Overview

Hello world! My name is AIMAN and I'm a singer-songwriter here in the beautiful city of Washington, DC.

My name is AIMAN, and I’m from NYC currently living in DC. I’ve been a musician my whole life, ranging from classical & jazz music with the french horn, to r&b and pop with my voice. I started songwriting just a few years ago, and it took off in ways I never would have expected. Within a year of releasing my first song, I gained over 50k streams and my first placement on a Spotify editorial playlist. A couple of months ago I also received my first Grammy’s submission! My musical journey has taken so many twists and turns, from being a freelance brass player performing in concert halls and film scoring sessions, to singing my original songs in tiny venues yet connecting with people virtually all across the globe. This is a lifelong journey that I’m so incredibly grateful for, and I can’t wait to share more music with you as I continue to craft my own sound that reflects all of my different musical backgrounds & influences.

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating my first ever, professionally produced studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Carter Sanders  in Boston, MA. Carter is a seasoned Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together,  and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Rest of My Days,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Rest of My Days” on my own, to create an album of songs of this quality, studio costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts.  and I will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

This project is a love letter to my musical journey thus far. 

Music has this incredible power to make us feel seen in ways that we didn’t even know we needed. At its root, it’s about shared experiences and relating with each other through time and space. I’ve had the great privilege of studying and performing in a wide range of musical spaces, and every aspect of my journey informs the music that I make. 

As a Pakistani-American who deeply values her heritage, I’ve often been the black sheep in most musical spaces, but instead of letting that deter me I used it as an opportunity to create something new and be an example of holding a multifaceted identity with pride and confidence. I hope that my progress in this space can be an inspiration for other “black sheep” to stop hiding in the shadows and to let their voice be heard. 

Something that I really value, and which drew me to working with Plaid Dog in the first place, is the use of live instrumentals. As an instrumentalist myself, and with a background working in the music industry, I know the struggle of being a gigging instrumentalist and the value that they bring to any musical project. We often go severely underpaid, and unfortunately most music producers have no idea how much training goes into our craft. This is why I’ve always wanted to make an album that heavily features live-recorded, real musicians and pays them fairly. I haven’t had the budget in the past to be able to fully bring this vision to life, and this campaign would allow me to do exactly that. 

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting me, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to share this music with you.