That’s Columbus ex-pat Ahmed Gallab (aka Sinkane) on percussion. Sinkane’s overlooked self-titled ‘09 record showed up on my 2009 Favorites list.
(Separate Columbus list further down. Though, if the lists were combined, some of the local releases would unseat a few here…)
1. Larry Jon Wilson – Larry Jon Wilson
I won’t lie. Talking to Larry Jon and producer Jerry DeCicca (Black Swans) about this album, learning about its origins, and visiting Wilson’s back catalog gave me a heightened appreciation for this masterpiece. So context helps, but even if you know nothing about the back story, this is a stark, beautiful album from start to finish from one of the forgotten country outlaws. Wilson’s Georgia baritone is the sweetest thing I heard this year. For Townes Van Zandt fans, this is required listening.
MP3: Feel Alright Again
2. The Love Language – The Love Language
It’s a rock n’ roll cliché and a PR flack’s dream: Guy breaks up with girl, drinks heavily, pisses off all his friends, eventually sobers up and retreats to his parents’ house to record an album on a four-track. But man does this cliché jangle with some of the best in-the-red pop songs I’ve heard in a while. Stuart McLamb’s Chapel Hill band signed to Merge in October and is slated to have a new release in August, and after seeing the full band (now a 7-piece) put on a terrific show at the Wexner Center in the fall, McLamb’s next outing could be even better with a little help from his friends.
3. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
Every aspect of Andrew Bird just keeps getting better—his voice; his gorgeous, multi-layered violin arrangements; his whistling. It makes for a backdrop so compelling that he can sing about proto-Sanskrit Minoans, porto-centric Lisboans, Greek Cypriots and Hobis-hots and have you nodding your head in agreement instead of scratching it in confusion.
MP3: Oh No
4. Kurt Vile – Constant Hitmaker; God is Saying This to You…; Childish Prodigy
I’m grouping these together so I can squeeze more in, but all three LPs probably deserve a separate spot for different reasons. God finds Vile filtering his psychedelia through John Fahey and Neil Young; Childish kicks the volume up a notch and tones the lo-fi down; and Hitmaker, the best of the three, plays both sides with casual brilliance. “Freeway” is one of my favorite songs of 2009.
MP3: Freeway
5. The Antlers – Hospice
Hospice is one of only a few albums this year that completely transports me whenever I give it my full attention. (Brian Harnetty’s Silent City is another.) A concept album about a hospice worker and a young patient, the songs swell like Sigur Ros then retreat into gingerly tapped piano, lightly strummed guitar or shimmery synth. It’s in those quiet portions that Silberman employs his alabaster falsetto — more hushed than Jeff Buckley but less wispy than Antony Hegarty. Back in March, the Antlers played a show at Cafe Bourbon St. in front of me and maybe three other people. I’m thinking there’ll be a few more in attendance next time.
MP3: Bear
#6 onward + Columbus list after the jump. (more…)
MP3: Ambling Alp
Ahmed Gallab (not pictured) of Sinkane has been drumming for Yeasayer for a few months now and will be well into 2010. He appears on this first song from the new record (download it above).
MP3: Little Garcon by Born Ruffians
Ahmed Gallab from Sinkane is secretly taking over indie rock drumming. First he rescued the Caribou tour. Then he joined up with Of Montreal for a few months. Next up is an extended run drumming for Born Ruffians, which includes opening the Franz Ferdinand tour (Columbus date included!)
Ahmed is not just an awesome-drummer-for-hire. He’s readying a new Sinkane release, scheduled for May 2009. Dudes, I have heard it and it is amazing. It takes all the original ideas and concepts from the last Sinkane record and expands upon them at an incredible level. You’re gonna love it.
Keep reading for all the Born Ruffian/Franz Ferdinand dates: (more…)
We’ve written a lot about our dear friend Ahmed and his band Sinkane. He’s now playing drums for Of Montreal and some photos have popped up from what looks like an insane live show. Seriously I feel like I need to travel to check this out.
Here’s some photos, courtesy of Matt @ You Ain’t No Picasso. You can click here to see a bunch more.
Ahmed, just be careful of that horse!
This is what Doug wrote about Deathly Fighter:
Of all the bands on the current Columbus landscape, Deathly Fighter are the most difficult to pin down. Their first show sounded like an SPK groove on repeat. It was a fairly well-received set considering the number of ideas brought forth (1). Their next show was more distorted and antagonistic, clearing the room at Bourbon St. in about ten minutes. Their recordings explore an assortment of black and white sounds from early Hardcore to Industrial, classic Dub to Dubstep to House, without ever fully committing to a single genre. And then there’s the Deathly Fighter aesthetic, which may be more clearly defined than the music itself, with themes of sadomasochism, violence, cassette culture and DIY appearing in their graphic design and general presence. (continued)
Mike Carney, the public face of the band, has released several demos via our message board. I wanted to highlight this one, “Spanish Fly”, which also features Ahmed from Sinkane on drums.
