Nabihah Iqbal
Nabihah Iqbal signs to Ghostly International and returns with new single and video "Heaven Can Wait".
Today, musician, producer, DJ and broadcaster Nabihah Iqbal has returned with ‘Heaven Can Wait’, her first new music since 2023’s acclaimed album DREAMER. The track was premiered via Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6 Music this morning. The release is the beginning of a bold new era for the now New York-based, London-born artist.
‘Heaven Can Wait’ is an invigorating, euphoric ode to friendship, joy and the importance of appreciating life. Through her clear-eyed lyricism and composition, Iqbal channels inspiration from the effervescence of New York City’s East Village, where she wrote the song, as well as the joyous abandon that Iqbal feels when she’s with her friends in London.
Driven by a new wave-esque bassline, Iqbal and her bandmates pull in shimmering, uplifting textures to transport the listener to a place of positivity. The song has a palpable energy, with Iqbal managing to evoke feelings both spoken and unspoken. The release is a subtle yet powerful evolution, pushing beyond interiority in the search for a connection within a new city, whilst also appreciating the bonds of life-long friendship.
Iqbal says:
“‘Heaven Can Wait' is a song about the happiness of friendship. It's about loving life, feeling good and appreciating all the positive things that this world has to offer. The song is inspired by summers in London and New York City: it's about having fun with your friends, and really, truly feeling alive.
I wrote the song in a small, quirky, basement studio in the East Village, Manhattan and I wanted to channel the energy and freedom of this iconic New York neighbourhood.
When I got the band together to record the song, I wanted us to play all together, in order to capture that special energy of playing music with others, in real time, which is sometimes lost when everything is recorded separately.
So we all went into a studio with a big live room, and recorded the whole track that way, playing all together. It was fun and intense, and I really feel that taking this approach to the recording helps to enhance the feelings and ideas of the song even more.”
Following the release of her last album DREAMER in 2023, Iqbal toured to sold out audiences around the world til late 2025. Since then, she has been working on new music, focusing on her residencies on London’s NTS Radio, NYC’s The Lot Radio, and continues to tour as an international DJ. She is also currently a resident DJ at New York’s Public Records.
Over the past two years, Iqbal received her first classical commissions to compose pieces for string quartet and electronics: What Psyche Felt, commissioned by the Manchester Collective, which toured the UK and performed to a sold-out Southbank Centre in 2025; and Imagined, Eternal., commissioned by Goodwood Art Foundation, which premiered at the Art Foundation in May 2026. These commissions mark a step in another new direction for the already multi-faceted artist.
Iqbal will be performing a special one-off live show in 2026 at Nightclub 101, New York City, on 31 October.
Tickets are available here.
Picture by Tori Mumtaz.
