A Sudanese born singer and songwriter of what she calls "East-African Retro Pop", she grew up in the United States, and currently, resides in NYC. Her undeniably catchy songs, vibrant aesthetic sense and sassy stage presence have won her a devout following that only continues to grow.
Apart from her participation in other projects, such as The Nile Project, in which she was featured on the album Aswan, and her past work on the film Beats of the Antonov about civil war in Sudan, Alsarah's focus on her personal project has led to two albums, Silt (2014) which grabbed the world's attention, and Manara (2016) on Wonderwheel Recordings, resulting in nearly constant international touring for the past few years. Both of these albums were followed by respective remix albums, featuring international electronic artists such as Chancha via Circuito and E Búho, of indelible talent. The latter, Manara Remixed, was included on our The 40 Best Middle Eastern Albums of 2017 list.
A couple years back, Alsarah convinced her sister Nahid to join the band full time as vocalist. The two are backed up by tabla and frame drum, trumpet, bass, and oud - a tight, straight forward ensemble that isn't afraid of playing with effects and getting psychedelic. What comes out of this is a reimagined, original form of Nubian pop, inspired by the cultural back-and forth exchange between the area's diverse cultures. Slinky rhythms, melodies sweet and addictive as sobia, and the spicy, smoky and flirtatious voices of Alsarah and her sister are what you get.
Over the years, Alsarah has spent ample time in Cairo, on and off, and performed on several occasions. Lucky for us, she is back with the Nubatones on August 8th at Cairo Jazz Club 610, preceded by local Sudanese singer Asia Madani. This is sure to be one of the top shows of the summer, so hop on over there.
Find out more about their show at CJC 610 here.