The band has a full length album coming out next year, but it is not to be discussed in public until the time is right.
MP3: Spanish Fly by Deathly Fighter
Ahmed has had a crazy year. His band, Sinkane released their debut album. And then he joined Caribou as the drummer to rescue that tour. Details here.
Now he’s about to join Of Montreal as their drummer. Dude is on a roll.
From Ahmed:
im in columbus for one more week and then i leave to athens, georgia where i will be meeting up with of Montreal. i will be playing drums for them. we’re doing a photoshoot and then ill be going to phoenix for a month to visit my parents before i have to meet up with of Montreal again for rehearsal starting august. tour starts in october and im pretty much going to be with the band for a year or so. i dont know what the specifics are other than their next record ’skeletal lamping’ will be released this fall.
Lots of activity going on for our pals Sinkane. First off, Pitchfork posted an MP3 of the band’s new album, out early next month. Ahmed posted a tour diary of his experience as the Caribou drummer. Finally, on the Wexner Center blog you can download an mp3 of Sinkane’s show earlier this month.
Caribou photo by Kim Rottmayer. Full gallery.
Last week I saw three great shows: Caribou with Fuck Buttons and Sinkane at the Wexner Center, Okkervil River and The New Pornographers at the Newport, and John Vanderslice and Spanish Prisoners at Skullys.
Quick recaps….
Sinkane – I liked their set, but I wish they would have played another song to show their diversity… (although I know they had a short timeframe)
Fuck Buttons – If this type of music isn’t your thing, well, then it isn’t your thing. I loved it, though. Sometimes sinister, sometimes reminded me of Underworld, always interesting. I also liked that it was more than two dudes and two laptops.
Caribou – Ahmed from Sinkane just showed Columbus why he is one of the best drummers in town. Holy crap. He played like he had been playing that music for two years, but in reality it’s been less than TWO WEEKS. It was hypnotic to watch him play. So so good. Discuss the show here, too.
The New Pornographers – If you’re a band that does male/female vocal harmonies in a strong way, you’ve won me over. Despite sound not being as good as it could have been, the band pulled through an excellent set, hitting upon their entire catalog. I was also happy to see the show sold out, or at least nearly sold out. That’s the power of CD101 + a great band.
Spanish Prisoners – I thought the set was good, but the energy from Leo’s debut record did not translate well as a two piece. Hope to catch them again with more people.
John Vanderslice – Disappointing turnout, but that didn’t stop Vanderslice and his band from putting on the best set I’ve ever seen by them. They were all in a great mood, and when the band came off the stage for the encore and performed in the middle of the crowd without any microphones or amplification, it was a thing of beauty. Definitely one of the most memorable music experiences I’ve had in a loooooong time.
When word came out that the drummer from Caribou broke his wrist, I was really worried that the Columbus show with Fuck Buttons would be cancelled. Imagine my surprise when we learned that our great friend, Ahmed Gallab from Sinkane answered the call of duty and is going to be the replacement drummer for the tour!
Ahmed is one of the best musicians in Columbus, not to mention one of the nicest dudes. We’ve written about his band a few times in the past, and they even played the donewaiting.com 5 year anniversary show back in February. I am so happy about this, especially since the debut album by Sinkane is scheduled to come out very soon. Great timing indeed.
I e-mailed Ahmed yesterday to see what’s up. This is what he wrote:
it’s still a little surreal. if you remember me telling you about going to see caribou last october in cleveland and giving him my record. ive kept in contact with him. yesterday morning i found an email in inbox from him saying that he needed a drummer for the rest of the tour. their drummer broke his hand the night before. i think he sent some mass email out to a zillion people. i responded instantly and told him that i’d do it and he wrote back asking for my number and i gave it to him. he called me right away and an hour later i was at the airport going to north carolina to meet him up with them for rehearsal. we practiced from 7 pm to 1 am last night and from 11 am till right now. we’re playing in north carolina tonight. kind of nervous as ive had 1.5 days to learn 11 fucking songs and, let me tell you, theyre a lot harder than you think.
anyway, im out with them until may 4th. kind of weird and still very surreal. i dont feel like im actually doing this but i think after a week it will sink in. im very stoked.
If there’s anyone up for the job, we know it’s our man Ahmed. Can’t wait to see him perform in both his own band and in Caribou next week at the Wexner Center.
Some thoughts on the two record breaking events we had this weekend to celebrate the 5 year.
Saturday
MIKE SHIFLET – really interesting stuff. loved the band. he mentioned in our interview with him that he’s hoping to do more shows with a band and i hope he follows up. it’s the making of something really cool.
MIRANDA SOUND – love the new stuff. i like when they play it a little heavier, something they don’t always do…. i think it adds a great extra layer to their music.
EL JESUS DE MAGICO – four years ago if you would have told me that i would have El Jesus play my 5 year party I would have laughed in your face. Things change, and I’m really happy that they did. Set was fucking FIERCE. can’t wait to hear their new album.
