Nov

11

Sinkane Sinkane

with Steven A. Clark, Wins & presented by PopGun

Wed November 11th, 2015

8:00PM

Main Space

Minimum Age: 18+

Doors Open: 7:00PM

Show Time: 8:00PM

Event Ticket: $15

Day of Show: $18

event description event description

This is a general admission, standing event.

the artists the artists

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Sinkane

“It’s soul music! And truly universal; uniting rhythm and styles from our world over to help you move, relate and be, Sinkane’s Mean Love rolls like an emotional, existential history of the artist. Co-produced with long-time Sinkane collaborator and childhood friend Greg Lofaro, Ahmed Gallab has created an altogether unique compound of sound, stylistically nostalgic and ultramodern at the same time. From Gallab’s childhood in Sudan there is a Pan-African influence of popular Sudanese music and haqibah, as well as distinct horn and synth arrangements more common to East Africa. This background merges with the lessons learned from Ahmed‘s stints with obsessive craftsmen such as Caribou, Yeasayerand Of Montreal, and especially the monumental task he underwent as musical director of‘ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor.’ Gallab excavated and arranged a treasure trove of lost classics from the West African synth-pioneer to put together a now legendary series of performances. Alongside his band-mates in Sinkane (jaytram on drums, Ish Montgomery on bass, Jonny Lam on guitar), he also brought on guests Damon Albarn, David Byrne, The Lijadu Sisters, Money Mark and members of Hot Chip,LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, and Blood Orange.
 
The experiences from this on-going endeavor contribute to the collective feel of the record.It is Gallab’s uncanny ability to embrace and assemble a huge history as pure and generous modern-musical expressions. The funky, infectious brasslines of “New Name,” as well as the Equatorial “Young Trouble” are prime examples of the incredible aptitude of Sinkane’s songwriting. Employing the architecture of pop, and a forward-thinking approach to its classic instrumentation, the vibes of Sinkane’s deep-groove past remain intact, in full force.We could lay down a bunch of extra buzzwords to this collection, of course; there are doses of West African funk slow-burners, a noir blaxploitation cool, and a more afro-centric Curtis Mayfield is present, specifically in album standout “Hold Tight.” In the end, these songs GIVE, and its up to you to take what you want.
 
You can detect a surprising country soul rising in the title track, “Mean Love”, and also in the hauntingly beautiful slide guitar work of “Galley Boys.” Both tunes are reminiscent of a time when soul heavyweights such as James Carr and Solomon Burke recorded juke joint anthems. The title track sits proudly on the same mantelpiece as an updated version of those classics, a tearjerker that will grip the imaginative heart of modern concertgoers and collectors of dusty soul on vinyl.
 
It takes a disciplined mind as well as an artistic heart to curate so many influences and disseminate them wisely. A longing and verve for his African origins emanates from the album in a particularly poignant sequence of songs. When “Son” undulates with the mantra, “I will not forget where I came from” and segues into the Sudanese Pop melody of“Omdurman,” (Gallab’s hometown in Sudan) it is the romantic recapturing of a lost childhood memory, and a jolt to the listener’s solar plexus. Says lyricist Greg Lofaro,“I think, to a lot of secular folks, the most compelling argument for heaven is the thought of seeing loved ones. In this case, the melody informed the content very specifically and I knew I wanted to speak graciously, not bitterly, about that. Ahmed typically names sketches for what they’re inspired by or remind him of. Often, that’s something Sudanese (“Warm Spell” had been called “Kurdufan” for awhile). So, it was fitting and we kept the title Omdurman.” This song also has a live quality – when you hear in on record, it precipitates the image of a live hymn, a promise that begs for an audience call and response, “Where, if I should settle down, will I finally settle?”
 
Mean Love is an album with an open door invitation, and gets deeper with every listen.You hear it right away in the blistering opening track, “How We Be.” An instant classic, sounding like a lost gem of soul funk, a sweetness of voice alongside honey bass lines, the tune grips you and makes you wish for a dance floor, while enticing you to stay for the whole journey of the album.
 
Paul Gilroy, the path-breaking scholar and historian of the music of the Black Atlantic diaspora, once wrote that a primary characteristic of black cross-Atlantic creativity is a “desire to transcend both the structures of the nation state and constraints of ethnicity and national particularity.” Nothing could be more precise about the cross-disciplined, multifaceted second album by Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab, aka Sinkane: Mean Love.
 
Sinkane Official Site
Sinkane on Facebook
Sinkane on Twitter
Sinkane on Souncloud
 
Photo credit: Phil Di Fiore

Steven A. Clark

Outlaws and outsiders, road-trippers and lonely rollers; whether it’s someone searching or someone who doesn’t want to be found, we can’t help but be drawn to the drifters. Singer Steven A. Clark is that next stranger to roll in from out of town, a restless artist recasting R&B. He’s a straight-talker in a genre filled with wish-fulfillment, whimsy and cliched beats; think the Outlaw Josey Wales raised on N.E.R.D. and 808 & Heartbreak.
 
On his cinematic new album Lonely Roller, Clark’s descriptions of emotions and bad breaks aren’t just a set-up. It’s personal identification set to song, new additions to a canon looking for fresh blood. At a time when artists such as Frank Ocean and Abel Tasfaye are pushing back boundaries and making clean-cut definitions of R&B obsolete, Clark continues charting his own creative and confessional path.
 
“Rhythm and blues ain’t all candy and hearts,” he says. “There is real emotion, and lots of times, artists don’t always go there. Tapping into the darker side helps make a song more real, and keeps things fresh.”
 
Miami-by-way of Fayetteville and Little Rock, Clark’s raw, confessional singing and personal stories pair with pulsing synthesizers and rhythms that hang in the air like a glowing grid of roadside neon. It’s a means for the soft-spoken artist to process all the drama in his head. On songs such as “Not You,” he flips a brutally honest breakup tale and draws emotions and empathy from being on the “right” side of the conversation. The title track uses a slinky, sensual beat to create a perfect backdrop to tell the story of a weekend-long tryst in Vegas. For a man of few words, his unadorned and uncomplicated lyrics hit home.
 
“I don’t want to just be some guy trying to bring something back, but I always think there is room for a flawed character,” he says. “The characters in the songs and me, they’re often the same guy.”
 
Steven A. Clark official site
Steven A. Clark on Facebook
Steven A. Clark on Twitter

Wins

Fang Island’s Jason Bartell met Cassandra Jenkins at a house show while they were attending Rhode Island School of Design. They met again years later after Jenkins returned from her US tour as Eleanor Friedberger’s bass player, and teamed up to return to Providence for a recording session at Machines with Magnets. The result is a new set of Bartell’s soaring guitar driven melodies, which carry Jenkins’ plaintive, haunting vocals over jittery and rumbling rhythms. They are called Wins.
 
Wins on Facebook
Wins on Soundcloud

presented by PopGun

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