Hi!

Hey! I know I haven't been for a while but am currently working on re-designing the blog. So I will be back with a brand new fresh layout and hopefully better content. Meanwhile, you can still find me a bit more alive on these social media:
@Nedrajouini - Twitter
@Ashrare - Instagram
@Ashrare- Tumblr
@Ashrarenedrajouini- Facebook page

Love,
Nedra

She calls me June

Hello lovely ghosts of Ash',

I hope all is well despite the terror storm we've been subject to lately. Things might not get better today or tomorrow, but they will...eventually.
I have new recent photos I've been working on lately.

Sidi  Bou Said is one of the few places that I enjoy browsing, taking excessive picture of, discovering every corner of it every-time I go there. Its beauty is limitless. Or maybe the combination of blue, white and sunset hues is what gets me the most. Is it the Tunisian version of the Greek Santorini? There are definitely some similarities but Sidi Bou Said is priceless and unique.

 And then I was just looking through some old photos, and stumbled upon pictures I took in Germany. These four in particular have caught my attention: similarities, shadows, texture, roughness, edges, angles and geometry. That's what I saw. I would say it's a work in progress, am not over it yet. In fact, it's been quite hard for me to be productive lately. I would blame the heat and mainly no one else than yours truly. Productivity, summer, and my humble self are not much of a good combo to be honest, especially if you're fasting for 30 days and all you think about is an ice caramel and cinnamon coffee. However, what is keeping me optimistic is the fact that June is almost over and we still have two months of summer break. That's a relieve for people who want to catch up on the fun...and work.
Despite my constant low energy level, am trying to get some new stuff up, new projects, etc...
Now am off to my fortress of a bed. A small update is better than no update at all right?
You can always find me stalking people on Instagram @ashrare and Twitter @nedrajouini
Peace.
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May twenty filth

Hay!
Just popping really quick to share some of my favorite beats. It's been a rough filthy (wat?) week, tackling my lecture notes as if I was draining a human of his blood (side effects of worshiping Bela Lugosi lately). Without further rambling of a delusional insomniac creature, let's get those ears poppin':

First, I have been shuffling my "liked" 8tracks playlists and stumbled upon this unreleased Baauer goodness. Folks, it's a trap feast!

Moving on with more discoveries on the internet...After extensive listening to numerous playlists, home boy Hayden (HeRobust) strikes again. He has just busted the sound, hasn't he? 

Matstubs is a growing young producer. I suggest you keep a close eye on his beats because he knows how to make himself noticed in such a competitive industry. Check this divine flip:

And of course, it cannot be a fav' set without the darling, Henry Steinway,'s emotion-inducing #feel audible work of art. I make it seem as if it was the Mona Lisa of the EDM (side note: I have stopped comparing music to food and transitioned to fine art..). God speed you poor readers of mine:

And needless to say that Flosstradamus and TroyBoi are making a lot of noise lately, their music will speak for them instead:

I cannot clearly resist the temptation of reaching back again for the grime lord. But this so called "edit" is far more genius than what it looks like. Who did it again? Emoh Instead x Flume, a.k.a What So Not.I do recommend you listen to the original Core from VOID though. As I come to a ruthless conclusion; this track can sum up the whole good Vs Evil war, I think it's about time I put a closure to this humble sharing of exquisite sounds.

Okay one more. Saving the best for the last, ain't I?

And now I shall close my eyes and spare you the rambling.

Cheers nuggets!
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Touché!

Hello lovely wanderers of Ashrare,

It is currently March 8th, 7:38 pm : it hasn't stopped raining, my ears are suffering from my quite uncomfortable headset (which is an in-your-face reminder that I should indulge in a good professional pair if am such a bass junkie), and my dinner is currently consisting of ice cold mint tea and an imperfectly peeled orange.
Midst my exhaustive afternoon quest of new tunes, I have magically stumbled upon this gem.
By gem, I mean the following explanation: the intro was pure bliss! The choirs, the church bells and then the subtle flow of the #WASSUP vocals. That was genius! The drops were quite hot, that's all it matters (really Nedra?).In my opinion, it could become a real gem the way am currently imagining it, without the Calvin-Hariss-y parts.So let's get to work? When I grow some balls AND equipment, I shall yeah.

