Tag Archives: Sinkane

Columbus OH’s Sinkane Rescues Caribou Tour

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.

Notes on the Donewaiting.com 5 Year Anniversary

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.

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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
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Donewaiting Year Five Friday Preview: Sinkane

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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.

Advance Warning: Donewaiting.com 5 Year Anniversary Weekend Events in Columbus

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 Releasing Debut Album on Emergency Umbrella Records

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

DJ Abilities @ So What Wednesdays Columbus,Ohio

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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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