On the record, she reinterprets the ecstatic arrangements of the mystical Sufi Muslims for a modern audience interested in a more intent and pared-down sound. Today, Aftab has released three solo albums, won a student Academy Award for composing music in the short film Bittu, and received a Latin Grammy for providing backing vocals to Puerto Rican rapper ResidenteвЂ™s song вЂњAntes Que El Mundo Se Acabe.вЂќ AftabвЂ™s latest album, Vulture Prince, which released earlier this year, utilizes the ghazal, a form of devotional South Asian poetry set to music. Whether itвЂ™s Natasha NooraniвЂ™s strong pop vocals, SlowspinвЂ™s delicate lilting trill framed against atmospheric mixes, Hasan RaheemвЂ™s rich boy vibe, or even rap duo Young StunnersвЂ™ satirical reflections on city life, Arooj Aftab did it first-and those who came after her are still inspired by her approach to music. For women, who might face resistance from their families by openly performing music in a deeply conservative country, or who venture out less freely than men due to the dangers of sexual harassment and the unpredictability of local politics, the flexibility of social media has proven groundbreaking. The virality of AftabвЂ™s covers sparked the ubiquity of bedroom pop in Pakistan, a DIY music movement in which young musicians who lack expensive recording equipment, a sophisticated studio set-up, and connections in the entertainment industry can record music from home and post it on Facebook, SoundCloud or YouTube. It inspired a lot of people, and my role in all of it was to be a catalyst to the underground scene, especially for women.вЂќ вЂњThere was no young woman singing freely. The singerвЂ™s video is turned off (вЂњIвЂ™m the least fashionable right now,вЂќ she says), but her deep, tranquil voice radiates from the screen of my laptop, as sonorous when speaking as it is when singing. вЂњThis was a pre-social media era,вЂќ Aftab says over Zoom on a sunny winter afternoon from her home in Brooklyn.

AftabвЂ™s covers spread like wildfire online, rippling in e-mail threads and digital forums, and heralded the now-36-year-old Brooklyn-based artistвЂ™s calling as a singer and musician. It was the late вЂ90s, and YouTube didnвЂ™t yet exist-but the music scene in the Muslim-majority country flourished with the popularity of boy bands that synthesized traditional rhythms of the region with the alternative-cool of rock music. From her bedroom in Lahore, Pakistan, Aftab sang Jeff BuckleyвЂ™s ten-minute rendition of вЂњHallelujahвЂќ and local rock artist Aamir ZakiвЂ™s вЂњMera PyarвЂќ (вЂњMy LoveвЂќ), strumming her guitar and crooning in a soft, melodious voice. When Arooj Aftab was in high school, she taught herself to play guitar, recorded herself singing covers, and posted videos of her at-home performances on the Internet.

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