Sinkane is the internationally inspired project of bandleader Ahmed Gallab. The Sudanese composer/multi-instrumentalist is an anomaly of sorts for James Murphy’s generally electro-focused DFA Records label in Brooklyn, where he just put out his second full-length LP, Mean Love. It plays like African psych-rock taking a trip across the ocean to America, where Gallab has called home since he was a teenager.
We caught up with the humble and soft-spoken Gallab to talk about the international sounds and influences of Mean Love, leading his own band after touring with the likes of Caribou, Of Montreal and Yeasayer and the deeply personal nature of his latest release.
Paste: Congrats on the new record. It’s wonderful, man. “New Name” is one of the best tracks of the year. Your voice is so soft on it.
Ahmed Gallab: Yeah…I borrowed a lot from Michael Jackson songs on that one; that was my aim with that song. It was a fun project to do that with.
Paste: The horns are so intricate and present…could you talk about that arrangement?
Gallab: As far as the arrangements go, I have a co-producer I work with named Greg Lafaro. Him and I go back and forth about a lot of things. He plays the role of an editor at some point in the process. When I first started working with him, I’d send him the new songs I was working on and say “What do you think about this? What do you think about that?” He became the only person who was really critical with me. And we just turned into a songwriting team…like a partnership. I write all the music, but he helps me arrange.
Paste: Something that really stands out on the record is that a lot of your influences really show. “Young Trouble” really sounds like Peter Tosh to me.
Gallab: [laughs] That’s awesome.
Paste: I hear Fela, Femi, a little Sade, folk and then on “Moonstruck,” I hear a lot of tropicalia vibes…and I’m Brazilian, so I’m curious if you’re interested in Brazilian singers, and if so, which ones?
Gallab: I’m a big Jorge Ben fan.
Paste: That’s what I was hoping you’d say.
Gallab: That’s the guy whose music I can’t stop listening to. I think it’s so amazing. I’m a big Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso fan as well. Brazilian music struck a chord with me. It’s really beautiful and I love the way it makes me feel, so I wanted to bring that in the album as well.
Paste: Well, it definitely shows. So on your previous album, Mars, the title track sounds like you were going through a Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew period?
Gallab: That’s some music I grew up with. A lot of that, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane. I’m deeply rooted in that music; it makes me feel at home, and whenever I listen it reminds me of my father playing that music at home. Whenever I start writing a song, it starts with that feeling, and I see where it goes from there.
Paste: Any other albums that shape your sound and made a lasting impression on you?
Gallab: Pharoah Sanders’ Karma is a big one. I’m a really big Radiohead fan and Spiritualized too. So a lot of the music that they made. Electric Mainline by Spiritualized is huge. A lot of Sly Stone, Parliament Funkadelic. A lot of East African stuff and William Onyeabor from West Africa. A lot of African psych rock.
Paste: The live show has taken on a new life. There’s these backup singers, it’s a more elaborate set-up. How has the tour felt different with that set-up?
Gallab: Well, the bigger shows have only been in New York so far. We only have horns and singers in New York, ‘cause we can only afford to do it there for now. It’s my aim to keep doing more shows like that. I’m highly influenced by bands like Parliament and James Brown’s live show…you know, the old Motown soul revue. They had a full-scale band, ‘cause that’s what was on the record. I’ve always wanted to do it like that, and I’m hoping to be able to do it more because it gives the music a different light. On the record it’s one thing, but when you have singers and horns players live, it turns into this incredibly energetic live show.
Paste: You toured with Caribou, Of Montreal, Yeasayer and Born Ruffians in the past. Are you on your own now for good? How does it feel to be on your own as a musician, a bandleader and not a touring musician in somebody else’s band?
Gallab: It feels great. This is what I’ve always wanted. I started Sinkane before I started playing with any of those bands. It was a conscious effort to put it on a back burner. Now that I’m doing it all on my own, I’m hoping to feel more satisfied with everything. I’m learning a lot now, and I’m ultimately advancing my own career and not someone else’s. I’m excited, and I have the support of all of those guys too.
Paste: So you started and ended your tour in New York, and you live here. What does it mean to you?
Gallab: It’s incredibly inspiring. It has everything that I like. It’s a very diverse place. It pushes me to work hard. People here are very open-minded and excited to be alive. The energy in New York is incredible to experience, and I like living here. It took me a long time to enjoy it, but I do now. When I come home, I just want to work and do better, and that’s because the city allows me to feel that. It’s home for now, and we’ll see where it goes.
Paste: Speaking of New York, one of the things I’ve always been curious about is your relationship with the [Brooklyn-based] DFA label. Your style is different from anything else on that label. There’s not much of the signature DFA electro element to what you do. How’d you connect with them in the first place, and what does it mean to you to be a part of that label?
Gallab: Well, they came to me in the first place. They were interested in my music and what I was doing. They asked me if I wanted to join the team. I would’ve never guessed for it to happen this way, but I’m happy that it did. I love that label and all of the artists on that label are very awesome and inspiring. They’ve taken me on and I get a lot of love from people at DFA, and I’m happy it worked out the way it did.
Paste: If you listen to some of your older stuff, there’s definitely an evolution there. In your words, how has your music evolved?
Gallab: It’s much more concise and vocal-based now. It’s more about the message. The songs are shorter. The influences are more prevalent, and it’s a little more all-over-the-place as far as where the music is coming from. Ultimately it’s a reflection of my character. I’m writing from where I’m at, at that point in time. So with that, my music is always gonna be evolving. I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the next album or the one after that. I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve experienced a lot in my life, and I like to put that into the music.
Paste: So you talk about it being more vocal. On “Moonstruck,” you sing in French for a bit. How many different languages do you speak?
Gallab: Well, I speak a little bit of French, but not too well. But I’m only fluent in Arabic and English.
Paste: A lot of the lyrics strike me as being very honest and personal. So take “Son” for example, when you say “There’s so much pressure, to being your eldest.” I relate because I have a younger sibling too. Talk about some of the central lyrical themes of this record.
Gallab: A lot of the lyrics are about relationships that I’ve had with people. The process of writing…Greg, my co-producer, wrote the lyrics and what we talked about what we wanted to include and how we wanted to be very honest about everything. The process was very therapeutic and incredibly cathartic. A lot of things that I never allowed myself to feel and to really address. My relationship with past friends or my relationship with my father and even with myself. I wanted to talk about things personally, but so that people around the world who are listening to this record can relate to it on their own terms.
Paste: The way you work with Greg sounds like writing a book with somebody.
Gallab: Yeah, I thought it was a very interesting perspective, because it’s very much a project. And he’s a great writer. I love his writing. I think he can articulate things very eloquently and concisely, and I wanted to explore that option.
Paste: Okay, last question for you is about the “How We Be” video…definitely one of my favorites this year. I love how it’s very much about dance. There’s ballet, krump, break, pop-locking…So how does dance play into your music culturally, and do you think dance is going to be a bigger part of what you do in the future?
Gallab: My music is definitely groove-based. I like to make music that you can feel and emote. In whatever shape or form that is. It’s great to see people dancing when we play shows because that’s ultimately the feeling I get out of the music that I like the most. It was nice to see how dance was interpreted in the song for that video, very carefree…because that’s what the song and ultimately the music is about.