In the wake of two independent ambient experimental electronic projects (Bird under Water in 2015 and Siren Islands in 2018), Pakistani American singer-songwriter and composer Arooj Aftab emerged on the international stage in 2021 with the incredible Vulture Prince. The ambitious project embracing Hindustani classical music, poetry, modal folk and jazz music earned the singer a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance and a record deal with the prestigious Verve label.
Having found her voice and her sound with Vulture Prince and following on from her 2023 jazz trio release Love in Exile with pianist Vijay Iyer and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, Arooj Aftab returns with a fourth solo project. Released on the Verve Record label on 31 May 2024 last, Night Reign majestically blends South Asian classical music, jazz singing, acoustic guitar and Americana, folk and electronic music influences with an impressive cast of collaborators.
Some songs can only be heard at night – lunar lyrics for evening ears. It’s the songs of the night that stand us tall in the day, eyes filled with the work of stars. What voices will we take into our liminal slumber? What patterns and pieces will break open the night mind’s path?
Translating as “Queen of the Night” and referring to a flower from the Jasmine family which only blooms at night, the song “Raat Ki Rani” evokes for the singer night time parties and growing up in 1990s Lahore. As the original working title of the album, “Raat Ki Rani” also suggests the overarching nocturnal theme of Night Reign. “I am a night-time thriver” or “the night is my biggest source of inspiration” she often states in interviews. For the singer, after dark and nightly experiences are more conducive to the songwriting process.
The core ensemble of musicians on Vulture Prince, namely Maeve Gilchrist (harp), Gyan Riley (guitar), Petros Klampanis (double bass), Darian Donovan Thomas (violin) and Nadje Noordhuis (flugelhorn) all return. And perhaps in a conscious effort to avoid repeating a similar formula, a large cast of additional guest musicians complete the line up.
James Francies (Fender Rhodes), Linda May Han Oh (double bass), Mark Anthony Thompson aka Chocolate Genius (piano, bass and strings), Shahzad Ismaily (synthesiser), Vijay Iyer (piano), Cautious Clay (flute), Kaki King (guitar) and Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother (vocals) all contribute to stunning arrangements.
The repertoire ranges from adaptations of 18th century poetry (“Na Gul” & “Saaqi”), an old love song reworked as an impressive collaboration with Afro-Futurist poet Moor Mother (“Bolo Na”), new original songs in English (“Whiskey”) and Urdu (“Kaat Ki Rani”) and two covers.
Night Reign features a reprise of “Last Night”, the only song with English lyrics on Vulture Prince. But instead of a cover or a remix, “Last Night Reprise” completely eschews the Dub Reggae arrangements and radically reinvents the original Rumi poem with an experimental jazz take arranged for double bass, harp, flute and a cameo by Elvis Costello on Wurlitzer piano.
Originally a French song composed in 1945, “Autumn Leaves” was transposed to English in the 1950s and quickly became a hugely popular jazz standard with covers by Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra among many others. Bill Evans, John Coltrane or Miles Davis also recorded the song in its instrumental version. On Night Reign, Arooj Aftab rises to the challenge of releasing yet another version of the song by completely stripping the harmonic layers and turning it into a modal and percussion-led piece where the original chord structure is only hinted at in James Francies’ keyboard solo.
By borrowing elements from ancient South Asian traditions, from classic jazz singing and from modern jazz or hip-hop production techniques, Arooj Aftab and her musicians craft a unique style that has no equivalent on the contemporary music scene. Central to Arooj Aftab’s music and completely transcending language barriers is a haunting voice, which she describes herself as an alchemy of “displacement, reinvention, exile, chaos, feminism and the maddening fabric of love and loss and tragedy in the world.” Continually alternating between loops or solo sections, Scottish harpist Maeve Gilchrist’s lever harp also acts as a prodigious catalyst throughout the album.
Featuring a perfect electro acoustic balance between a large ensemble of musicians, breaking down genre and geographical barriers, intersecting past, present and future timelines, Night Reign is a flawless production.
