Arooj Aftab

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arooj Aftab
Aftab performing at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York, 2014
Aftab performing at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York, 2014
Background information
Born (1985-03-11) March 11, 1985 (age 36)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
OriginBrooklyn, New York, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • singer
  • producer
LabelsNew Amsterdam Records
Websitewww.aroojaftabmusic.com

Arooj Aftab (born March 11, 1985) is a Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist, music composer, and producer. She is known to have no boundaries and constraints of musical styles, working in the idioms of jazz, minimalism, and neo-Sufi, among others.

Aftab is nominated for the Best New Artist and Best Global Music Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

Early life and education[]

Aftab was born to Pakistani parents expatriated in Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, they returned to their native Lahore, Pakistan, when she was about 10 years old.[1] She taught herself to play the guitar and started developing her voice through deep listening to various musicians such as Begum Akhtar, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Billie Holiday, and Mariah Carey.[2] In the early 2000s, Aftab was one of the first musicians to use the internet to promote her music in Pakistan. Her renditions of "Hallelujah" and "Mera Pyaar" went viral and largely launched the Pakistani indie scene.[2]

She moved to the United States at the age of 19 (2005)[1] and earned a degree in Music Production and Engineering and Jazz Composition at the Berklee College of Music.[3] After graduation, Aftab moved to New York and has lived there since, being part of the city's jazz and new music scene.[1]

Career[]

Aftab's first album, Bird Under Water, was released independently in 2014 and received critical acclaim by many publications, including The Wire[4] and the HuffPost.[5] It also earned her a spot on the NPR's "200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women"[6] and "100 Composers Under 40" lists.[7]

Her second album, Siren Islands, was released on June 12, 2018, through New Amsterdam Records. The New York Times listed the song "Island No. 2", which represented the album, in their "25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018" list.[8] NPR included it in their "Best Electronic/Dance of 2018" list.[9]

Aftab's third studio album, Vulture Prince, was released on April 23, 2021, via New Amsterdam Records. Thematically, the album discusses stories of people, relationships, and lost moments and is dedicated to the memory of her younger brother, Maher.[10] The album received praise from publications such as The New York Times,[11] NPR Music,[12] NPR Classical,[13] BBC Radio 6 Music,[14] Pitchfork,[15] I Care If You Listen,[10] Paste,[16] and the government of Al Jazeera.[17] Barack Obama selected the song "Mohabbat" as one of his summer playlist favorites for 2021.[18] Vulture Prince was named the best album of 2021 by Netherlands newspaper de Volkskrant, topping their year-end list.[19] In late 2021, Aftab signed with Verve Records.[3]

Collaborations[]

She has collaborated with world renowned artists such as Meshell Ndegeocello, Badi Assad, Jace Clayton, Vijay Iyer, Rafiq Bhatia, Shahzad Ismaily, Leo Genovese, Toshi Reagon, Maeve Gilchrist, Petros Klampanis, Magda Giannikou and Gyan Riley.

Performances[]

Aftab has performed her music at major venues such as the Lincoln Center,[20] Andy Warhol Museum,[21] Haus der Kulturen der Welt,[22] (Le) Poisson Rouge, and the Museum of Modern Art.[23] She has also performed at festivals such as The Big Ears Festival,[24] The Ecstatic Music Festival,[25] and the San Francisco Jazz Festival.[26] In 2018 she performed at The Kitchen,[27] and has opened for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel.[28]

Musical style and influences[]

Aftab's music has been described as a blend of Jazz, electronica,[29] neo-Sufi, folk, Hindustani classical,[15] classical music, indie pop, minimalism,[3] and acoustic music. She told the Los Angeles Times that she had aspired that Vulture Prince would "transcend boundaries".[1]

She has mentioned Abbey Lincoln, Abida Parveen, Anoushka Shankar, Begum Akhtar, Esperanza Spalding, Jeff Buckley, Julius Eastman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Morton Feldman, and Terry Riley as her influences.[3] Aftab also expressed her admiration for Billie Eilish and Finneas and said that "Family Ties" by Baby Keem was one of her favorite songs of 2021. Lyrically, she has cited Asian poets as influences such as Rumi, Mirza Ghalib, and Hafeez Hoshiarpuri.[1]

Discography[]

Albums[]

  • Bird Under Water (2014; self-released)
  • Siren Islands (2018; New Amsterdam Records)
  • Vulture Prince (2021; New Amsterdam Records)

Other works[]

