ZAINAB is a Brooklyn-based DJ, producer, curator and event producer whose work brings together club music with sounds rooted in South Asia and the wider Global South. Previously known as ZEEMUFFIN, she built her reputation in New York’s club scene before turning towards original production, with sets and performances spanning Coachella, Glastonbury, Boiler Room and Dialled In.
Her debut EP, Canal View, released on 14 August via Ninja Tune’s Technicolour imprint, takes its name from the Lahore neighbourhood where she was born and raised. Across six tracks, ZAINAB connects the musical worlds of Lahore and New York, drawing on South Asian and Arab sounds alongside house and dance music. The record includes the Urdu-language “Jadoo”, “Her Eyes”, built around a sample of Libyan-Egyptian artist Hamid Al Shaeri, and “Banglahore”, her collaboration with British-Bengali producer and rapper Surya Sen.
That exchange between place, culture and music also informs Azadi, ZAINAB’s party series and future label — its name meaning “freedom” in Urdu — through which she creates spaces centred on community and cultural exchange.

Your debut EP Canal View brings together Lahore and New York, two places that have shaped you in very different ways. What’s the story behind the EP, and what did you want it to say about who you are as an artist right now?

The EP is named after the neighborhood I grew up in, Lahore, before immigrating to New York. In many ways, it’s an homage to the two cities that shaped me as an artist. Both cities are beautifully chaotic, messy, and multi-layered in their energy, much like the music on this project. Being exposed to the music of both cities was such a privilege because I learned about cultures from around the world while also staying connected to my roots.

When I started to work on the EP, it was not necessarily an intentional choice to bring in rhythmic or percussive elements from my Pakistani heritage; it just came out of me during the process. The result, I think, is very reflective of music that has influenced me both from the South Asian and Arab world, which were the sounds of my youth- to my early days as a DJ here in New York City that evolved out of being a kid who grew up in the punk, indie hip hop scene, eventually finding my way into dance music.

“Banglahore” brings together your Pakistani heritage with Surya Sen’s Bangladeshi heritage, while also acknowledging the difficult history between the two countries. What did making that track together mean to you personally?

I've been a fan of Surya Sen for so long and knew I wanted to work with him on a track. I was lucky that it ended up being on my debut project. We both performed at the Arrivals stage at Glastonbury in 2024 and stayed in touch after that. The original beat for the song was just an instrumental, and I sent it to him over a DM, and he went absolutely mad over it. I don't think it took him more than a week to send me back one of the best verses ever. I was literally jumping up and down in my studio chair when I heard it.

He actually made up the word “Banglahore” in the middle of his verse. I thought that it was brilliant and really represented the coming together of both of our countries, which have a very contentious history due to the Pakistani genocide against Bangladeshis in the 70s. I knew in that moment that the song meant more than just a collaboration between two artists. By no means did we bury the entire history of our two nations with a song, but I think our collaboration shows that while our governments may separate and divide us, we are all from the same land and can create magic, as well as heal old wounds, when we work together.

For emerging artists who are still figuring out what they want to sound like, what helped you develop confidence in your own musical identity? What advice would you give to someone still trying to find their sound?

I think my musical identity is not fixed and is still evolving - to me, that's the best part of making music and being an artist: you can evolve as you grow and collect life experiences. Some of the best artists that I look up to have all had eras and evolved their sound as they grew.

My next project will probably sound nothing like this one, and that is the exciting part of building your musical identity. As someone who comes to production from a DJing background where I have never stuck to one specific sound, I think that is my unique superpower: I am not bound by genres or labels, and therefore I don’t get into the studio telling myself “I’m going to make x genre”.

My advice to someone trying to find their sound is simply to live your life. There's a lot of conversations online these days about “ finding your personal style” and I think that conversation is reflective of finding your sound in music as well - it's not something you consciously do; it's something you develop from living life and then processing those experiences into a work of art: whatever your medium might be.

Get clear on who your Inspirations are, go see artists you've never heard of perform live, and most importantly, put in the reps in the studio. You can only know what your musical style is by throwing darts at the board and seeing what you like and don't like. That’s the unsexy part, but it’s the most important.

You’ve gone from building your community in New York to playing Coachella and now supporting Channel Tres across North America. What have you learned about creating opportunities for yourself rather than waiting for them to come to you?

The fact is, if you don't advocate for yourself and continuously put yourself out there, nobody is going to hand you opportunities. I think one of my strongest qualities is that I'm incredibly persistent and know how to pick myself up after failing over and over again.

It's really easy to blame the industry for things that go wrong, and there's definitely some validity in that, but I realized a while ago if you continue to hold a victim mindset, you're only shooting yourself in the foot and preventing opportunities from coming your way. You constantly have to jump out of your comfort zone and adapt to your environment, especially as a woman of color and a minority in this space; you have to work 10 times as hard to get half the recognition.

What’s your favourite part of making music, and what’s the one part of the process you could happily do without?

My favorite part of making music is collaborating with other artists - I love the process of bouncing ideas off of another person and seeing where that takes us. Much like a jam session, I think that's the best way to make music. I especially love sessions where we talk about inspirations and share music that we love for hours before we even get to making music.

I always find the best music that way and learn about things I never knew about. I could happily do without mixing and mastering my own music. That's a skill that I feel like there are a million people who are better at than me, and I'd rather leave it to the experts and focus on the things that I'm better at.

What are you listening to at the moment? Is there an artist or track you’ve had on repeat recently?

Currently, I have the new Strokes album Reality Awaits on repeat. I'm a lifelong Strokes fan and really love how they pushed the boundaries on this album, especially the way Julian Casablancas manipulated his vocals and the lyrical content.

I've also really been loving the new Ecca Vandal album - Looking for people to unfollow. I went to her first-ever show in New York City and saw her perform Ghosts before it came out. I was specifically waiting to hear that song on the album, and it completely lived up to the performance. She's an absolute superstar, and I can't wait to see what she does next, but for now I'm really enjoying immersing myself in this project.

Zainab on Instagram | TikTok | Canal View Out Now

Tour Dates:
Tuesday, September 1 – Dallas, TX – Echo Lounge & Music Hall*
Wednesday, September 2 – Austin, TX – Emo's*
Friday, September 4 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre*
Saturday, September 5 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground*
Monday, September 7 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
Monday, September 14 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall*
Tuesday, September 15 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre*
Friday, September 18 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic*

* Supporting Channel Tres