Nana's Sunday Jams: Dua Saleh - Sugar Mama

Published on 2020-07-05 00:00:00 by Nana Fani-Kayode

Yes, Yes Sunday Jammers. Hope life is good. Hope the reset is happening at a safe and reasonable pace. This week I have been on a rewind. In fact, I’ve been on a rerererererewind – inspired by a brief chat I had earlier on in the week with Will Soer, Editor and Patron here at Loose Lips. Was musing over music that you cannot turn off and continue to be gripped by years after. (For anyone interested we were discussing 2017’s ‘Boofiness’ by the cosmically sublime 1010 Benja SL, if you haven’t heard it go and wrap yourself up in it. I dare you not to be taken then stalked by the harmonies and sparse notes)So, in that spirit, here is a rewind back to last year, 2019. Seems like an almost entirely different timeline where the rules of engagement allowed us to be closer but less connected. This absolute beauty of a track came to my ears I think about July or August, late but once again I fell hard. This artist, like 1010 Benja SL, has a deep cosmic vibe that I am constantly drawn to, and it is, in my humble opinion, perfect for a Sunday Jam.Dua Saleh is the artist, and they bang, bang, bang, bang. This artist’s waters run into deep, oceanic caverns. They are signed to Against Giants (if you are not there already check this label out also a homage to indie labels is coming soon), feel their catalogue and the sparks pulsing off it. Saleh’s background story is stupid engaging, interesting, thought provoking on its own, then you hear their music, listen closely; Saleh’s being is woven deep into the fabric. The 2019 EP Nur moves effortlessly through genres calling to strength and fragility, an immense debut from an artist who confessed to only really playing with music, at the start.So, my track is Sugar Mama; an electric current passed through me when I heard it, eyes closed, every limb in twitch. Do not be fooled by the musical arrangements seeming lightness, it is angry and has edges to accompany the poetic somersaulting. Every inch of this track is alive from start to finish. You get a complex and compelling story told through vivid imagery, contradictory notations and a percussion that smokes. What I cannot get over is how contained it is, despite being practically bursting with drama; it’s a searing, sexy, slick and sticky tune and it demands you pay attention.The latest EP Rosetta dropped in June. Now you are allowed out a bit more fully forgo the pub, get on a bike, ride a board, strap on your skates or beat the streets with your feet, take your headphones, cover ground and make it your new obsession.Check out Duas website here. Come back next week for another jam!