How Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily conjured Love In Exile
The trio Love In Exile — (left to right) Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily — say that sharing responsibility for the music collectively allows them greater freedom as individuals. Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The trio Love In Exile — (left to right) Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily — say that sharing responsibility for the music collectively allows them greater freedom as individuals.
Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the artistWhat does listening sound like? For the new trio Love In Exile one answer to that riddle can be found in the interplay between these three renowned musicians — pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, singer Arooj Aftab and bassist Shahzad Ismaily — on the excellent new album they have just released.
On this special episode of All Songs Considered, Iyer, Aftab and Ismaily sat down in the Brooklyn recording studio Ismaily owns for for an in-depth conversation that touches on the origins of the trio, which they say felt instantly charged with spiritual energies. They also dicussed the implications of the name "Love in Exile," with its play of diaspora and longing; the mysterious way that a song form can emerge out of group improv and "ritual time" as an expression of tempo ungoverned by genre or market concerns.