Throwing Shade is the recording name of London producer and NTS Radio regular Nabihah Iqbal. Known for her involvement in an eclectic variety of sounds ranging from experimental electronic to jazz, she gives us a taste of her upcoming Ninja Tune EP with an icily distant track, "hashtag IRL."
Having already lent her distinct, dulcet vocals to PC Music pioneer SOPHIE for his singles "Lemonade" and "L.O.V.E."—exaggerated, sugary pop numbers that serve as a critique of commercialism—Iqbal focuses her own criticism in a different direction: our social media age. She mesmerizingly chants the words like and searching over syncopated synth-work and minimalist drumming. Through calculated chopping and layering of her own utterances (OMG, LOL, WTF), she tells us to #get online. While it comes across like a cynical commentary on the overwhelmingly chaotic state of social media, the repetition is also strangely soothing.
Check Throwing Shade's FADER Mix and listen to "hashtag IRL" below.
