APNI (Surabhi Saraf) is a NY based multimedia artist and composer working with voice, ambient textures, and experimental composition, rooted in Hindustani classical traditions. Approaching sound as a form of worldbuilding, her work unfolds as immersive listening environments that unravel the idea of a fixed self, embracing transformation as an entangled process between body, earth, and sound.
APNI: a spell of many selves
2026
APNI: a spell for many selves is the debut release by New York based Indian multimedia artist, composer and vocalist Surabhi Saraf under her sonic persona Apni. Emerging from years of experimental composition and long-form drone work, with a foundation in Hindustani classical vocal training the EP marks the moment a voice begins to name itself.
Across four movements ~ ocean, chant, desire, spell ~ the EP unfolds as a process of becoming. Through Apni, Saraf explores the porousness of an interconnected self. Drifting vocal textures move among lingering echoes, opening a listening field where the voice appears as shifting weather, kaleidoscopic and alive. As repetition gathers, what begins as weather settles into terrain. Desire moves through the music like a geological force until the listener is immersed in the landscape of APNI.
The work draws on Pauline Oliveros’ practice of quantum listening, a multidimensional form of listening that connects inner, outer, and imagined worlds. Within this expanded field, APNI unfolds as part of Saraf’s larger worldbuilding practice, where sound, image, and myth move through the same evolving worlds.
The name “Apni,” drawn from Hindi/Urdu, means both one’s own and one of us. This duality sits at the core of the work: a self that belongs to itself, and yet is never seperate. A voice that is instinctual, sensual, and self-defined.
Part origin myth, part devotional technology, a spell for many selves marks the moment Apni begins to speak.
Apni was born out of Saraf's multimodal performances that have been shown at shown at SFMOMA, the Asian Art Museum, Crow Museum of Asian Art, the Blanton Museum, Thessaloniki Biennale, San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, NETMAGE 10, Flow Festival among others.
ILLUMINEN EP
2013
ILLUMINEN is an account of Saraf’s early experiments in experimental sound, composition, and performance, encapsulating five years of practice leading up to its 2013 release. Rooted in her background in Indian classical music and visual art, the EP marked a turning point where voice, movement, and electronic media began to merge into a more immersive, multidimensional form. This exploration laid the foundation for the mythic, sonic worlds that would later unfold through Apni.