Vulture Prince is the third album by Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab, released by New Amsterdam Records on April 23, 2021.[1] Thematically, the album discusses stories of people, relationships, and lost moments and is dedicated to the memory of her younger brother, Maher.[2] "Mohabbat" won the Best Global Music Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]
| Vulture Prince | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 23, 2021 | |||
| Length | 46:34 | |||
| Label | New Amsterdam | |||
| Producer | Arooj Aftab | |||
| Arooj Aftab chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Mojo |   [4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10[5] |
| Uncut | 9/10[6] |
Bhanuj Kappal of Pitchfork called the album a "heartbreaking, exquisite document of the journey from grief to acceptance."[5]
Vulture Prince was named the best album of 2021 by Netherlands newspaper de Volkskrant, topping their year-end list.[7] Brenna Ehrlich ranked the album sixth on Rolling Stone's "Best Music of 2021" staff list.[8] It was ranked number twenty by The Guardian on their list of the "50 best albums of 2021", and Laura Snapes named Aftab "[t]he year's biggest musical revelation".[9] While Vulture Prince did not rank on the Los Angeles Times' top ten "Best Albums of 2021", it was, however, included on their "15 deserving albums" list.[10]
Barack Obama selected the song "Mohabbat" from this album as one of his summer playlist favorites for 2021.[11] "Mohabbat" was called one of the best songs of 2021 by Time and The New York Times.[12][13] "Mohabbat" won the Best Global Music Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Arooj Aftab, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Baghon Main" (featuring Darian Donovan Thomas) | 6:44 | |
| 2. | "Diya Hai" (featuring Badi Assad) | 5:40 | |
| 3. | "Inayaat" | 7:47 | |
| 4. | "Last Night" | 5:58 | |
| 5. | "Mohabbat" | Hafeez Hoshiarpuri | 7:42 |
| 6. | "Saans Lo" | Annie Ali Khan | 7:31 |
| 7. | "Suroor" | 5:12 | |
| Total length: | 46:34 | ||
Personnel
edit- Arooj Aftab – songwriting, vocals, production
- Maeve Gilchrist – harp (1, 3, 5)
- Darian Donovan Thomas – violin (1, 3)
- Petros Klampanis – double bass (1), piano (3), double bass (3)
- Badi Assad - guitar (2)
- Magda Giannikou – arrangement (2)
- Juliette Jones – strings arrangement (2)
- Rootstock Republic – strings (2)
- Juliette Jones – violin (2)
- Lady Jess – violin (2)
- Jarvis Benson – viola (2)
- Malcolm Parson – cello (2)
- Nadje Noordhuis – flugelhorn (3, 5)
- Bhrigu Sahni – guitar (4)
- Mario Carrillio – double bass (4)
- Jörn Bielfeldt – drums (4)
- Jamey Haddad – percussion (5)
- Gyan Riley – guitar (5)
- Shahzad Ismaily – synth (5, 6)
- Kenji Herbert – guitar (6)
- Annie Ali Khan – lyrics (6)
- Joshua Valleau – mixing, engineering
- Damon Whittemore – mastering
- Vishesh Sharma – photography
- Anum Awan – photo editing
- Micah Blacklight – album artwork
- Vandana Jain – art direction, design
Charts
edit| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] | 24 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 54 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] | 35 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 70 |
References
edit- ^ "The 10 Albums We're Most Excited About in April". Paste. March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ "Video Premiere: 'Diya Hai' Performed by Arooj Aftab and Badi Assad". I Care If You Listen. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- ^ Mulvey, John (July 2021). "Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince: An extraordinary new voice from Pakistan via Brooklyn". Mojo. No. 332. p. 80.
- ^ a b Kappal, Bhanuj (March 31, 2022). "Arooj Aftab: Vulture Prince Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ Richards, Sam (August 2021). "Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince: Spellbinding east-meets-west concoction. Comes withits own perfume oil!". Uncut. No. 291. p. 21.
- ^ van Gijssel, Robert; Kerkhof, Merlijn (20 December 2021). "Dit zijn de 40 beste albums van 2021" [These are the 40 best albums of 2021]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (December 23, 2021). "Best Music of 2021: Staff Picks". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (December 1, 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 2, 2021). "Best Albums of 2021". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab makes it to Barack Obama's Summer Playlist". Dawn. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Andrew, R. Chow; Raisa, Bruner (May 26, 2021). "The Best Songs of 2021 So Far". Time. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Russonello, Giovanni (April 23, 2021). "Weezer's Rock 'n' Roll Nostalgia Trip, and 10 More New Songs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 3, 2022.