Sinkane’s new album Dépaysé was first announced alongside “Everybody,” a Utopian dance party geared toward finding solidarity in our common humanity. The album’s title track, out today, is rooted in the same kind of message. A blend of psych-rock and Sudanese folk, it leads off with some slicing lead guitar work that morphs into a ceremonial procession of sorts about coming to grips with our new reality. The song toggles between English and Arabic, a function of Ahmed Gallab reconciling his dual American and Sudanese identities while trying to bring together the world: “Where do I belong? Found myself in song.”

In a press release, Gallab elaborates:

Dépaysé is a French word that basically means “to be removed from one’s habitual surroundings.” By extension, it means to be disoriented, homeless. That’s a feeling I relate to very much in these times — and I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. That word gave me clarity and made my journey of self discovery that much more exciting.

The song came to me in a dream: I dreamed I was walking the streets of Omdurman at night, a city along the Nile in my native Sudan, when I heard someone playing guitar and singing in Arabic. It turned out to be my father! He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, under a streetlight in front of my childhood home. His voice sounded hypnotic, raw and powerful as he sang in Arabic: “I am your life/ And all of our lives/ From within the city until our uprising/ Our days have left us in the city and, with our imagination, we move forward.” He sang that over and over, and I sing those same words in my song. This, along with the rest of Dépaysé, has given me peace. I am no longer afraid of the unknown. I’m no longer confused about my duality of my Sudanese and American identities. Now I accept it, and it’s made me feel new. This clarity has made me feel more connected with people than ever before. In celebrating our differences we should also understand that we all relate as human beings. I’m singing for the day we realize that we all relate.”

“Dépaysé” debuts with a visualizer created by Mad Alchemy Liquid Show, who’ll do visuals for select Sinkane US live dates this year. Find those dates below, where you can also hear the song.

TOUR DATES:
05/04-05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works, 37d03d Festival
06/04 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
06/06 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
06/07 – Beverungen, DE @ Orange Blossom Festival
06/08 – London, UK @ Field Day Festival
06/12 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall *
06/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
06/14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere * ^
06/15 – Boston, MA @ Cafe 939 *
06/16 – Burlington, VT @ ArtsRiot *
06/18 – Toronto, ON @ The Velvet Underground *
06/19 – Detroit, MI @ El Club *
06/20 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement *
06/21 – Chicago, IL @ Chop Shop * ^
06/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club * ^
06/25 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern ^
06/26 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir ^
06/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
06/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre ^

* = w/ Bassel and The Supernaturals
^ = w/ The Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show

Dépaysé is out 5/31 on City Slang. Pre-order it here.