Sheherazaad: Khudgarzi review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month
(Erased Tapes) Dreamy, reverb-laden arrangements, virtuosic vocals and echoes of PJ Harvey and Massive Attack make this disarming debut a one-of-a-kind creation Since the release of her debut EP, Qasr, in 2024, south…
Source: The Guardian ·
(Erased Tapes) Dreamy, reverb-laden arrangements, virtuosic vocals and echoes of PJ Harvey and Massive Attack make this disarming debut a one-of-a-kind creation Since the release of her debut EP, Qasr, in 2024, south Asian-American vocalist and composer Sheherazaad has developed a distinctive take on the classical singing of her heritage. While her contemporaries such as the singers Ganavya and Manizeh draw on spiritual vocal traditions, and Arooj Aftab on jazz and folk instrumentation, Sheherazaad’s work is darker and far more introspective, using sparse acoustic arrangements to create a style of Urdu-language noir. On this debut album, she delivers her most disarmingly eerie and mournful work yet. A heavy layer of reverb coats the record’s spare and often evocative arrangements, making undulating tabla hits echo beneath Sheherazaad’s keening vocals on Qatil, while on Registaan it…