Nabihah Iqbal has a multi-faceted background having studied History and Ethnomusicology at SOAS, an MPhil in South African History from Cambridge, experience working in human rights law and a black belt in Karate. Formerly known as ‘Throwing Shade’, she’s ditched that moniker to embrace the name she was born with. Readying her debut album for Ninja Tune, “Weighing of the Heart” is a big statement in two ways: first, because she’s taken her real name to stand proudly as a female British Asian artist making music and, secondly, because she’s moved her music in a bolder, more expansive direction.


She’s collaborated with Chinese artist Zhang Ding, been commissioned by Tate to compose music for the Turner Prize and collaborated with Wolfgang Tillmans as part of his Tate Modern exhibition. She’s also performed at both the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, as well as the Institute of Contemporary Arts and at the Barbican. At a time when dance music is embracing cross-pollination and eclecticism more than ever before, it’s a prime moment for Nabihah’s increasingly all-embracing approach.