DOUNIA - MY OWN COMPANY

Moroccan-American singer/songwriter Dounia returns with the steamy "My Own Company" just in time for the winter.

There is nothing quite like a woman who knows what she wants. Dounia is nothing if not confident.

Back in February, she exuded her self-worth with "Royal," expressing her inner nobility and encouraging everyone who listened to walk with head held high, back straight, shoulders back. With "My Own Company," she turns that confidence to late-night romance.

DOUNIA - MY OWN COMPANY

"My Own Company" bristles with the same self-contained detachment of The Weeknd, seeming to exist in a snowglobe of solitude. It's not cold or lonely, however. And unlike Abel Tesfaye, Dounia's self-containment doesn't give you reason to worry. This isn't the sound of 3-day benders and social media burnout. This is the sound of quiet nights at home, of languidly examining one's own thoughts, daydreams, and fantasies. It's the sound of being happy by yourself.

Some of the sentiments expressed on "My Own Company" could come off as haughty, even cold...

"Maybe bring some bud, compliments to gas me up
Then leave me alone to enjoy my own company
Don’t care what they on, wrapped up in my zone
So leave me alone to enjoy my own company."

...until we stop and think about a world where women are only given worth in relation to their usefulness to others, as girlfriends, wives, mothers, or perhaps a mindless mannequin or marionette to rake in cash. Given all this pressure, can we blame her for just doing her own thing? As long as everyone's on-board and informed, who cares?

Jake LiBassi's production is the perfect underscore for this seductive, hypnotic late-night world. Thick, rich sub-bass pulls you down like the LaBrea tar pits, deep into a dream world where desires become flesh, sparking off your fingers to become new constellations, previously undreamed of.

We Are: The Guard are quite under Dounia's spell. We look forward to exploring this lavender realm for years to come.

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.