Shumaila Hemani - singer, songwriter, & acousmatic composer

Sufi singer-songwriter and acousmatic composer Shumaila Hemani, Ph.D. has received critical acclaim for both her debut album Mannat and its standout, eco-aware composition “Perils of Heavy Rainfall.” Pulling from her South Asian roots without fear of experimenting, Hemani’s music includes chants, drones, harmonium, santur, poetry, field recordings and more. Start with “Perils with Heavy Rainfall” and let yourself be immersed in her distinct sonic perspective. “Staying rooted within traditional forms and honouring that while also bringing in experimentation, Shumaila Hemani sings Sufi epics in South Asian Sufi tradition compellingly,” says New Works Calgary. Praised for enriching Alberta and bringing an impressive amount of emotional vulnerability - something that listeners will respond to, especially in conjunction with these thought-provoking lyrics, Hemani has also been acknowledged by the pioneering Canadian soundscape composer Hildegard Westerkamp who applauded her composition, Mannat, for “beautifully taking the listeners “to an immersive world of different music, chanting, and drones.” Hemani’s debut album: Mannat is critically acclaimed as a “powerful album” (Calgary Herald’ 22) evoking “a spirit of perseverance” (Queen City Sounds & Arts) and “extraordinary, contemplative debut… evoking powerful imagery and stirring potent emotion” (Edmonton Journal’22) for climate action. The tracks in this album include Perils of Heavy Rainfall, received the Second Prize at the Listening During COVID contest curated by the Canadian Association of Sonic Ecology (CASE) and Anticipating featured on a Canada tour on Suicide Prevention Awareness and Hope and Living with Purpose that was #1 multiple times between 2020-22 in Ethnocloud’s World Music and Asian music charts.  Hemani was a keynote speaker at the University of Hawaii’s Climate Change and South conference and spoke at the first Canadian Music Climate Summit in Toronto in October 2022 followed by a video exhibit from her music album at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The spoken word for Perils of Heavy Rainfall was published in The Goose: the Journal of Environment, Arts, and Culture in Canada. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Trico Changemakers Studio, Mount Royal University, International Council Arts for Social Change (ICASC)—Judith Marcuse project, and Creative Climate Leadership (Julie’s Bicycle) and will be performing at the Arts Commons (Calgary), Now Hear this Festival (Edmonton), and Sled Island Festival (Calgary). 

Check out her website shumailahemani.com