Live music review: Arooj Aftab Brought Neo-Sufi Music to Levitation
I had an opportunity to see Arooj Aftab and her ensemble play during LEVITATION Festival this year in Austin. The show was off the beaten track, a few blocks away from the raucousness of Sixth Street at Scholz Garten. It was Saturday night on Halloween weekend – a cool, clear night. Aftab took to an indigo-steeped stage with just a guitarist and a harpist. Calmly, methodically, the three of them began to weave the sound that Aftab has become known for: ancient devotional songs arranged into her own brand of jazz – one that is authentically Pakistani without deferring to the demands of the western ear.
I discovered Arooj Aftab on Bandcamp when her album The Vulture Prince popped up in my feed as a recommendation. I recognized her name as Pakistani, and was immediately intrigued – you don’t see Pakistani names frequently listed among jazz artists. I am, however, familiar with traditional ghazals – Islamic Sufi poetry set to traditional music influenced by both Hindu and Persian cultures – and was floored to discover that Aftab’s sound blends these traditional sounds with jazz in a way that remains true to the cultural and religious origins of these songs.
Often rooted in a profound longing for The Divine, South Asian music can be ecstatic both for the performer and the audience. It is a spiritual, even devotional experience to listen to ghazals – even if you don’t understand the language in which they are sung. The most famous Pakistani export of this type of music was arguably the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan whose powerful voice and frequent collaborations with western artists cultivated a respectable following for Sufi music in Europe and the Americas.
Aftab’s ghazals, however, lack the frenetic energy of Khan’s arrangements. Where he was fanning the Divine Spark to ignite audiences’ hearts and inflame their spirits, Aftab’s interpretations are cool, sensual and dark. Her voice invites you to dissolve into The One; surrendering one’s entire being over to the longing for something greater than ourselves.
As I looked around the venue, I was struck by the diversity of the crowd. While the rest of the city was revving up to a night of hard partying, Aftab’s crowd was peaceful and rapt. People of all ages and ethnicity were gathered – older South Asian ‘aunties’ in traditional shalwar khameez mixed freely with bearded hipsters under strings of lights, swaying gently as Aftab’s voice settled over the crowd like a dream. A woman I didn’t know leaned over to me and said, “I’m from Mexico – I don’t understand the words, but this music is so good.” I nodded in agreement.
Let this serve as a reminder that some of the best music can be found in the margins of music festivals; that not all music needs to have mass appeal to be great. Aftab’s music attracted a diverse crowd who were there with one thing in common: an appreciation for the unconventional. I felt very much at home among them.
Featured photo: Ali Ateeq
