Slowspin

Slowspin is the moniker of Pakistan-raised, New York-based sound artist Zeerak Ahmed. Rooted in North Indian classical and matrilineal vocal traditions, her music brings together dream-folk, alternative folk, ambient, devotional, and experimental sounds. Singing in Urdu, Purbi, and English, she creates immersive songs that blur the boundaries between folk memory, improvisation, and contemporary composition. Her debut album, TALISMAN (2023) was praised by Pitchfork for weaving "personal and familial history, cultural inheritance, and syncretic devotion...in perfect harmony." In 2025, Slowspin sang alongside Laurie Anderson, Iggy Pop, Asha Bhosle, Willie Nelson, and Allison Russell on Kronos Quartet's Hard Rain. Her second collaborative album, Afterimage, arrives August 7, 2026. It explores what remain after departure: the sensation of a place, a person, a prayer, a song. It is informed in part by her archival practice on the folk traditions of the zenana (women's quarters) in pre-Partition homes, her family's migration from Northern India to Pakistan, and her own journey from Karachi to New York. Alongside her recordings, Ahmed creates voice-based sculptures and sound installations rooted in archival research. Follow on IG @slowspinspace for upcoming sound exhibitions and live shows with the Slowspin quartet, which includes (executive producer) Shahzad Ismaily, (co- producer) Grey Mcmurray & Marlon Patton.