My Trap (hybrid, experimental, hip-hop, etc...) playlist on Soundcloud is currently my most expensive possession.Why? Because who wouldn't feel fabulous when they have a gigantic playlist of some good shit strong-bass-drops-and-a-bleak-evil-background combo (noting that this sentence is coming from an evil human)? T-Mass is currently headlining my list. He is a beast, ins't he? Check this dude out, it's his turn to blow some ears out.
And than just one more, along with a quite persistant question. What's up with ducks and EDM trap? Have I somehow managed to miss the connection between these two? Enlighten me, people! This track is very random, but just feel the vibes.


I have also been working on this piece for the past few minutes. Double exposure keeps me gravitating around it for no particular or valid reason. We love layers! At least I do. Have you ever ate a single thin pancake? You should at least have three or four to concur and admit that you had delicious pancake. Regardless of my irrelevant point of view about food (again), I don't superimpose two images with different opacities just for the hell of meeting the modern aesthetic and standards of what is known to be a "beautiful" photograph, and nothing obnoxious of the sort. I do think that double exposure is such a powerful technique that allows you to solidify and yet enhance your visual point of view. Those "countless" light dots wouldn't have referred to the countless human beings you look at on a daily basis and never truly see. That particular glaze, warmth and texture added to every corner of the photograph is marvelous and impeccable. I am not praising my own work but am being grateful to whoever's mind this double-edged thought has occurred.

and bam!Touché, Sunday! it's been chill, wet and bleak.
Cheers folks.
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January favorites

Hello sugar pies,

This morning I thought I can pick some monthly favorites (random mainly) like music, movies, books, quotes, photography, fashion, etc...according to my mood during the month of January.
So a little review to the month of January is required. It sure was the first month of the new year, everyone kicks it off fully enthusiastic and eager. I do not deny that I've done that myself, however...Never put high expectations kids!
I expected a fresh wave of cold temperatures: happened moderately (I aimed for excessively). But what we got instead? Warm weather all most of the time. The following picture of me tanning on my rooftop proves it.

I have also expected to return to school from winter break and have my finals but none of that happened because the Engineering schools in Tunisia were on a strike. It's not like am complaining about this free vacation (that has lasted for over a month now). Instead of pulling an all-nighter, mugging up last minute and showing up like a zombie for my finals, I got to watch movies all day and just chill the hell out. 

So speaking of which, my favorite movie of the month is Re-directed. 

This British-Lithuanian Chef d'oeuvre has cracked me up so bad. A must watch ,or a re-watch for me,  if you like The Hangover, you will fall for this.
Still speaking about the M words.The favorite musical track of the month goes to? *drum roll*

I love Trap. I can't help it. As Andrew(hey partner) once called me; Mrs Trapster! Way to go The Griswolds (An Australian alt band) aaaand mainly NGHTMARE for flipping this out to an enjoyable audible piece of delicious blueberry muffin (wat?). Those L.A kids are ruling the trap.
And since I don't have any new favorite producer/DJ/band besides VACANT, Flume,HeRobust, Diplo, Jack U, T-Mass and WHAT SO NOT, I will just go ahead and pick another track for ya.Oh and before doing so, I might just want to recommend this fella here VANIC. His remixes of some quite famous songs (Lana Del Rey, Birdy, etc..) are simply fabulous. And he looks cute too, so that's a plus to check his profile (and him) out.

