Arooj Aftab

Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani singer, composer and producer based in the United States. Born in Riyadh in 1985, she is raised in Lahore from the age of 10 and later moves to New York City after studying at Berklee School of Music. Her work sits across jazz, minimalism, neoclassicism and Persian pop, and also draws on neo-Sufi approaches, Sufi poetry and the reworking of classical Pakistani and North Indian forms such as khayal and kafi.

Background and style

Aftab first comes to prominence in Pakistan in the early 2000s, when she develops a style that combines Sufi-mystical poetry with independent rock. She becomes known in the country through an underground and online music community. She describes her music as a new approach to older forms rather than something retro, and frames it as music that has both musical and political resonance in the present.

Her writing is influenced by the poetry and musicality of Rumi, Abida Parveen and other Sufi poets. She has said that the emotional qualities she takes from Sufi poetry include calmness, peace, patience, simplicity, sadness, longing, wandering, searching, openness and oneness.

Awards and recognition

Aftab wins the News & Documentary Award at the 2018 Emmy Awards. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, she is nominated for Best New Artist and wins Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat”. She becomes the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award.

In 2011, NPR names her among its Top 100 Young Composers of Today. The New York Times includes her in its Best Concerts of 2012 list. TimeOut Magazine places one of her collaborative projects in its Top 10 Classical Albums of 2013 list, and Curious Animal Magazine includes Bird Under Water among its 10 best albums list.

Collaborations and performances

Aftab collaborates with Meshell Ndegeocello, Esperanza Spalding, DJ /rupture and Abida Parveen, among others. She performs at venues including Lincoln Center, Highline Ballroom, Le Poisson Rouge and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and appears at festivals such as the Big Ears Festival, the Ecstatic Music Festival and the SF Jazz Festival.

Albums

Her 2021 album Vulture Prince appears on several year-end lists, including de Volkskrant’s best album of 2021, Rolling Stone’s staff list of the year’s best music, and The Guardian’s list of the 50 best albums of 2021. The Guardian’s Laura Snapes describes Aftab as the year’s biggest musical revelation, and the album is also included on the Los Angeles Times’ list of 15 deserving albums.