Last week Ahmed Gallab and his alter ego SINKANE released their new album Mean Love. By now you should have noticed that we from NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION have been madly in love with the record ever since. It’s no surprise as Gallab combines all different kinds of influences to an unsurprisingly well-sounding and warm record. There’s a lot of soul music in there, obviously decent amounts of funk but also electronica and American country influences. But most of it – there’s lots of heart and passion in the music of SINKANE. A sound that instantly soaks underneath your skin.
Especially when you got such a diversified album as the new one by Gallab it is always interesting to see which songs and artists influenced the recording process. For NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION Gallab sat down and compiled the music that inspires him; from traditional soul classics to the sounds of his Sudanese roots. The following selection definitely helps to understand this promising artist a bit better.
D’angelo – ‘Africa’
I could’ve picked any song from D’ANGELOS’s ‘Voodoo’ but this one, in particular, is special to me. Not only because I connect with the words but also because I find the arrangement and sounds so compelling. I am endlessly inspired by the music on this album and always find new and amazing elements in the songs every time I listen to them.
Funkadelic – ‘Biological Speculation’
This song made me realize that funk and pedal steel work hand-in-hand. It’s a fabulous sounding song with an equally fabulous message.
Eddie Kendricks – ‘Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need’
Best falsetto vocals of all time. One of my biggest singing inspirations. This song is so lush and full of twists and turns. What a jam!
Waylon and Willie – ‘I Can Get Off On You’
This song is so funky! It’s also a county song! See where I’m coming from now?!
Sayed Khalifa – ‘Izayakoum’
Everyone knows this song from GROUP DOUEH. They did a rendition of it that sounds a bit blown out and psychedelic. The original is from Sudanese musician Sayed Khalifa. It’s a classic Sudanese song that is filled with so mug positive energy that it will make you want to explode listening to it. The name of the song means ‘Hello to you all’ and Sayed Khalifa continues to converse with the listeners in a very Sudanese way. The lyrics are literally ‘Hello to you all! How have you been?! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!’ That’s it. It’s pretty awesome.
Please note. Unfortunately we could only find you the GROUP DOUEH cover version. Check out alternative music by SAYED KHALIFA right here.
Michael Jackson – ‘Baby Be Mine’
I was listening to a lot of ‘Thriller’ while making this album. This song, in particular, really inspired me. I like the changes from verse to pre chorus to chorus. It happens, like, 7 or 8 times in the song. Seems like too much but then you realize that it rules every time and forget that this song really doesn’t do anything else. That’s when you also realize MICHAEL JACKSON slays.
Jorge Ben – ‘Eu Vou Torcer’
I became obsessed with JORGE BEN because of this song. His musicality is so far out. No one writes music like this. It’s distinctly Brazilian but also has a unique edge to it. Gives me the chills every time I hear it.