Conspirator
Shahzad Ismaily
Multi-instrumentalist, producer and owner of Figure 8 Recording. We have played together in Lou Reed Drones.
Shahzad Ismaily (born 1972) is an American multi-instrumentalist, producer and studio owner based in New York, the son of Pakistani immigrants, who plays bass, guitar, banjo, drums, percussion and analog synthesizers and holds a master’s degree in biochemistry. He has been the bassist of Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog since 2006, scored the film Frozen River (2008), and has played on close to 400 records, among them Laurie Anderson’s Homeland and Arooj Aftab’s Vulture Prince; Love in Exile, with Aftab and Vijay Iyer, was nominated for a Grammy. He owns Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn.
The creditShahzad Ismaily and Sarth Calhoun played together in Lou Reed Drones at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, March 13, 2019, and at the Brookfield Place Winter Garden, March 2, 2023; Calhoun’s “I Just Believe in Christmas” was recorded at Ismaily’s Figure 8 Recording in 2015.
Lou Reed Drones
We were both participating musicians in Lou Reed Drones at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on March 13, 2019, for Lou’s 77th birthday, curated by Stewart Hurwood, with Laurie Anderson, John Zorn and Stan Harrison. On March 2, 2023, Lou’s 81st birthday, the guest performance at the Brookfield Place Winter Garden was the two of us with Kevin Hearn and Laurie Anderson. “I Just Believe in Christmas” was recorded at his studio, Figure 8, in August 2015, by Phil Weinrobe.
My thoughts
The profile is from public sources, linked where they appear. What we made is the record on this site and the sources cited above.