Qasim Naqvi

Over Qasim Naqvi

Pakistani-American composer Qasim Naqvi might be best known as drummer in lauded trio Dawn of Midi. When he’s not on tour he creates original music for film, dance, theatre and international chamber ensembles. His most recent works delve deep into the timbres of analogue synthesisers and orchestral configurations. Since signing to Erased Tapes he has created two modular synthesiser suites — 2019’s acclaimed Teenages, capturing the sound of electronics living, breathing and mutating of their own accord, and 2020’s sister release Beta, a series of experiments chronicling Naqvi’s understanding of writing for this type of instrument and the growth of the instrument itself. Qasim’s music has appeared in installations at The Guggenheim Museum, dOCUMENTA 13 + 14, MOMA, The Liverpool Biennial and The St. Louis Art Museum. His chamber and orchestral compositions have been performed by the yMusic Ensemble, The Now Ensemble, The BBC Concert Orchestra, The Contemporary Music Ensemble of NYU, Stargaze, The Helsinki Chamber Choir, The Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, as part of Nimbus Dance Works and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW Season. Summer 2021 will see the much-treasured analog synthesiser suite Chronology finally receiving a worldwide vinyl release. Originally conceived only digitally in 2016, Chronology was Qasim’s first release of electronic music. Having been in the world of improvised and classical music up to this point, it seemed only fitting for Naqvi’s inaugural electronic music album to be made exclusively on a malfunctioning synthesiser — an old Moog Model D, leaving the abundant options of a computer behind. In 2025, Naqvi released Endling, a 43 minute odyssey through an intense and beautiful landscape, set hundreds of years into the future.