Regarding their collaboration on “Last Night Reprise,” a jazz interpretation of the poems of the 13th-century Persian writer Rumi, Karpe said Aftab put himself in the director's shoes and used different visual cues. He recalled that he encouraged takers. “There's trust in our approach to music,” he said of their shared approach. “It felt very free and raw.”
Aftab said Karpe embodies her ideal player: someone who is attracted to something unique. “I look for people like that, because that's 80 percent of the thing,” she said. “Without innate emotion, there's nothing I can write down and ask you to play.”
In Tessa Thompson, whom Aftab reached out to via a friendly DM on Instagram, Aftab found both a natural collaborator and a role model for pursuing business on his own terms. (She had previously met several musical members of the Thompson family, namely her half-sister Zella and her father Mark Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius).)
Aftab said of Thompson, “I've never met the type of person who has been in this industry for so long and still knows how to manage his mental health and stay calm and natural and not get overwhelmed.” Ta. “Maybe I'm still a baby!”
On a warm April day, Aftab was preparing to premiere the final cut of his 'Raat Ki Rani' video. In her cozy Brooklyn brownstone apartment with a lush backyard, she makes a cup of tea and explains the history of the Sonica, a rare instrument she found on eBay: a guitar-shaped synthesizer. Talking about her excitement about her video, she zoomed out to place her imaginative depiction of queer romance in a larger context. “It feels natural to me that in this culture right now, the center of desire is not men,” she says flatly. “We are in a time of flux.”
Aftab laughed when the conversation turned to his recent Instagram post in which he announced the impending addition of 'Mohabbat' from the setlist. “I am about to [expletive] They’re around,” she said. “Obviously, no one is going to stop playing this anymore.” Her tone quickly became serious. “I don't know what to do because I've never had a hit. I guess Norah Jones still has to play 'Come Away With Me.'” She admitted that she thinks of this song every time she sings it, but her urge to move forward is no joke.