“It feels like you’re on this groovy rollercoaster,” says Bassel Almadani of Bassel & The Supernaturals, which will perform March 19 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Courtesy photo
The leader of the Chicago-based band Bassel & The Supernaturals, Bassel Almadani, has described their music as “Syrian heart, Midwest soul.”
“Being first-generation Syrian American, at the core of everything is this connection and this grief, both connected to my Syrian identity,” Almadani explained. “So it’s central to the mission, and the channel is through this soulful connection with our music to the audience. Soul music is most powerful when you’re able to carry that type of conversation with your audience, when you feel like you’ve set up this emotional response.”
Bassel & The Supernaturals will make their Maui debut March 19.
“Armed with trumpets, saxophones, flutes, clarinets, violins, and, perhaps most importantly, Almadani’s strong, soulful pipes, the rock template is tinged with the most graceful, sophisticated and warm influences of R&B, jazz, and funk,” praised a review of the band’s album “Elements” in New Noise Magazine.
Their most recent album featured the infectious funk track “Aleppo,” reminiscent of British soulful star Jamiroquai. The single cover showed Almadani’s mother and a friend outside the Saint Simon Citadel near Aleppo. It commemorates one of the world’s oldest cities and highlights the vocals of Arabian singer Ashkur, as well as Almadani singing in Arabic for the first time.
“I’m a longtime fan of Jamiroquai,” Almadani said. “Big inspiration for sure in the music. Super funky stuff.”
As he explained it, the band’s music is “a lot of Stevie Wonder meets Steely Dan’s
‘Aja’ era.”
“There’s soul, there’s funk, there’s jazz and progressive rock at times,” Almadani said. “Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Al Green and Marvin Gaye are some of my key influences.”
The interview was conducted during Ramadan when Almadani was fasting and the Iran war had begun.
“Everyone’s impacted,” he said. “It brings back some harsh trauma, just how many schools, how many hospitals were attacked in Syria, in Lebanon and, of course, in Palestine. Everything was devastated,” he said. “It’s bringing back a lot of these really difficult memories of those times. It also just impacts so many friends and extended family. Everybody has friendships that extend deep.”
Almadani formed the Supernaturals in Chicago in 2010 before the Arab Spring.
“It was before there was this deep cultural piece to it,” he said. “I had been writing and recording music for years as a singer-songwriter. It was definitely exploratory in the beginning, and it became a lot clearer in the years following 2011 because the Arab Spring broke out, and, as many Arab Americans felt, it felt like we were screaming into this empty void. As loud as you would scream about how horrible this was and what was going on, everyone was in the headlines one day and they disappeared the next day. The mission started to become more clear. I lost family members. A lot of my family was displaced in the war.”
As a first-generation Syrian American, he sings about love and loss using soulful melodies and funk-inspired rhythms to enhance his captivating lyrics.
“The music is very groovy,” said Almadani. “There’s certainly a groove through and through, but it’s also an emotional rollercoaster. Audiences can expect to take a ride. They’re going to feel like they want to move. There’s something that keeps you engaged, and it feels like you’re on this groovy rollercoaster. Even when it gets dark, it’s important to move because I think that’s how we produce light.”
Bassel & The Supernaturals will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 19. There will be a dance floor.
Tickets are $27 to $57 at MauiArts.org. MACC members will receive a 10% discount, and children and students under 18 will get a 50% discount.