AtoZ
This month…
P30 THE FOLK IMPLOSION P32 JOHN GRANT P33 EIKO ISHIBASHI P34 GUIDED BY VOICES P36 CINDY LEE P39 LINDA THOMPSON P38 MOBY P40 MADELEINE PEYROUX
AROOJ AFTAB Night Reign
VERVE
9/10
Late-night tales from Pakistan-born, Brooklyn-based chanteuse
You could list and number the many traditions that feed into Arooj Aftab’s music – the rich instrumentation of Indian classical, the mystic devotionals of qawwali, the aching jazz soul of Billie Holiday. But in practice, her songs feel so neatly woven that they deny all attempts to tease them apart. Listening to Night Reign, you mostly find yourself focusing on Aftab’s voice – a rich and smoky thing, gentle and open-hearted on “Whiskey”, reaching back through the centuries on “Na Gul”. But it also shows she has a keen eye for a collaborator: James Francies adds sparkling piano to a take on jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”, while Moor Mother makes a spine-tingling cameo on “Bolo Na”.