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Barbican announces Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily in Love in Exile

Three world-class musicians come together to create a singular voice from their distinct backgrounds and vast histories for a one-of-a-kind performance in the Barbican Hall.

GRAMMY award-winning musician Arooj Aftab (vocals), GRAMMY- nominee Vijay Iyer (piano and electronics) and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (bass and Moog synth) join forces for an evening defined by a sense of timeless beauty as they bring their newly-announced album Love in Exile (Verve Records, March 2023) to London audiences. Recorded live in a New York studio, the album and its minimal production is a startlingly present and emotionally open record that joins these musicians together in a breathtakingly unified sound.

Following the album’s March 2023 release, Aftab, Iyer and Ismaily will make their London debut as a trio at the Barbican. With shimmering keyboard melodies, stirring vocals, earthy basslines and hypnotic drones, the trio will come together to demonstrate the power that music holds and how it provides a meeting ground and a way of being alive in a world that ultimately invites us to love.

Produced by the Barbican in association with Serious and Bird On The Wire