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19 Jan 2023 ///
Interviews /// Music

Nabihah Iqbal’s Sonic Homes between London to Cape Town

Nabihah Iqbal is a citizen of the world – she has many homes, across many corners of the planet. Cape Town is one such place that Nabihah has returned to again and again; and as a multi-hyphenated musician, DJ and producer – it was in Cape Town during her MPhil degree that she played her first bigger gigs. Born and raised in London – a city that that remains her anchor no matter where she reaches out into the world – Nabihah’s return to the Mother City in the last two months has been in tandem with finishing her highly anticipated new album – as Nabihah says, “the most challenging thing I’ve ever created.” From her nearly decade long work at iconic NTS Radio, to piloting innumerable spaces for music and community to flourish such as Glory to Sound and New Music Energy – Nabihah is a sonically inclined in every facet of her being; music is her medicine, and it is through music that Nabihah interrogates, participates and understands the world.
“London is still my favourite place in the world – it’s one of those rare examples of a city where it’s multicultural, but it works and it’s integrated; everything is mixed up, and that in itself has lent to the formation of so many unique music cultures. I grew up in the middle of London, so I’ve definitely been spoiled in terms of musical opportunities that have been around me; even in terms of gigs and clubs, and watching live music from a really young age.” Home to the most pioneering online radio station originating out of Hackney – Nabihah’s long-standing residency at NTS Radio forms part of a movement unto itself. With their iconic booth, NTS founder Femi Adeyemi initiated a cultural wave most succinctly described by the station’s tagline, “for an international community of music lovers” – NTS is musicians’s favourite music platform, and has provided endless study and celebration of all variations of music from all over the world, through many ages and eras; old and new. For Nabihah, who studied an honours BA in History and Ethnomusicology at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – NTS is the most perfect space. On this, she says ‘’I’ll be celebrating my 10th anniversary on the station this year, which is mad! So much music. It’s an amazing radio station, and I think they were one of the first to do it; there are a lot of online radio stations now, which is really great as they all have their own niche, but I think NTS set the course for this kind of format in many ways. It’s been an incredible pleasure to explore music through the platform; a lot of my shows have been influenced by studies, so it’s a lot about playing interesting and unusual music from all around the world, and then talking about it, too. I think now, we see a lot more DJs taking interest in different musical cultures, and there’s a lot of record labels presenting music from around the globe to a more western audience, so things have definitely come a long way since I started at NTS. The whole point of music is to share it.” NTS may no longer have its sticker-emblazoned hut studio – a pilgrimage site in inner London and mantle of contemporary musical exploration – to which Nabihah reminisces, “Our hut studio got knocked down during COVID, so a lot of people ended up presenting live from their homes, or from their other studios. I’ve gotten used to doing it at home, it saves me a lot of travel across London. It’s such a great way to share music, especially as I like so many different types of music – I’ve never felt like I had to limit myself and what I want to share, whether it’s my own music or other artists. There is a total freedom too, because with radio, you’re not trying to make people dance – you can play whatever you’d like, you’re not trying to make people move necessarily like you are during a live DJ set.” This experimental mode of NTS is such that it feels like a co-creative, co-inquisitive journey between presenter and listener; and it’s this that makes the space, and a DJ like Nabihah, sacred forces for music’s keeping in the 21st century.

When Nabihah’s husband, designer Nicholas Daley, debuted at London Fashion Week for SS18; Nabihah performed her undergraduate performance instrument, the sitar alongside Karanjee Gaba; they performed the Raga Yaman, which you can listen to  here. A strikingly complex instrument; Nabihah says of the sitar, “I had always wanted to play the sitar, and when I got to university – I finally got the chance to learn. I thought it would be a relatively easy transition, because I already played the guitar, but actually it’s so different and much, much harder. It requires a lot of physical and stamina and focus. Growing up playing other instruments, you can get away with playing things in quite a relaxed manner – with the sitar, before you start playing – you have to have your body in a very specific position. Mentally, it brings you into a whole different space. Learning about that whole tradition of music that exists across Pakistan and North India is just such a different approach to how I was used to learning music. It is an oral tradition, there is no notation, so you have to learn things by heart and just from listening and feeling; I think it’s actually much more of a profound way of interacting with music. I’ve actually for the first time ever included sitar in my own music with this new album, and that feels good.” Nabihah notes that including sitar in her new album forms part of an ongoing experience of her own identity; “Even using my real name now (Nabihah was formerly known as Throwing Shade), and to incorporate instruments from my own Pakistani heritage, yeah – its that thing of constantly experiencing your identity, who you are, the elements that you find that want to put into your art, so I feel really happy about it.”

