Nabihah Iqbal
Former Somerset House Studios resident

Nabihah Iqbal

Musician, producer, DJ and broadcaster. 

Somerset House Studios
New Wing

Many musicians like to speak of versatility, but Nabihah Iqbal has better grounds than most. She boasts an MPhil (focused on African history) from Cambridge, has worked in human rights law and has a black belt in Karate. Formerly known as Throwing Shade, she has ditched that moniker to embrace the name she was born with. She released her debut album ‘Weighing of the Heart’ in December 2017 and has since garnered huge critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, Pitchfork, Dazed, The Observer, Q Magazine, BBC Radio 1 and 6Music.

Nabihah Iqbal, Zone 1 to 6000

Since 2013, Nabihah has hosted a bi-weekly show on NTS Radio exploring the musical traditions of different countries, and released a string of EPs on labels Ominira, No Pain in Pop and Ninja Tune. She collaborated with Chinese artist Zhang Ding for the ICA, been commissioned by Tate to compose music for the Turner Prize, worked with Wolfgang Tillmans as part of his Tate Modern exhibition and was recently involved in a group performance at the Barbican as part of its major Basquiat retrospective. Other live highlights include performing at K11 Art Institute in Shanghai, Synthposium in Moscow, Inner Varnika festival in Australia and SXSW in Austin, TX.

As a new resident, Nabihah will be working towards the launch of a new music platform which will take an inter-disciplinary and multi-faceted approach to sharing, promoting and creating music and musical experiences.

[Weighing of the Heart is] an album that weaves sweet pop melodies and strange, scuttling beats together into something that feels both nostalgic and recklessly new. It’s all done with a precision and neatness... with each moment providing an aesthetic delight - 4/5

The Guardian