Nabihah Iqbal
Artist
Debuting with a single on Kassem Mosse’s Ominira imprint in 2013, Nabihah has since released on No Pain In Pop and Ninja Tune (with 2015’s ‘House Of Silk EP). Having studied an MPhil at Cambridge focused on African history, she’s also worked in human rights law in South Africa. Since 2013 she’s hosted a bi-weekly show on NTS, exploring the musical traditions of different countries. Regularly touring the world to DJ and play live, she’s also received several commissions from other corners of the arts: the Tate Britain asked her to compose a piece of music for the Turner Prize, she’s due to perform as part of the Barbican’s Basquiat exhibition and she recently collaborated with Wolfgang Tillmans at his major Tate Modern exhibition.
Nabihah has received plaudits from publications including Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Fader and Complex, while she’s had previous radio support from Huw Stephens, Monki, and Toddla T on Radio 1, Jamz Supernova on Radio 1Xtra, Gilles Peterson on Radio 6Music and Zane Lowe on Beats 1.
At a time when dance music is embracing cross-pollination and eclecticism more than ever before, it’s a prime moment for Nabihah’s increasingly all-embracing approach. Re-connecting the worlds of introspective, innovative guitar bands with the rhythms and club-born structures of dance music, there’s a wealth of different tangents she’s managed to unpack. Informed by a well-traveled (and well-researched) perspective on music, she finds whole, uncovered pathways left to explore.