Maha Eljak is a Sudanese (now living in the Netherlands) musician, artist and model who I found upon discovering the publication SceneNoise. On the front page was an interview which described her music as post-punk, a genre I am absolutely obsessed with. After some trouble finding her songs online and a plethora of dead-end internet searches (the algorithms were not kind to me over the weekend) I finally came across two tracks that have been released so far. All the hallmarks of this beautifully moody genre were there; heavy, pulsating basslines, frantic drum machines and atmospheric guitars. Her lyrics do not pull punches either. Her track No Profit calls out those that put money and wealth accumulation over humanity, a topic I feel resonates with everyone as the wealth gap continues to get wider at accelerating pace.
In addition to her music, Maha has also self-published two editions of what is titled “Mahazine“. The DIY zine can best be described as “part diary, part protest, part visual scream” (find the full article from Dazed here). What I find fascinating about her, is during the interview with SceneNoise, she mentions different aspects of her life are being scattered around her different art forms. To fully understand who Maha is as a person, one will need to explore her music, zine or modeling shoots. This isn’t a gimmick to gain clicks or viewership. She genuinely embodies DIY and self-expression through art.
Photo by Jessica van Halteren for Glamcult
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