Shahzad Ismaily

I'm a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer based in Brooklyn, where I founded Figure 8 Recording, a studio built as much around community as around sound. Largely self-taught, with a master's in biochemistry picked up somewhere along the way. I have recorded or performed with so many incredible artists including Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits, John Zorn, and Feist -- across more than 400 albums. I'm one third of the Grammy-nominated trio Love in Exile with Arooj Aftab and Vijay Iyer, and have been a OneBeat Collaborating Artist since 2017.

I don't believe art is made by a heroic individual alone. Music is a conversation: every note responds to another. When I'm producing a record or in a room with other players, I'm working to make the space safe enough for the most vulnerable version of the music to appear, the one usually hidden even from the person making it. I try to keep my palms open, facing the people in front of me. By giving we both grow.