me and us, but it only reiterates what I already knew, changing the youth of today and tommorrow takes years not days. Lifetimes of learning not wars of ideology- that's why the western governments and bin laden will both fail in their intentions to 'win' whatever it is they're fighting for- because they are too selfish to look beyond their own lifetimes, they want change NOW (instant gratification). I've gone on quite a tangent here, without even showing you what it was that initially disgusted me! So here it is if it's still important.

Also, here is a review of something amazing that I have been listening to recently, 'Anti-Theft Device' by Mix Master Mike is a nice-nice album. I played it to my brother just the other day and he cracked up at some of the funny moments. Read the review in the CAKES section for more illumination; that's some good hip-hop yo! Peace, Y.

MAR 03- One of my favourite bands, The Mars Volta, have just released their second album all over the world (well, not literally all over, but you get me..) and I thought it was quite interesting, in fact I'll be so honest as to admit that I liked it! So much so that I wrote a little somethin' somethin' about it.. The album's called 'Frances The Mute' and you can checkitout in the CAKES (reviews) section! ALSO.........

(down here!) ...There is an amazing interview with one of the founders of hip-hop Afrika Bambaataa right here, I'd love it if anyone remotely interested in hip-hop and how it affects culture read it, cos the guys another one of the many true people who've been there from the start and who- as a result- personify hip-hop, its open-mindedness, and its duty towards helping effect positive changes in culture... You really should read it then shouldn't you?!? Peace to all of you out there.... Yoshi, on the best day of his year so far!

MAR 02- Welcome to March-istan! March-land is here, my favorite month, (and not just because it's my birthday in two days) well if I'm honest- September is my favourite month, I kind of forgot that in all the excitement of a fresh-month of nefisa! BUT March comes a close second to September in my books. It's still snowing here in England, still freezing cold, and I'm loving every moment of it. I hope every else out there is safe and feeling positive. "When u see the future, don't get scared."

What do I have for you today? Come on, you know what time it is now don't you?? NEW MEMBER! Yes, yes, yes. Whilst travelling in Venezia this past December/January one of the cool ladies who worked in the wonderful youth hostel I was staying at (ciao Laura!) handed me a CD. That CD is called '1A' and it's the debut LP of an unbelievably giften man from Chile called Leo Quinteros... Actually his correct title now is Nefi#21 Leo Quinteros! (incidentally, it was Laura's boyfriend Christian Sotomayor who plays drums on this album). '1A' is a seriously nice LP that got rave reviews in Chile and was even given the thumbs-up by Rolling Stone over there, so check out Leo's profile and his website for more infomation (it will also help to have Spanish friends/a translator!) In the future, hopefully, there'll be one or two more tracks of Leo's on nefisa, but for now I want you to go to the DRUMS (audio) section and check out 'Inundándonos' by the man himself. The lyrics are here, rough translations from Spanish to English included, although they are by no means categorical, feel free to leave your feedback! (I've spelt the name of the song incorrectly here, ignore it!)

Also, this months official song (see above) is by Leonard Nimoy aka Mr.Spock from the old Star Trek series. As a child, and in truth as a man, I have always loved Star Trek, but this reading by Leonard Nimoy has always been one of those that moved me, when I first heard it as a developing young 15-16 year old, and to this day. I hope you find benefit from it, hope it makes you feel something.

It's an exciting month and the weather has already begun to get more beautiful, keep enjoying the kind changes and the suns increased presence, this will be a month to remember, remember that. Peace, Y.