Biography
Ahmed Gallab, who records as Sinkane, is a Sudanese-American vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose rhythm-driven sound fuses free jazz, Afrobeat, pop, reggae, and shoegaze textures. Through the 2014 release Mean Love and the vivid 2019 album Dépaysé he sharpened that hybrid approach while reaching wider listeners. His 2024 effort We Belong, issued on City Slang, emerged as an upbeat, guest-filled statement featuring contributions from Stout, Bilal, Money Mark, and additional musicians.
Gallab entered the world in London, spent several years in Sudan, and then relocated with his family to the United States. His first outing arrived in May 2008 when Emergency Umbrella Records put out the EP Color Voice; that year he also served as drummer for Caribou and Of Montreal on tour. A self-titled full-length followed in May 2009. DFA subsequently became his label home, releasing Mars in November 2012 and the stylistically varied Mean Love in 2014. Around the same time Gallab assembled the Atomic Bomb! Band, a supergroup devoted to interpreting the catalog of Nigerian funk originator William Onyeabor.
In 2016 he tracked his fifth album at Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso; Life & Livin’ It, reflecting both the pleasures and hardships of everyday existence, surfaced on City Slang in early 2017. Two years later Dépaysé examined displacement, immigration, and personal exploration. After a shared reading of the Turtles’ 1960s hit “Happy Together” alongside the Spacebomb House Band, Sinkane stayed largely out of view until late 2023, when “Everything Is Everything” appeared with vocalist Tru Osborne. The track leaned into deep soul and funk and launched the rollout for the next record. Further singles arrived in early 2024, among them the jubilant “How Sweet Is Your Love” and the title track “We Belong” that spotlighted R&B singer Stout. Conceived as a jubilant “love letter to Black music,” We Belong traverses gospel, Afrobeat, and Sudanese rhythms while incorporating appearances by producer Money Mark, saxophonist Casey Benjamin, singer Bilal, and others.
Gallab entered the world in London, spent several years in Sudan, and then relocated with his family to the United States. His first outing arrived in May 2008 when Emergency Umbrella Records put out the EP Color Voice; that year he also served as drummer for Caribou and Of Montreal on tour. A self-titled full-length followed in May 2009. DFA subsequently became his label home, releasing Mars in November 2012 and the stylistically varied Mean Love in 2014. Around the same time Gallab assembled the Atomic Bomb! Band, a supergroup devoted to interpreting the catalog of Nigerian funk originator William Onyeabor.
In 2016 he tracked his fifth album at Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso; Life & Livin’ It, reflecting both the pleasures and hardships of everyday existence, surfaced on City Slang in early 2017. Two years later Dépaysé examined displacement, immigration, and personal exploration. After a shared reading of the Turtles’ 1960s hit “Happy Together” alongside the Spacebomb House Band, Sinkane stayed largely out of view until late 2023, when “Everything Is Everything” appeared with vocalist Tru Osborne. The track leaned into deep soul and funk and launched the rollout for the next record. Further singles arrived in early 2024, among them the jubilant “How Sweet Is Your Love” and the title track “We Belong” that spotlighted R&B singer Stout. Conceived as a jubilant “love letter to Black music,” We Belong traverses gospel, Afrobeat, and Sudanese rhythms while incorporating appearances by producer Money Mark, saxophonist Casey Benjamin, singer Bilal, and others.
Albums
Singles
Live
