To understand Sinkane's music, you need to know the life story of foreman Ahmed Gallab. The son of two professors from Sudan, he spent his entire childhood in Africa. When it made more sense for political reasons to leave Sudan, Gallab left for the United States, where he found employment as a multi-instrumentalist. He has toured with bands such as Of Montreal, Caribou and Yeasayer. Eventually he
… stuck in New York, fiercely flirtatious with African music. Here Gallab started his one-man project Sinkane. Both Africa and North America have left their mark in his music, with the latter part of the world clearly predominating. The English quality newspaper The Guardian puts it superbly: Sinkane actually has Curtis Mayfield on vocals, Bootsy Collins on bass and that one flutist who blows on all kinds of seventies albums. That means a little funk, a little jazz and a good dash of disco. Through this Gallab interweaves some African rhythms and some sunny guitars, which makes his music just that little bit more worthwhile. (JE)more
