The evening of Thursday June 26 was marked by an Indian and cross-cultural imprint. We’re all very excited about Arooj Aftab, who played to a packed house at Club Soda, but any music lover here must also see our South Asian jewel shine: Montrealer Thanya Iyer has been seducing audiences for a few years now, and we could tell on Thursday that the stone had been chiselled.
This Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist (violin, viola, keyboards, synthesizers, electronics) has an excellent taste for perfectly measured hybridizations in which she layers the melodies that carry the words of her interiority.
The microtonal undulations of classical Indian (Carnatic) music, indie pop, chamber pop, contemporary jazz, modern or contemporary Western classical music, ethereal wave, American minimalism … and this soft, airy voice that straddles these styles, influences and eras.
Harp, strings, choir, keyboards, guitar, bass. This extensive instrumentation implies fine arrangements in a diversity of proposals for a contemporary chamber orchestra. The arrangements were also conceived by Thanya Iyer, an exceptional talent. The material for this program can be found on the album Tide/Tied, released this spring. Don’t miss out!
This very first concert of my FIJM 2025 was followed by the much-anticipated Arooj Aftab, a Pakistani singer-songwriter transplanted to New York and frequented by top-quality artists. In 2023, we heard her alongside Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily on the excellent album Love in Exile.
This album is more exploratory than the recent Night Reign, closer to song forms, more consonant with the West, a little less marked by southern Asia. The approach is therefore a little smoother, more consensual, with harp, keyboards, guitars, vibraphone and so on.
It’s hardly surprising that the Night Reign album has had a greater indie pop impact in the West, since the reference points are overwhelmingly obvious. And this artist’s touch is contagious, to say the least! Superb centered voice, self-mockery, fierce stance against traditional morality, laughing cynicism: in short, this woman is free and takes what she wants from her past. And that’s why she performed to a packed Club Soda and a delighted audience.
Photo Julien Jaffré
