Soundcheck

The Sudan-born, Ohio-raised and Brooklyn-based singer and musician Ahmed Gallab records under the name Sinkane and the latest Sinkane record, Dépaysé, is an irresistible mix of western and African funk, Sudanese folk music, 1960s psychedelia, with pop, rock, soul music besides. Dépaysé is a French word that means being taken out of your homeland, being dislocated and as Gallab writes, the record “is the story of an immigrant’s journey of self-discovery in the Trump era.” 

Sinkane, as an American band, is Gallab’s own words, “comprised of people from all over the world”: himself (Sudanese), guitarist Jonny Lam (Chinese), keyboardist Elenna Canlas (Filipina), drummer Chris St. Hilaire (Trinidadian), and bassist Michael “Ish” Montgomery (Black American.) Sinkane joins us in-studio to play songs from the latest, Dépaysé.  - Caryn Havlik

Watch the session here: 

Dépaysé by SINKANE

Big Bend is a collaborative project led by pianist Nathan Phillips, who assembled a rotating cast of musicians, including ambient zither player Laraaji, the renowned slide guitarist Susan Alcorn, and many others. Although Phillips is a composer, the Big Bend project grew out of improvisations, and the resulting songs live in a gray area between art song, pop song, and ambient music. Nathan has assembled a version of Big Bend, with guitar and strings, and they'll perform songs from his latest, Radish, in-studio. 

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Radish by Big Bend

Belgian singer and songwriter Tamino is of Egyptian and Lebanese descent and has had recent success as a model. Comparisons to Jeff Buckley and Thom Yorke might be inevitable; his is a voice that feels like a cuddle, with an incredibly rich falsetto at his high end. That Tamino's vocal lines and riffs sometimes incorporate Arabic quarter notes and that he brought in a group of Middle Eastern instrumentalists, known as “Nagham Zikrayat,” to record on his debut, Amir, hearkening to the so-called golden age of Arabic music from the 1950s and '60s, might be no small part of his distinct appeal. Tamino joins us to play some intimate solo versions of his songs, in-studio. -Caryn Havlik

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Violinist and composer Layale Chaker has done something exquisite in her music with the Ensemble Sarafand from the record, Inner Rhyme: she has gone about capturing the “shape and essence of epic testimonials on life, death, war and love that make the heart of Arabic poetry.” (Layale Chaker) It’s an alchemical wedding of music derived from the form, rhythm and structure of Arabic sung poetry using chamber music instruments: her violin, along with piano, cello, double-bass, and hand percussion. Chaker and Sarafand perform some of these Arabic-poetry inspired, jazz-embracing chamber music works, in-studio.

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Australian-born Tal Wilkenfeld has made her sizable reputation by playing bass for some of the music world’s biggest stars – Prince, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers. In March she released her first album of her own singing and songwriting, Love Remains, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it went right to the top of Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. Tal Wilkenfeld joins us in-studio with her band to play some of these tunes in-studio.

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It would be easy to label the Vermont-based singer/songwriter Henry Jamison as a folk musician. After all, his voice sounds a little like Nick Drake, and he’s covered a song by Canadian folkie Gordon Lightfoot.  His songs are full of vivid and arresting imagery, and on this record, Gloria Duplex, he addresses toxic masculinity, drops in some feminine wisdom, draws on an Irish folk ballad, and distills psychological writings. The record was produced by Thomas Bartlett, aka “Doveman”, and contains bits and bytes of unexpected electronica that give way to sweet, anthemic, and richly textured baroque pop that hearkens to the 1960’s. Henry Jamison and his band play some of these songs, in-studio.

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The Oddysy is a funk/rock/hip hop duo comprised of KJ (Kevin Jacoby, formerly of the psychedelic salsa band La Mecanica Popular) and DJ Johnny Juice, a Rock N Roll Hall of Famer best known for his work with Public Enemy and Rob Swift. They’ve got a lot to say about frustration and anger, protest and resistance. Recently, they released music dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., and his refusal to meet violence with violence, featuring a verse by the hip hop legend Chuck D, of Public Enemy. The Oddysy brings the sounds of Golden Age hip hop scratching and sampling over a classic funk groove to preview their new record, in-studio.  

Bang Bang ft. Chuck D by The Oddysy

Michelle Blades was born into a well-known family of salsa musicians in Panama – you may have heard of her Grammy-winning uncle Ruben Blades. But she grew up as a multi-instrumentalist nomad who is now based in France. Her own music draws on rock, especially the psychedelic end of things and the angular arty sounds of post punk. Michelle Blades and her band play some music from her recent record, Visitor.

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Michelle Blades - Visitor by Michelle Blades

North Carolina based composer and guitarist Sarah Louise is also one-half of the duo House and Land. Her music evokes forests and creeks and frogs, and when she’s on a 12-string acoustic guitar, combines both drone and folk (somewhat reminiscent of the fingerpicked styles of “American Primitive” guitar (think John Fahey, Jack Rose, Gwenifer Raymond, or Glenn Jones). She’s also recently released an album, Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars, built around improvisations on electric guitar, which were then processed and edited into gorgeous soundscapes that seem to represent natural environments (perhaps in a way similar to composer Kelly Moran's prepared piano and processing.) Sarah Louise and drummer Thom Nguyen join us to perform some completely new music in-studio.

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Composer and modular synth experimenter Qasim Naqvi, who is also a drummer and one-third of the electronic jazzers Dawn of MIDI, writes chamber and electronic music for film, dance, theater and ensembles. His latest creation, two years in the making, “Teenages”, is for his own custom-built modular synth, which he encourages to behave “almost autonomously” (The Quietus). The combination of machine, (dare we say AI?), and subtle guidance by the composer will be on display as Qasim Naqvi performs his suite "Teenages" in-studio. - Caryn Havlik

Watch the session here: 

Teenages by Qasim Naqvi