* Arooj Aftab in Winterthur *

I discovered Arooj Aftab, like many others, through her Mohabbat song. After hearing this song, I listened to her's Vulture Prince album and fell in love with it. Then I heard her NPR tiny desk session and loved it so much (I was literally obsessed with it) that I included it in my (latest) *Obsessed with Tiny Desk 2022* Gimme a Beat. 

From that moment on, I wanted to see her live and feature her in Gimme A Beat. Around that time (early 2022), I reached out to her management and asked for an interview, but I never heard back.

Until August 2022, when Arooj's tour brought her to Switzerland and I got a chance to attend her concert and interview her. 

I just returned from the Flow Festival, so I was tired from the travel and experience. Also still a bit overwhelmed by all the great gigs I saw and interviews I did. But I knew that I was in for something special, so there was no way that I would miss this.

Arooj's concert was part of the Winterthurer Musikfestwochen, but it was happening in a totally different setup than the rest of the festival: the city church of Winterthur. She performed in a minimalistic setup, only with Gyan Riley on the guitar and Petros Klampanis on the double bass. They played on the church stage, under the church arches, in the dark, only with dimmed neon lights. The audience was engaged, focused, involved: quiet during the performance, cheering and clapping during the breaks. Combined with mesmerizing Arooj's voice, this created a beautiful, emotional experience. 

I was blown away by this experience and, more than anything, happy that I made an effort to be there. Follow the link for the Instagram post with my impressions and snippets of the performance.

After, I had a chance to get together with Arooj for a short interview. Even though she was tired (after all, this was her 18th city in a row), she was friendly and open to talking about the performance, her music, her favourite award and future plans.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------