Several years ago, a friend in L.A. told me about Discostan, a DJ night founded by Arshia Haq. I was enamoured as soon as I learned about it — a space that celebrates music and people from the South West Asian & North African (SWANA) region, and uplifts QTPOC. The first time I saw Discostan was at Starline Social Club in Oakland and I invited everyone I knew. And it was incredibly fun to see so many friends from different friend groups come through and enjoy the atmosphere created!
Over the years, I’ve seen Discostan be a part of amazing showcases and events — one that stands out is Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth: Performing Queer Muslim Futures that was held at the legendary SF bar/venue, The Stud. There was a great lineup of experimental performance artists and poetry readings that held everyone in rapt attention, ultimately ending with a DJ set by Discostan. And in January of this year, Discostan also became Discostan Records, releasing a reissue of Disco Se Aagay by Pakistani artists Nermin Niazi and Feisal Mosleh. It’s such a great album, and I’m so appreciative of Discostan bringing it out of the woodwork. I ended up playing the 1984 remix of “Sari Sari Raat” on my radio show from the album and it was a hit.
I love Discostan for its mission of archiving music from the SWANA region, creating spaces that celebrate marginalized people and our music, as well as releasing reissues under its new label. Productions like Discostan are few and far between, and I’m thankful that this one exists in my home state.