BRAINBOW/BLUEPRINT – I had intentionally stayed away from the rehersals because I wanted to experience the show for the first time with the crowd. And put it quite simply, I was stunned. Look, I love music, but this was seriously mind blowing. I felt something that I haven’t felt in a long time.
Instead of Brainbow trying to recreate the music of Blueprint, they approached it from their own point of view. It was Blueprint. It was Brainbow. Neither band sacrificed their integrity or created some sort of Frankenstein rock/rap thing that was only a novelty. I say this with all seriousness, it was epic! When Print said it was their last song, I was heartbroken! I could have used 5 more songs. I didn’t want it to end, and that’s a sign of a good set. Leave us wanting more….
I know it took a lot of time for Print and Brainbow to practice for this event, and I am really thankful that they did. It means so much that they took on this experiment for the 5 year anniversary of the site, and I can’t show my appreciation enough.
PS: Bob Ray Starker and Leslie Jankowski (from Church of the Red Museum) added a horn section in two of the songs. What a nice touch! Oh man. So good.
We did bill this as a one time only thing, and I hope they consider maybe doing it again in the future. Or maybe not. Maybe in this internet age when everything is recorded, Youtubed, and distributed to the world, it’s nice to have a “YOU HAD TO BE THERE” thing. I’d be happy either way.
This was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had for a single donewaiting.com event. It was great.
Update: Youtubed! This is Brainbow/Blueprint performing “Liberated”. Picture quality is dark but it’s the music that matters.
Friday
GRAVE BLANKETS – first time seeing them, won’t be my last. Really good sound. The recorded material they’ve put out there doesn’t do them justice…. they are a great live band.
SINKANE – Ahmed has always been one of my favorite musicians in Columbus and it looks like he’s finally firmed up his vision of Sinkane. Their set was hypnotic. Really cool. And with a solid indie label putting their album out later this year, things are gonna explode! Can’t wait! AHMED I WANT A PICTURE DISC RECORD.
THIS MOMENT IN BLACK HISTORY – haven’t seen them since they opened up for YEah Yeah Yeahs in Cleveland a few years back. Good set, liked the energy. First mosh pit ever at a donewaiting event.
DEATHLY FIGHTER – I am a believer.
This Moment in Black History Video from the Show
To say that Sinkane mastermind Ahmed Gallab is ready to bust out in 2008 is an understatement. As he maps out a year’s worth of tour dates for his debut album, Color Voice – out on Emergency Umbrella Records in May, including a vinyl run that will feature picture discs – you kind of get a calm before the storm feeling from him. But then again Ahmed is always pretty chill. The album finds Gallab confidently in-control of the genres he truly loves: Chicago jazz-rock, afro-beat, a bit of shimmering post-hardcore, all pulled together with a touch of modern drone. His live show features a full ensemble of locals to flesh out his sound and has been turning heads the past few months around Columbus, as it’s unlike anything else you will find in this city.
Sinkane are playing one of the two Donewaiting.com 5 Year Anniversary Shows. They’ll be at the Friday show at Carabar with Deathly Fighter, Grave Blankets, and This Moment in Black History. For more details, click here.
Friends, we’re putting together two great shows in February to celebrate our five year anniversary. Get them on your calendars pronto:
On Saturday, February 16 at Skully’s, we have a really special one-time collaboration between Columbus’ favorite hip hop MC Blueprint (Rhymesayers/Weightless/Soul Position) and instrumental rising stars Brainbow. This is going to be something really amazing, and I can’t wait to see this go down.
Joining Blueprint + Brainbow in the bill will be El Jesus de Magico, Miranda Sound, and Mike Shiflet (Ecstatic Peace). Mike’s going to be putting together a great band of all-stars.
On Friday, February 15 at Carabar, we’ve got another great show assembled by Doug Elliott. This Moment in Black History, Grave Blankets, Deathly Fighter, and Sinkane. This show will be free as hell.
We’ll keep you posted on additions, etc.
Sinkane, a band we’ve written about in the past, has told me that they will be releasing their debut album, “Color Voices,” in Spring 2008 on Emergency Umbrella Records. I’m really happy about this.
Ahmed, the man behind Sinkane, is one of the best musicians in town. I’ve spoken to him a lot about his band over the last few months, and he seems seriously interested in getting his music out to people — touring, promo, etc etc etc. Going on Emergency Umbrella is a good fit. The label has put out records by lots of really good bands like Foundry Field Recordings, Bald Eagle, and Warhammer 48K.
Locally, you can catch Sinkane on New Year’s Eve at the Weightless Records party with Blueprint, Envelope, and Zerostar. More details here.
Listen: Stream of MySpace
Rhymesayer Producer/DJ DJ Abilities was in Columbus recording a new project with Ahmed Gallab.
They were unable to perform the new material because, Feilx ,the third member of their collective, had to fly back to Colorado.
It still turned about to be an eventful evening.
Hip Hop pioneer Mixmaster Ice(pictured above with Abilities)
even showed up.
Videos after the break.
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