| Love in Exile | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily |
| Cover: | Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily - Love in Exile.png |
| Alt: | A black-and-white photo of the three artists against a backdrop of clouds. |
| Released: | March 24, 2023 |
| Length: | 75:12 |
| Language: | Urdu |
| Label: | Verve |
| Producer: |
|
| Chronology: | Arooj Aftab |
| Prev Title: | Vulture Prince |
| Prev Year: | 2021 |
| Next Title: | Night Reign |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
Love in Exile is an album by Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, Indian-American pianist Vijay Iyer, and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, released on March 24, 2023, by Verve Records. It is the trio's first album together, recorded in a studio in New York. It was received positively by critics. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album and "Shadow Forces" was nominated for Best Global Music Performance.
Aftab, Iyer, and Ismaily first performed live together in New York in 2018, a performance in which Pitchforks Philip Sherburne said it "became unclear who was leading whom, or even where one musician ended and the next began".[1] The trio came together in a studio in New York to record their first album together.[2] They recorded live, taking the same positions as that live performance: Aftab singing in Urdu, Iyer playing piano and electronics, and Ismaily playing electric bass and Moog synthesizer.
On February 23, 2023, the trio announced the album and released its lead single, "To Remain/To Return". Iyer described the song as "reveal[ing] not just the melody but the birth of a song. I hear Shahzad and myself establishing these haunted cycles, then slowly and delicately transforming them, as Arooj glides across like a dark moon."[3] Sherburne called the track "a small miracle of telepathy occurring across nine spellbinding minutes."
The album was released on March 24, 2023, by Verve Records.
Pitchfork called the album the best new music of the week.
| Organisation | Award | Work | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best Alternative Jazz Album | Love in Exile | [4] [5] | |
| Best Global Music Performance | "Shadow Forces" |
| Aquarium Drunkard | [6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Beats Per Minute | 35 | [7] | |
| BrooklynVegan (Jazz Albums) | [8] | ||
| Consequence | 34 | [9] | |
| Mojo | 16 | [10] | |
| The New York Times (Jon Pareles) | 10 | [11] | |
| Pitchfork | 25 | [12] | |
| Slate | [13] | ||
| Treble | 49 | [14] | |
| Uncut | 33 | [15] |