The mercurial songs of Grammy-winning composer, musician, and singer Arooj Aftab are singular in their crisp, ethereal brilliance; her sprawling vocal practice moves across jazz, folk, alternative, pop, blues, and South Asian classical music. Beginning with her moving debut Bird Under Water (2015), Aftab’s music has long linked the traditional with the contemporary – combining accordion, guitar, trumpets, sitar, and bansuri with her unique crossover vocal style. Three years after her sophomore album Siren Islands (2018), Aftab released her breakout album Vulture Prince (2021): a haunting and gorgeous album where listeners are guided by Aftab’s voice through a heart-wrenching yet hopeful memorial to her brother, Maher, who passed away while she was working on the record. On her new album Night Reign (2024), Aftab’s voice sounds out as a beacon in the night among smoky jazz instrumentation and lavish ghostly productions – showcasing her continued evolution as an artist who always subverts expectations and valiantly dodges conventions.