Spotlight.
Arusa Qureshi
INTRODUCTION
Arusa Qureshi is a writer, editor and music programmer based in Edinburgh. She is the former Editor of both Fest Magazine and The List and now writes mostly about music. Her first book, Flip the Script – about women in UK hip hop, was published by 404 Ink. Her work has appeared in the National, Clash, the Guardian, Gold Flake Paint, Time Out, the Quietus, NME and more. She chairs the board of the Scottish Music Centre, sits on the board of the Music Venue Trust and Hen Hoose, and is the co-curator of the award-winning AMPLIFI series at Edinburgh's Queens Hall. She’s also a DJ and has a monthly hip hop show on EHFM.
INTERVIEW
How did you get into your creative practice? What initially inspired you?
I was interested specifically in music journalism from a young age. I would practice all the time by reviewing things and writing about music for myself, scribbling away in journals. That led to doing some reviews for random blogs but I started to take it more seriously once I was at Uni, where I studied English Lit and did my dissertation on the poetry of hip hop. After my undergrad, I did a Masters in Magazine Publishing. I was there on a scholarship, which was the only way I was able to do it, so I really wanted to make the most of it. Part of that course involved doing a placement, and I did mine at The List, and I ended up working there part-time and then full-time after I graduated in 2016. Long story short, I became the Editor in 2018 and was there until I lost my job during Covid in 2020.
I’m now a full-time freelancer working on various projects, mostly in the arts. Since 2020 I’ve done all kinds of things, like writing for various publications like the NME, the Guardian, the Quietus, and more, I’ve done radio work, I worked on a BBC podcast for a bit, and I also wrote a book about women in UK hip hop called Flip the Script. Up until recently, I was the Editor of Fest magazine, which is an Edinburgh Festivals focused magazine run by The Skinny.
What themes do you tend to interrogate in your creative practices?
My writing on music has always had a heavy emphasis on diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility, whether that’s profiling musicians from minoritised backgrounds or bringing to light injustices and issues relating to the industry's lack of equity.
I love interviewing people. I’ve been lucky enough to interview some really cool musicians over my career so far but I really enjoy hearing people’s stories and then turning that into something of interest to anyone, even those unfamiliar with said topic. I especially love telling stories relating to people and projects that might not often be heard or are underrepresented or might not get the attention they deserve.
What is your favourite project you’ve ever worked on and why?
I always say my highlight has been interviewing SOPHIE for the cover of one of The List’s festival issues, the year she played at EIF. She sadly passed away in 2021 so that one will always be so special. My other favourite project is the AMPLIFI series at Edinburgh's Queens Hall, which I work on with Halina Rifai, and which began in 2022, as a way of putting a focus on musicians of colour. It's our chance to spotlight phenomenal musicians so that there can be more line-ups around Scotland that truly reflect how incredible and diverse contemporary Scottish music is.
What advice would you have for creatives of colour looking to get into your creative practices?
Be open to all experiences, regardless of whether it's in your specific field or not. Join groups like the NUJ or Women in Journalism Scotland, and take part in as many events and opportunities as you can or start your own project if you're struggling to find ways to enter the industry.
Think about what skills you have and how else you could use them. There are so many different things you could do in the industry so educate yourself, find initiatives and things that you’re interested in and see how you can get involved or how you can do your own thing Don't work for free for long periods; know your worth and make sure you get paid for the work you do. It's never ok to exploit young journalists!
What are you currently working on?
I’m always writing and always open to commissions! Aside from that, I’m currently working as a Programme Producer at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where I’m responsible for producing a programme of music, spoken word and performance events across multiple venues. The full programme is announced in June but if you’re around in August and fancy popping by, you’ll find me in the Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.