News: Experimental jazz musician Arooj Aftab UK/EU Tour In Support of New Album ‘Night Reign’

Arooj Aftab releases her new album, ‘Night Reign’, on Verve Records, with a visualizer for the project’s focus track, ‘Aey Nehin’. ‘Night Reign’ is the follow up to Aftab’s critically acclaimed label debut Vulture Prince. Anticipatory singles from the album include ‘Whiskey‘, released earlier this month, and ‘Raat Ki Rani‘, whose music video was directed by actress Tessa Thompson and garnered praise from NPR, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and many more with both singles scoring placements on Spotify’s New Music Friday and Apple Music’s New Music Daily.

Check out the track Aey Nehin, below:

Aftab makes the night the focus of her latest nine-song collection. Entirely in her own voice and through her own story, she delves into the multifaceted, bold and fascinating realm that comes to life after dark. Some nights are for falling in love, some are for solitude and introspection, some are to be annoyed at a forced social gathering–and so go the stories of ‘Night Reign’.

The album features new friends like Cautious Clay shredding on flute, Moor Mother echoing Aftab’s sentiment of how cruel the world is, and Chocolate Genius aka Marc Anthony Thompson lending his tender sensibilities to a song about being grounded. Longtime collaborators Petros Klampanis and Maeve Gilchrist also continue their musical partnership as core members of Arooj’s musical family. The resulting new music again showcases Aftab’s striking ability to build a thing of beauty from distinct elements. ‘Night Reign’ is a clear departure from tradition or the reinvention of ancestral music. It’s a reflection of Aftab’s 15 years living in New York City and her unapologetic commitment to stay true to herself. With open-heartedness, candor and wit, Aftab lets us get even closer to her.

In their review of her 2021 breakthrough, Vulture Prince, Pitchfork took special note of “Arooj’s powerful voice, suffused in a sorrow so deep that it seeps into your bones.” The album spurred a cultural shift and helped move music rooted in South Asian tradition into the larger contemporary modern music conversation. Vulture Prince cast a wide net of admirers; everyone from Elvis Costello to President Obama found a part of themselves in Vulture Prince. It would go on to earn two Grammy® nominations for Best New Artist and Best Global Music Performance with a win for the latter. The following year, “Udhero Na,” a collaboration with Anoushka Shankar from Vulture Prince Deluxe, netted Aftab a second consecutive Best Global Music Performance nod. In the three-years since her major label debut, Aftab has continued to wow fans and critics globally. Spotify selected her as one of their Equal Ambassadors. She’s played festivals including Coachella and Glastonbury. Last year, she teamed up with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily for Love In Exile, which netted two Grammy® noms for Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Global Music Performance and won the Edison Jazz 2023 award in the Global category.

Recent music video for track ‘Raat Ki Rani’ can be viewed

Album walkthrough with Arooj Aftab & Penn Badgley

Tiny Desk concert

Find out more via Aftab’s Website or Facebook

Purchase the album here

Arooj Aftab Night Reign (Verve)

Tracklisting

Aey Nehin
Na Gul
Autumn Leaves (ft. James Francies)
Bolo Na (ft. Moor Mother, Joel Ross)
Saaqi (ft. Vijay Iyer)
Last Night (Reprise) (ft. Cautious Clay, Kaki King, Maeve Gilchrist)
Raat Ki Rani
Whiskey
Zameen (ft. Chocolate Genius, Inc.)

To support ‘Night Reign’, Aftab will embark on a string of live performances across North America and Europe. She’ll play dates here in the US alongside Khruangbin, and in Europe she’ll hit festival stops at Glastonbury, Lowlands, and Pitchfork London among many others.

UK/EU Tour Dates

October