Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily have announced a new collaborative album titled Love in Exile. It’s set for release on March 24 via Verve. To mark the announcement, they’ve shared the lead single ‘To Remain/To Return’, which you can check out below, along with the album artwork (by Curry Hackett), tracklist, and the trio’s upcoming tour dates.
Discussing the collaboration in a press release, Iyer said: “Our music is a process. This fragment of ‘To Remain / To Return’ reveals not just the melody but the birth of a song. I hear Shahzad and myself establishing these haunted cycles, then slowly and delicately transforming them, as Arooj glides across like a dark moon.”
“This piece holds, at its core, the delicately unfolding emotion of separation anxiety induced fury (see: love, self exile) between two people who are deeply connected,” Aftab commented. “One is leaving and the other is asking them to stay. The former is saying ‘I will leave but I will also return’; in better form for the both of us.”
Ismaily added: “We all provide the best we can,” adds Shahzad Ismaily. “In my case it’s euclidean rhythms, crystals to hold the oceanic beauty of Vijay’s keys and the silent raven of Arooj’s voice. We grow to the company that we keep; I am both fortunate and grateful.”
Revisit our Artist Spotlight interview with Arooj Aftab.
Love in Exile Cover Artwork:
Love in Exile Tracklist:
1. To Remain/To Return
2. Haseen Thi
3. Shadow Forces
4. Sajni
5. Eyes of the Endless
6. Sharabi
7. To Remain/To Return (Excerpt)
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily 2023 Tour Dates:
Mar 31 Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Music Festival
Apr 14 North Bethesda, MD – The Music Center at Strathmore
Apr 28 Burlington, VT – UVM Recital Hall
May 7 Krems an der Donau, Austria – Donaufestival, Minoritenkirche
May 9 Brussels, Belgium – Les Nuits Botanique Festival, Notre Dame Church
May 11 Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Neimënster
May 13 Berlin, Germany – XJazz! Festival, Emmauskirche
May 25 Hamburg, Germany – Elbphilharmonie
May 29 Zürich, Switzerland – Moods
May 30 Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli Vredenburg
Jun 2 London, England – The Barbican Centre
Jun 26 Vancouver, British Columbia – Vancouver Jazz Festival
Jun 28 Ottawa, Ontario – Ottawa Jazz Festival
Jun 29 Montréal, Quebec – Montreal Jazz Festival
Jul 27 North Adams, MA – Bang on a Can’s: Loud Weekend 2023 at Mass MoCA
Jul 29 Katonah, NY – Caramoor Center for the Arts
Sep 14 New York, NY – Venue TBA
Sep 19 San Diego, CA – Epstein Family Amphitheatre
Sep 20 Los Angeles, CA – Venue TBA
Sep 21 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 28 Tempe, AZ – Tempe Center for the Arts
Sep 29 Austin, TX – Venue TBA
Sep 30 Denver, CO – Venue TBA
Oct 4 Cleveland, OH Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Oct 5 Princeton, NJ – Venue TBA
Oct 7 Blacksburg, VA – Venue TBA
Oct 8 Boston, MA – Institute of Contemporary Art
Oct 10 Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar
Oct 11 Chicago, IL – Venue TBA
Oct 12 Iowa City, IA – Infinite Dream Festival