Nora Dabdoub, Music Supervisor & Producer
š Thoughts on the importance of more tangible content, Jenny Odellās āSaving Time, Discovering A World Outside the Clockā and creating for creationās sake.
Thought Enthusiast is an AdHoc Project where we chat with fascinating thought leaders across various facets of music, tech, and culture whose work we admire, simply asking āwhatās on your mind?ā and āwhy do you care?ā š
Nora Dabdoub is a music supervisor and producer at MAS- Music and Strategy, primarily working in the advertising space, with some short films, docuseriesā, runway shows, bits and bobs everywhere.
Previously she was a managing partner & programming director at Shea Stadium, a creative producer at a digital agency, an artist manager, and a freelance producer / project manager du jour ā sheās had the honor of wearing many hats! She is fortunate in that most of her work has focused on bringing artistic visions to life, which (along with learning) is one of her greatest passions.Ā
Outside of music she loves photographing and styling people and places; she loves learning aboutā¦ everything but especially artists and history. Her grade school reports often noted how she was too curious and asked too many questions ā not much has changed there.
šÆ Current focus: creating for creationās sake
Iām excited about Ouchie, a short horror film my friend (and past Thought Enthusiast) Jeantete Wall wrote and produced, another dear one, Rebecca Ryskalczyk composed the music for and Iām supervising. Itās been beautiful to see it come together and itās almost a wrap! My experiences working with friends have generally been a highlight and I've been blessed to get to do that a great deal.Ā
This one also opened me up to a genre of film and world I had very limited knowledge on.
Iām excited to take more portraits and candid film photos. Iām very comfortable working on portraits and anything that involves one on one direction but the candid work can at times be more of a challenge for me - putting myself in the way and out of the way at the same time to get the image you want being the challenge. Psyched to get comfortable being uncomfortable in that regard.
I feel more clarity and confidence around what I want than I did before; as I grow creatively and personally and see the people around me do their thing, I look forward to my creative community having a more tangible shape. Bringing people together in different contexts, creating for creationās sake with less self imposed pressure is something I want more of and feel Iām making more room for.
š„ Watching Seinfeld in order
Iām watching Seinfeld in order at the moment and going into Season 8, the first without Larry! Itās been bliss and a nice way to really turn off - itās comforting, my version of reality TV. Iāve watched plenty of Seinfeld in my life but always at randomā¦ my mind is blown with the context going in order. I also understand a lot of references that went over my head being around so many diehards for the last 15 years.
š¶ Current musical obsessions
The new Swervedriver record, 99th Dream and all of The Chemical Brothers discography. Like the rest of their respective genre contemporariesā¦I wasnāt there for it when it was at its peak so I always put it respectfully on the backburner, knowing my time would come - and it sure has!
Iām newly obsessed with Melenas album, Ahora, Peter Iversā Terminal Love and La Cosecha Internacional w/ Xolo show.Ā
šļø āSlow is smooth and smooth is fastā
āSlow is smooth and smooth is fastā is my 2024 mantra - a lovely human and gyrokenitics guide shared this with me recently and itās aligned with a greater shift Iāve been working on as it relates to time and productivity.
I want to do it all but reality says otherwise. How do I minimize/maximize in a way that still feels true to my nature and my complex feelings towards thriving in chaos mode? Balancing work, especially when you like or love the work you do for a living, and THE WORK (whatever that means to you) is not a linear or easy process.
š Saving Time, Discovering A World Outside the Clock
Iām reading Jenny Odellās Saving Time, Discovering A World Outside the Clock. It walks through a myriad of angles of how time is perceived - scientifically, in the natural world and in the many many nonlinear lived experiences different folks have had throughout history.Ā
Itās a thought provoker and has been helpful in putting time in its many shapes and forms in perspective.
š¤ Making others feel seen & supported
When thinking of someone I look up toā¦ Kate Urcioli, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Heavy Duty Projects, is the first person that comes to mind. Beyond having an acclaimed career as a music supervisor, producer and executive in the sync and licensing world thatās incredibly inspiring, sheās been such a motivating force in my own career and transition into this side of music. Sheās one of those people that make you feel seen and supported, levels you up every time you connect. Big Kate stan!
š“ LA in February
Iām seeing Spiritual Cramp and Iām jumping on a plane to LA the next day - I havenāt been to CA in a couple of years and Iām excited to see a lot old (and new) friends, sun out, finally meet some of my work pals, use the driverās license I got last year (hay!) and get a change of pace for a couple of weeks. NY has my heart forever but LA is number two and I love seeing number two, especially in February.
šļø Importance of consuming more tangible content
Iām working to be more discerning with my content consumption in general - minimizing my scrolling has been positive. Iāve been taking sporadic months off Instagram and I always feel better and more in control of what Iām putting on my proverbial plate and what lingers in my subconscious. Social media is a complex and complicated subject - for me taking certain things off the table for periods of time works and re focuses me.Ā
I recommend consuming more ātangibleā content - reading books, listening to books, seeing films, especially in theaters when possible, going to performances, music ofc but whatever your interests are outside of that tooā¦more long form payoffs, more tangible everything.
Follow Nora on Instagram & Linkedin and check out her website here.