And what else could the "next track" be besides RL Grime, like come on! He has recently launched a new album called VOID (I would call it exquisite Cinnamon twist with some 2-step/garage-y parts and, OF COURSE, ardent trap). I will let you enjoy and describe it with your own coherent words and avoid comparing it to food like I just did. My other favorite track from this album is Scylla. I guarantee you that if you blast it in your car on a highway, you will make some tangible damage to the fellow drivers around you. Try it and let me know how it goes. Actually, I have seen RL Grime last year in COACHELLA, but I was stupid (and tired) enough to just stand outside of the Sahara Tent and just watch people dance... Anyways.
Enough about music!Shall we pursue our quest to determine the monthly holy grail-s of Nedra Jouini? I think it's about time we reserved a wider space for photography and fashion. Starting off with photography. I have been browsing Ello recently, and I am bewildered with the amount of talented and inspirational people you can find there (I confess that I dumped Pinterest and Tumblr for Ello). You guys should check it out and request an account. It is worth the efforts.
We are still talking about talented people and art that I recently(or have always) liked.
Tim Walker,he shoots editorials for fashion magazine and only God knows how does his right side of his brain function because I am willing to receive a replica of that at any cost.

     Italian Vogue, March 2006

British Vogue, Lady Gray 

And then one more to top it off; this particular shot by Ben Sandler sums up my photography/modelling career goals in a simple photograph. Can you tell why?

Finally, I needed to share one of the images from my quotes board on Pinterest. And then I guess that'all I have from the month of January. It is a long post, I cannot just state my picks without rambling around for a while. I hope you'll give my picks a shot in case you're intrigued.

Talk to you soon!

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How to pronounce February?

Hello there lovely ghosts of Ashrare,

I hope all is good. I have not been that good myself. My uni has been on a strike since January, and I have been home most of the time. I could have used this humongous amount of free time differently. But am pondering what to do, and how to enrich my daily experience every am snooze. I do have to admit that it's a hard question to answer, however, I managed to get few photo-shoots done and a lot of movies scraped out of my to-watch-list.
Today, (Monday is not a day, it's an unfortunate journey), I have kick-started the day with the following playlist. I simply typed "rainy" and played the first playlist. Simple and effortless right?

Rainy day listening 

So I was listening to this indie playlist.And all of a sudden, I ceased doing what I was doing at the time, I was completely petrified. Why? Good question! Do you know the feeling you get when you listen to a song and the voice of the singer seems familiar? At that precise moment, your mind is looking through the music registry and files you archived and try to get a match. And then boom, it was Alt-J. I got it right. That smile I had on my face was priceless. Enjoy simple things, people! Simple is good. 

Anyway, I originally forgot why I started this blog post. I might be willing to share my recent photograph though, or some movies recommendations. Let's start with the latter. 

My switches were completely turned when I saw: Redirected, Predestination, The Breakfast Club, Her, Layer Cake, The Hunt. Along with some short-movies selections that I saved on Vimeo ( I will share it next time k?). 

Now, onto photography! Frustrated and confused much when it comes to my work? Yes I am. I don't know what I want to shoot anymore. People were telling me to stick to a certain style. But does it really matter if I have a style or not? I take pictures for my own pleasure and for people who share the same taste as myself (maybe, if they ever live on this planet). Moreover, in this particular shot, I was so inspired by Sin city and Pulp Fiction. Can you tell? Not? 

The only thing am sure about is that when it comes to double exposure, motion blur and adding texture, am all in. Other than that, I would rather curl up under tons of blankets and resume hibernation..or reading my book. It's "You don't know me" by David Klass. Funny, ironic and yet sad. I recommend it for rainy days and lost souls. 

Until next time people (I have to go make some lunch for the kids, you know, busy life), stay around!

P.S how do you guys pronounce February? Lemme know.

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Crackberliner

Hello lovely ghosts of Ashrare,

here I am concluding the German trip documentation with these last shots. I still can't get over how incredible the trip to Berlin was. We got to wander around a bit and go to various places ; Alexanderplatz for instance (that's the only name I remember). We went on long exploration walks in Warschauer Strasse and ended up in Crackberliner. You gotta love those rusty warehouses magically transformed into vibrant clubs and nightlife hide-outs. I hope you'll enjoy these pictures. It's okay if you won't like the Stasi Prison photographs. I did get goosebumps while strolling around the hallway of the prison...

Until next time, Berlin!

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