As a music artist, Nabihah has made her prolific work rate look effortless with a resume as varied as her musical output.

She studied an undergraduate degree in History and Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, before going on to do an M.Phil in History at Cambridge. After this, she pursued law, passed the Bar and whilst being on the path towards a fully-fledged law career, her profound passion for music pulled her in another direction (much to her parents’ dismay at the time).

Her 2023 album ‘DREAMER’ garnered huge critical acclaim internationally from the likes of the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Observer, The Quietus and 10 Magazine. She has toured around the world extensively, playing shows across Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Performance highlights include Glastonbury Festival 2024 in the UK, Sydney Festival 2024, MoMA PS1 in New York, the K11 Art Institute in Shanghai and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. She has also had the pleasure of performing at London’s landmark cultural institutions: the Royal Albert Hall, both the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, the Barbican, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Serpentine.

In March 2025, Nabihah Iqbal premiered her first classical composition entitled ‘What Psyche Felt’, in front of a sold-out show at the Southbank Centre: she was commissioned to compose a piece for string quartet by the renowned Manchester Collective. This marks the beginning of an exciting new musical direction, straddling both the electronic and classical worlds.

Nabihah is one of the longest-running residents on the iconic London radio station NTS, and she is also a frequent host across the BBC, having presented shows on Radio 1, Radio 3, Radio 4, 6Music, and the World Service. She has also contributed to podcasts for Bloomberg, the Serpentine and the Art Fund.

Aside from focusing on her music and radio, Nabihah’s artistic output has a strong inter-disciplinary focus and she has collaborated with Chinese artist Zhang Ding, been commissioned to compose music for the Turner Prize, collaborated with Wolfgang Tillmans as part of his Tate Modern exhibition and was involved in a group performance at the Barbican as part of its major Basquiat retrospective. She has also contributed to Serpentine's recent book '140 Artists' ideas for Planet Earth', edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and has given guest lectures at the Royal College of Art. In 2023 Nabihah was appointed as guest director of England’s largest multi-arts festival, Brighton Festival, her “biggest, most challenging and exciting curatorial position” to date. As someone who appreciates art and music in all its forms, and the way in which creativity brings people together, Nabihah’s work often takes on the role of ‘curator’. She has been invited to take on curate events at the Whitechapel Gallery, Somerset House, Art Night Dundee and the Open City Documentary Festival for instance, bringing together artists and collaborators from her creative world. Nabihah also runs a platform and event series called ‘Glory To Sound’, which takes on various forms such as live performances, talks and discussions, and club nights. As part of this series, she has interviewed important cultural figures such as the historian David Olusoga and the poet-musician Linton Kwesi Johnson, music producer SOPHIE and TV presenter Anita Rani.

Nabihah sits on the board of trustees at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London and also for Hand Of, a UK-based charity that provides musical education for disadvantaged children.

Dec 2020: Live performance at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Watch here.

Nov 2020: An exploration of Jimi Hendrix’s record collection at his flat in Mayfair, London. Watch here.

Nov 2020: Release of ‘Chalo’ compilation, featuring ‘Is This Where It Ends?’ by Nabihah Iqbal. Listen here.

Feb 2020: Hosted an episode of Music Life on BBC World Service. Listen here.  

Feb 2020: Live performance of film score at Royal Northern College of Music, as part of Video Jam.

Feb 2020: Discussion about William Blake’s creative legacy at Tate Britain, London. Read here.

Feb 2020: DJ set at Printworks, London.

Nov 2019: Live performance at Café Oto, in association with Bagri Foundation.

Nov 2019: DJ set at V&A Museum, Dundee.

Oct 2019: Japan DJ tour.

Sep 2019: South-East Asia DJ tour.

Sep 2019: DJ tour in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Aug 2019: North America DJ tour.

Aug 2019: Interview with SOPHIE for Glory To Sound. More here.

Aug 2019: Russia DJ tour.

April 2019: First show on BBC Radio 1, covering for Benji B.

April 2019: Live session for KEXP. Watch here.

April 2019: Interview with Gilles Peterson for Glory To Sound.

April 2019: Campaign for Merrell – mountain-hiking in South Africa and making field recordings. Watch here.

March 2019: DJ set at Art Dubai.