Sinkane: 2024

This  FUV Live session is also available as a podcast, "FUV Live Sessions." We're elevating WFUV's long history of live sessions and interviews via a podcast that you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.

Brooklyn's Ahmed Gallab, who records as Sinkane, has released what is certainly his most personal — and universally uplifting — album to date, We Belong. The title itself lays out Gallab's vision for this remarkable fifth album, one that not only asks listeners to think (and dance sometimes too), but to embrace the history of Blackness and the Black diaspora with empathy, taking in all dimensions of heartache and euphoria.

Sinkane's songwriting builds upon the memories of his forebears, his Sudanese roots, the scars of racism, and the impact of community and pride. Collaboration was also key, and on We Belong, Gallab reached out to Money Mark, Amanda Khiri, STOUT, Tru Osborne, Hollie Cook, Casey Benjamin, and Bilal in order to "find inspiration outside of myself," as he explained in our conversation.

For this electrifying FUV Live session, singer and guitarist Gallab was accompanied by his band, The Message, comprised of bassist Ronnie Lanzilotta, drummer Dave Palazola, keyboardist Patt Carr, and vocalists Ifedayo Gatling (of Harlem Gospel Travelers) and Jessica Harp.

Gallab is a sensitive, reflective man and he frequently mused on the meaning of the word "resolve" in his life — and why We Belong revamped his approach to his art. "I got really bored with the way I was making music," he said. "It became really easy for me to write what I called a 'Sinkane' song." This time, following his MFA in music composition at SUNY Purchase, Gallab felt far more confident in composition, songwriting, taking risks, and finally finding a fluency in speaking about music that had previously eluded him.

If the confident breadth, beauty, and execution of We Belong is of any indication, what lies ahead for Sinkane is boundless.

[Recorded: 4/30/24; Engineered by Jim O'Hara with Allen Wang and Olivia Grant; produced by Meghan Offtermatt; videographers: Caitria Demeroto, Anna Fahy, Nikki Estelami, Bridget Griminger, and Nikki Phillips.]