Come Meh Way
Sudan Archives EP
Stones Throw
By John-Paul Shiver
What started as just a lark, mixing the violin playing style of Northeast Africa with electronic beats production, has quickly brought the unique talent of Sudan Archives upfront.
“I started mixing my violin into beats,” she says, “It wasn’t complicated — I’d just sing straight into the iPad.”
Archives, a self-taught violinist, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she “messed around with instruments in the house”. When she discovered the violin playing style of Sudan, her eyes opened to the possibilities of the instrument. “The way they played it was different from classical music. I resonated with the style, and I was like, ‘Maybe I can use this style with electronic music.”
Her six-track début EP is a broad mix of electronic, house and hip-hop sound structures beautifully re-focused with this extraordinary audible viewpoint.
This video for Come Meh Way, directed by Eric Coleman, features footage from Sudan Archives’ first trip out of the country, only her second time on a plane, filmed in Ghana while she was on a trip to teach young students there how to produce and make music.