BJSC winner Nabihah Iqbal has an album out next month through Ninja Tune which includes the fantastic 'This World Couldn't See Us' and new single 'Sunflower' released yesterday.

 

 

 

Both gorgeous tracks so I'm VERY hyped for this.

 

Nabihah Iqbal returns with ‘DREAMER’, her long-awaited new album out 28th April 2023 on Ninja Tune. Five years on since the London-born artist, curator, broadcaster and lecturer's debut ‘Weighing Of The Heart’ was released and two years in the making, ‘DREAMER’ is Nabihah’s rawest and most reflective work to date.

 

It arrives at a pivotal time for Nabihah who has made her prolific work rate look effortless with a resume as varied as her music having recently collaborated with artist Zhang Ding, been commissioned to compose music for the Turner Prize, collaborated with Wolfgang Tillmans as part of his Tate Modern exhibition and was recently involved in a group performance at the Barbican as part of its major Basquiat retrospective. She has also contributed to Serpentine's recent book '140 Artists' ideas for Planet Earth' and has given guest lectures at the Royal College of Art. In 2022 Nabihah was announced as a guest director for England’s largest multi-arts festival, Brighton Festival, in 2023, her “biggest, most challenging and exciting curatorial position” to date.

 

‘DREAMER’ see’s Nabihah reflect on her experiences during the early months of 2020, when her studio was burgled. All her work was lost, including her long-awaited album. Already suffering from a broken hand and a severe case of burnout, she felt helpless. While the forensic police looked for fingerprints in her studio, she received a call. It was her grandmother; her grandfather had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Nabihah got on a plane to Karachi, Pakistan the next day.

 

As the Covid-19 pandemic surged, Nabihah spent the global lockdown finding resilience amidst the turmoil. “Going to Pakistan turned into a blessing in disguise,” she says. “It affected my perspective on music. At the time, being forcefully removed from the whole scenario of the burglary felt frustrating, but it was the best thing that could have happened.” Nabihah spent those months remembering why she made music in the first place. She went back to basics and bought an acoustic guitar and a harmonium.

 

“For the first time ever, I’ve made music where I’ve been more patient with it,” she says. “Normally, when you’re an electronic music producer, you go into the studio, switch your computer on and start working on Ableton or Logic and then build up from that. Whereas, I decided not to go near all that for ages, and I was also forced into this approach in a way, because of the studio burglary and then being in Pakistan, away from all my equipment. Instead, I had to let the ideas develop in my head.” During those initial months in Pakistan, she continued her creative practice through her “herbalist sessions” where she learned about plants and herbal remedies from her grandparents, espousing her learnings to the world via Instagram.

 

Using broader concepts, ‘DREAMER’ is “more introspective, because it's about things that I’ve been through over the last few years,” she says. The album is an intimate journey through snapshots and memories of Nabihah’s life. Exploring personal identity and grief through the soft-focus lens of melancholy, the album is not one specific sound. Her left-field lo-fi aesthetic twirls itself throughout as she manages to skate between tracks without ever sounding disjointed. Back in the UK, she embarked on residencies in Scotland and Suffolk to finish the album where she switched off from the internet, discovering “all my emotions and feelings. I was so sad and unwell before that but hardly anybody knew.”

 

It is a wrenchingly intimate and sweetly playful project. There is a pronounced melancholy underpinning the album, but cracks of sunlight make their way out. Ultimately, ‘DREAMER’ signals a shift, elevating Nabihah’s work to new heights as she adds new colours to her palette.

I will check these out. BJSC Queen!!

Really enjoying everything from this era. Amusingly for “This World Couldn't See Us” Spotify had “Zone 1 to 6000” as the B-side! Obviously she saw her iconic win on BJSC and thought that was the moment to sign to NingaTune and bang out an album x

Roba bringing Nabihah back from the wilderness *.*

 

Really liking the sound of Sunflower, gorgeous production.

In new music Fridays first 10 songs as well. Maybe she secretly follows Buzzjack 🤔

Pre-BJSC success I was only aware of

which was a decent enough instrumental but not so amazing it made me want to discover more. The trio of the two new singles and Zone 1-6000 are all exceptional, both up there with the best songs released this year, and Zone.. still on my regular rotation. :wub:

Edited April 1, 20232 yr by RabbitFurCoat

Not heard the new one yet but I love 'This World Couldn't See Us' even more than the BJSC song - similar formula but with those ear candy post-punk style guitars, so no surprise it greatly appeals to me *.*

This World Couldn’t See Us has been added to 6 Music's playlist ❤️

Title track was released this week:

 

This is finally released tomorrow and I'm v excited to see what she's come up with. Zone 1-6000 was always streets ahead of everything else on her debut but I feel like this has the potential to be a huge step forward after hearing the first 3 tracks.

 

I succumbed and bought the pink vinyl edition with the tote bag as there's only 300 of them - I've been trying really hard not to buy as many this year and have been very good at sticking to it but I really felt like I wanted to support her

Somewhat appropriately, this album is simply DREAMY *.* :wub:

I'm loving this on first listen and surprised the music critics aren't stanning it as much (it currently has a score of only 69 on AOTY). Extremely dreamy :wub:

 

I wasn't that familiar with her music before but I like that it's not all in the spoken style of Zone 1 to 6000, This World and Sunflower, and that she actually sings as well.

 

I wasn't sure if this belonged in dance or indie - feel free to move mods as you see fit. It feels more indie/alternative to me after hearing it in full (most tracks are shoegaze/dream pop) although Sunflower, Sky River and Gentle Heart are definitely on the more club/electronic side

I’m moving it but only because I hope it’s less likely to get lost in indie

Probably for the best as I didn't know there was a thread! I love This World Couldn't See Us, and the BJSC winner was excellent too. Her style is brilliant and I really love that it captures that lost in an urban chaotic jungle feel.