Arooj Aftab

Uniquely uncategorisable, her music has elements of ambient music and new jazz, built around cyclical, repeating patterns inspired by Sufi music and Urdu poetry. Exploring fleeting relationships and past places, friendship and loss, her rich vocals are layered over gliding strings, delicately plucked guitar and subtle drones.

From Lahore in Pakistan, Arooj moved to America to study composition at Berklee aged 19 and has since cemented herself in the music scenes of Brooklyn, New York. Being named both one of NPR’s 100 young composers and one of Time Magazine’s top songs of 2021, Arooj’s acclaim has come from as diverse places as her music.

The music of Aftab floats within several liminal spaces you might not have imagined—between New Age and classical minimalism, between Sufi devotional poetry and electronic trance, between singer-songwriter structure and states of pure being. We are thrilled she is joining us in the beautiful and ethereal setting of.

Aftab won the News & Documentary Award at the 2018 Emmy Awards. She is the first-ever Grammy Award-winning Pakistani artist. Aftab was nominated for the Best New Artist award and won the Best Global Music Performance award for her song "Mohabbat" at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in April 2022.

Arooj Aftab photo credit: Blythe Thomas