What Dreams May Come from the Vulture Prince

Vulture Prince by Arooj Aftab

 Indie Music Review - Written by J. D. Estrada

Music for prayer, magic, and dreams.

WHAT THIS ALBUM AND ARTIST DO WELL: Based in Brooklyn, New York, Pakistani composer Arooj Aftab offers dreamlike music that is equal parts minimalistic classical music, new age, poetry, and anything else that evokes a fae like beauty in music. What’s wonderful about so many of the tracks is how the instruments fade in and out without stepping on anything. It’s this luscious musical stream you’re invited to float down on.

Her voice is deep and rich and that’s what caught my attention when I was looking for something new to listen to, though the reality is that the beauty in these seven tracks is so wonderfully dreamlike. The album is dedicated to her brother, and it definitely has a feeling as if listening to it can help any of us sit down and spend some time with the memories of those we’ve lost though doing it with a smile. It's an album that feels like you’re waking up from a long dark dream to dance with the stars and that’s no small feat. 

And then track four, Last Night, catches you completely off-base with a funky jazzy reggae number in English. It all plays into the dream sequence and somehow works magnificently as the midpoint of this album. 

The music is light, yet heavy…just as with her voice. It’s all ethereal and dreamlike but never floaty and I’d have to think of someone like Kate Bush or some Tori Amos releases to think of a reference point, though this feels completely unique and a whole other way to attack beauty through music. Instrumentation at times reminds me a bit of Sigur Rös or even Elbow, yet not. It’s funny because every time I try to pin down something relatable, I find it comes up short in properly describing the music, which is wonderful for me.

WHY CHAMPION THIS INDIE ARTIST: Quite often we hear bands and artists whose influences shine through and the music is still amazing. In this case, I can’t pinpoint the inspirations, only the feeling and listening to a language I don’t know always taps into parts of my emotions in a way I can’t describe. It’s like when you hear a poem in a different language yet it still hits you in the feels. This is that, but at a much grander scale. If you ever wonder if music is magic, take a listen to Vulture Prince. It makes quite the beautiful case.

YOU CAN BUY THIS ALBUM HERE