Night Reign Arooj Aftab

Released on 5/31/24 by Arooj Aftab
Main artists: Arooj Aftab
Genre: Vocal Jazz
Distinctions: Album of the week Pitchfork: Best New Music

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Few pleasures are more gratifying than following an artist as she evolves through her creative life, taking chances, earning attention—and then delivering on an unspoken promise by issuing something grand and magical. As if catching the perfect wave, Arooj Aftab's voice on her new album, Night Reign, seems to be propelled by some unstoppable force. Her solo debut for the historic jazz imprint Verve expands on the Grammy-winning, Obama co-signing success of 2021's Vulture Prince and Love in Exile, her captivating 2023 trio album with Vijay Ayer and Shahzad Ismaily. Night Reign, as the title suggests, is focused on occurrences after dark—parties, affairs, solitude and whisky-fueled confessions. These are structured songs that leave space for profound periods of improvised bliss—the final two minutes of harp-and-percussion interplay on opening song "Aey Nehin" groove like a cosmic Grateful Dead excursion. At various points, the nine tracks suggest torch songs ("Na Gul"), driving percussion-and-contrabass tag-teams ("Autumn Leaves"), and bewitching-hour blues ("Bolo Na," featuring poet-singer Moor Mother). "Who taught you to be in love?" Moor Mother wonders on that song as Aftab's voice glows in the background. "Who showed you the way?" Aftab is also joined by artists including Cautious Clay (flute), Marc Anthony Thompson (a.k.a. Chocolate Genius) and frequent collaborators Petros Klampanis (bass) and Maeve Gilchrist (harp). On "Whiskey," Aftab addressed a lover about desire and said spirit and how both are affecting their evening. "We'll fade into the night/ On waves of your perfume," she matter-of-factly sings as guitarist Kaki King lays down a line, Aftab's rich contralto humming with energy: "I'm drunk and you're insane/ Tell me how we will get home." On "Raat Ki Rani," Snarky Puppy percussionist Keita Ogawa pounds on tom-toms while a slightly Auto-Tuned Aftab cascades through verses and octaves sung in her native Urdu. The song, which features a music video by actor (and Marc Anthony Thompson's daughter) Tessa Thompson, further confirms the inspired nature of Night Reign, an album made by an artist in it for the long haul. Like Joni Mitchell, Beyoncé or Sade before her, Aftab has willed into existence her own kind of music, one that effortlessly combines cosmopolitan styles and sounds with accents that shimmer like headlights on rain-slicked boulevards. © Randall Roberts/Qobuz

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Night Reign

Arooj Aftab

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Aey Nehin

00:05:45

Jamey Haddad, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Gyan Riley, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Kaki King, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Joshua Valleau, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Daddy Kev, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Arooj Aftab, Composer, Producer, Vocals, Recording Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Damon Whittemore, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Petros Klampanis, Upright Bass, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Maeve Gilchrist, Harp, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Yasra Rizvi, Author