  • Composer, Sound Designer and Implementer for Backbone[30] by Eggnut Games
  • Sang the title song Insaaf for the film Talvar, written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj[31]
  • Sang an old traditional Bandish of Raag Bhairavi Raske Bhare Tore Nain for the film Dobara Phir Se by Mehreen Jabbar
  • Composed and sang the song De Libbe with Daso for Tale and Tone Records[32]
  • Featured singer on Climbing Poetree's album Intrinsic[33]
  • Music Director for the film Without Shepherds by Cary McClelland[34]
  • Composed and sang on the album The Julius Eastman Memory Depot by Jace Clayton[35]

Awards and nominations[]

  • 2022 Grammy Award nominee Best New Artist and Best Global Music Performance for "Mohabbat."[36]
  • 2020 Student Academy Award as Composer on short film "Bittu" by Karishma Dev Dube[37][38]
  • Composer in 93rd Oscar's Shortlist Live Action Short Film, Bittu[39]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Roberts, Randall (December 6, 2021). "'I don't deserve to be other-ized anymore': Arooj Aftab on becoming a surprise Grammy nominee". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Sadia Shirazi on Arooj Aftab". www.artforum.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Glickman, Simon (December 21, 2021). "Arooj Aftab: In Heart And Mind". Interview. Hits. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Arnold, Howard Mandel,Matt Krefting,Emily Bick,Abi Bliss,Frances Morgan,Clive Bell,Adam Harper,Jacob. "The Wire 375". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Rao, Mallika (June 15, 2015). "Here's How You Make 13th Century Islamic Music Sound Fresh". HuffPost. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+ (160-141)". NPR.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40".
  8. ^ Tommasini, Anthony; Barone, Joshua; Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da; Allen, David; Walls, Seth Colter; Woolfe, Zachary (December 13, 2018). "The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Our Favorite Electronic & Dance Music of 2018". NPR. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Video Premiere: 'Diya Hai' Performed by Arooj Aftab and Badi Assad". I Care If You Listen. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Russonello, Giovanni (April 23, 2021). "Weezer's Rock 'n' Roll Nostalgia Trip, and 10 More New Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "On 'Vulture Prince,' Arooj Aftab Finds New Meaning In Familiar Words". NPR.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On April 23 : All Songs Considered". NPR.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music - Cerys Matthews". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Kappal, Bhanuj (April 27, 2021). "Arooj Aftab − Vulture Prince". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  16. ^ "The 10 Albums We're Most Excited About in April". pastemagazine.com. March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pakistan-born 'neo-Sufi' singer breaks free from music traditions". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  18. ^ "Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab makes it to Barack Obama's Summer Playlist". Dawn. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  19. ^ van Gijssel, Robert; Kerkhof, Merlijn (December 20, 2021). "Dit zijn de 40 beste albums van 2021" [These are the 40 best albums of 2021]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Amsterdam. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Jesús Carmona & Arooj Aftab". www.lincolncenter.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "Sound Series: Jace Clayton – The Julius Eastman Memorial Dinner". The Andy Warhol Museum. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  22. ^ Welt, Haus der Kulturen der (May 31, 2017). "Arooj Aftab". HKW. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "Summer Thursdays: Arooj Aftab | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Big Ears Festival - Big Ears Expands 2020 Lineup". Big Ears Festival. November 12, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "Ecstatic Music Festival: Thums Up & Arooj Aftab". tickets.kaufmanmusiccenter.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Vijay Iyer & Thums Up". www.sfjazz.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  27. ^ "The Kitchen: Vijay Iyer: The What of the World". thekitchen.org. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  28. ^ "Mitski, Arooj Aftab @ Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn on 12/03/2018". Oh My Rockness. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  29. ^ Sultan, Iman (December 20, 2021). "Meet Arooj Aftab, the Grammy-Nominated Artist Who Pioneered Pakistan's DIY Music Movement". W. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  30. ^ "Backbone: Prologue - Mid-summer 2020 Update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. July 15, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  31. ^ Editors, BollySpice (September 6, 2015). "'Insaaf' from Talvar – a superb collaboration by Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar". BollySpice.com - The latest movies, interviews in Bollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2021.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "De Libbe from Tale & Tone on Beatport". www.beatport.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  33. ^ "For the Courageous, by Climbing PoeTree". Climbing PoeTree. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  34. ^ "FILMMAKERS | Without Shepherds". www.withoutshepherds.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  35. ^ "Jace Clayton: The Julius Eastman Memory Depot". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  36. ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List". Grammys.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  37. ^ "THE TEAM". bittu. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  38. ^ "FESTIVALS & AWARDS". bittu. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  39. ^ "93RD OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN NINE AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 9, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""