Nabihah has been in Cape Town for two months and for those who don’t know her personally in the city, it may seem interesting that she’d be here for this long – sometimes in the mundanity and pressure of everyday life, we forget what a special place this city is. Of Nabihah’s deep connection to South Africa, she says “The first time I came here was 2008 on a family holiday and that year at uni I had done the South African history course, and that was the first time I’d been somewhere right after studying it. My professor was from Cape Town originally and he was a really good teacher, and got me really interested in the topic. When I got here, I was just so excited to be somewhere that I had been reading and writing about. After my undergrad, I went to do my masters at Cambridge – a research MPhil – and that was all about South African history. I was looking at the political role of the Black press between 1950 and 1977, and part of my research was coming out to Cape Town and Joburg. I was looking at the newspaper archives here in Cape Town and I was interviewing journalists and Black Consciousness activists here and in Joburg and Soweto. I was starting to make friends here already. After that, I did the law conversion course and the bar, and after being called to the bar, I came back to South Africa to work with a group of women activists at the Women’s Legal Centre, and I spent six months here.” The contrast of a young, intellectual life in Cape Town’s academic, activist and music scenes formed characterisation qualities in Nabihah’s life path; this is perhaps why she has returned here to see friends and spend some time in the sun, “I have such good friends here, and people are so friendly in Cape Town – I’ve made new friends and connected with old friends, and nature here alongside the food and climate; it’s a perfect combination, really. It’s always a pleasure to be back.”

In a sort of obvious, slightly cliché way, I ask Nabihah what music is to her – what has made her dedicate her artistic vision to this art form, albeit in so many ways? On this, Nabihah responds, “Well, music has always just been my favourite thing since I was a baby. I was obsessed with Michael Jackson, and I think music really is the most spiritual art form; it’s way bigger than anyone can ever understand, because when you’re at a festival and thousands of people are there to watch one band, there is some strange, surreal power behind that. Music makes me feel things that I don’t get from anything else and I don’t want that is, or how to explain it, and as a musician I am always thinking about why I make music, what’s the point of it? Everyone is on that quest, there’s something really special that we can’t articulate, but we try.” While I am not musically inclined, music exists to me in an entirely different dimension than anything else; I can be struck by a piece of art, but the intangible feeling that a song can evoke, stirring solely in my own subjective memory and experience is quite inexplicable and that this happens every minute, of every day – all across the planet – yes, Nabihah is right, I think. Music is the most spiritual art-form and force. 

Nabihah is currently celebrating finishing a four-year long album; a body of work that has required her to dig deeper than ever before, “This one has been a lot harder – the biggest, hardest thing I’ve ever had to work on. Finishing it just felt very emotional because there were so many moments where I thought I would never finish it all. One of the main obstacles was getting my studio burgled in 2020 – I didn’t have my work backed-up, so I lost two years of work and then I basically had to start from scratch again. Then I broke my hand, and then my ankle; there were so many things after the other. Normally I feel like I’m quite a resilient person, I can just get on with things, and it’s hard to be creative when you don’t feel good in your head or body. I eventually had to leave London and go to the countryside; I felt like I would focus better, living in the heart of London, the distractions are endless and so much going on. I went to Scotland, and then to Suffolk and I was totally alone. I logged out of my socials. This album is a lot more introspective, and everything in it is more specific and personal.”

Lastly, I had to know – what are Nabihah’s favourite gems in Cape Town? ‘’My number one favourite place is the Seapoint swimming pool, and that’s why I’m staying here so I can walk there everyday. As a Londoner, you don’t understand how good it feels to be living in a place where you can go to the amazing, beautiful 50 metre, outdoor swimming pool, right at the ocean, every morning. You guys are so lucky. I go swimming every morning. My favourite food discovery is probably Kleinsky’s; when I first stayed in Cape Town, my morning ritual was swimming at Seapoint, and then New York Bagel after – that’s not here anymore, and now it’s Kleinsky’s. Mali South on Long St is such a good spot, I always get things made when I’m here, and Meiga who runs the store is amazing. Then Arthur’s Mini Super which is great, and Barley Beach – which is so busy these days, when I lived here 10 years ago, there were never very many people there. Then definitely One Park! I’ve been friends with Matt (Hichens) and Aaron (Peters) for a long time – they’re kind of kingpins of the music scene here – and then to just see their trajectory, and this amazing space, is a real pleasure to see. Us three listened to the first pressing of my album together in their the other day – that was very emotional, and I never thought that the first time I would be listening to the album, in the four years of making it, would be in Cape Town with two of my oldest friends from here, in their listening bar. It was such a good moment.”

Written by: Holly Beaton

Published: 20 January 2023

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