Arooj Aftab

New York-based artist Arooj Aftab has a global background. Born in Saudi Arabia into an expat Pakistani family which moved back to Lahore in Pakistan when Arooj was about ten. At the age of 19 she moved to the USA to study music production.

From Lahore her baggage included inspiration from gardens, architecture and Urdu poetry, along with musical influence from South East Asian classical and folk. In Boston she gained a grounding in western traditions of jazz and experimental electronica. The result is music which draws seamlessly on neo-sufi, minimalism and jazz – bound together by Arooj's characteristic powerful voice.

In 2021 she was the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award. The same year she released her album Vulture Prince, which received critical acclaim in leading media including the Guardian, Time Magazine, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone.

Arooj Aftab has performed at international festivals including Coachella and Glastonbury, and during the Bergen International Festival she will appear for the first time in the special ambience of Håkonshallen.