Nabihah Iqbal
Nabihah Iqbal is a musician, writer and broadcaster from London. A former legal professional, she has studied at both SOAS and The University of Cambridge. She first released music under the alias 'Throwing Shade' in 2013 whilst contributing vocals to Sophie's early releases such as Lemonade.[1] She would switch to her birth name for her debut album 'Weighing of the Heart'.[2]
Nabihah Iqbal | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nabihah Iqbal |
| Also known as | Throwing Shade |
| Born | April 22nd 1988 London |
| Genres | Indie, Alternative, Coldwave, Electronic, Experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, Producer |
| Labels | Ninja Tune, Ominira, No Pain in Pop, Happy Skull, Beating Heart |
Early Life
Nabihah Iqbal was born to British Pakistani parents in London near Regent's Park as the eldest of six siblings, her brother Haseeb is a poet.[3][4]
Career
She began making music whilst as a human right's lawyer having passed the bar.[4] Early releases under Throwing Shade landed her a show with NTS Radio which she continues to this day[5] where she grew her following with shows exploring music from across the globe.[6] Her early style explored a mixture of experimental and more dancefloor oriented electronic styles including spoken word.[7] Around the same time she began to contribute vocals that would be heavily manipulated for Sophie, who was a close friend of hers.[1]
In 2017 she switched to releasing under her birth name, so too her style switched towards guitar oriented vocal music. Her debut album 'Weighing of the Heart' was released by Ninja Tune to generally favourable reviews, drawing inspiration from William Blake and Matthew Arnold.[8][2][9][10][11][12] One particular review in XLR8R was removed for racism for questioning why she didn't include more of her own heritage in her music, a question Nabihah noted would not have been asked to a white musician.[13] More recently she has undertaken a residency at The BBC Asian Network[14]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was forced to lockdown in Pakistan whilst visiting her grandparents after her album was stolen by thieves. Whilst there she started a webseries foxumenting local plants.[15]
References
- ^ a b Dunn, Francesca (2016-03-31). "a lesson in throwing shade by nabihah iqbal". i-D. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ a b "Nabihah Iqbal: Weighing of the Heart". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ Savlani, Sonam. "Nabihah Iqbal on why we need more brown faces in mainstream music". Vogue India. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ a b "Nabihah Iqbal: 'What's the point being me if I'm going to keep quiet?'". the Guardian. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ Dazed (2020-12-28). "Making waves: The women of colour who dominated radio in 2020". Dazed. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Throwing Shade's favourite tracks". the Guardian. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Throwing Shade - House Of Silk · Single Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Nabihah Iqbal: Weighing of the Heart review – a thoughtful, immersive debut". the Guardian. 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Nabihah Iqbal - Weighing Of The Heart · Album Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Nabihah Iqbal breathes new life into the guitar on the Bauhaus-inspired Weighing of the Heart". Fact Magazine. 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Nabihah Iqbal - Weighing of the Heart - Album review". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Album Review: Nabihah Iqbal - Weighing of the Heart". DrownedInSound. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Nabihah Iqbal (fka Throwing Shade) calls out "racist" review of latest album". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ www.bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b56t25. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Ghosh, Ravi (2020-04-30). "Nabihah Iqbal: the London musician who got locked down in Pakistan". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-03-31.