New EP from breakout alternative R&B singer, violinist and producer Sudan Archives Sudan Archives was raised in Ohio and trained as a violinist, but she didn’t study her namesake specialty – Sudanese violin traditions – until she relocated to Los Angeles. Her uncommon expertise makes her music ripe with culture, improvisation and myriad surprises. The songs on Sink evoke a grounded, almost retroflexed picture of nature. The title track balances disjointed synths with moans and muffled lyrics like weighty raindrops on a palm plant. The sound of a lively forest is the beckoning call of Pay Attention before you even hear Sudan Archives’ invitation: “Let’s go outside / You know, you know what I like.” On Nont For Sale, pizzicati strings tiptoe over the bassline as the artist’s words glide over the beat with the elegance of a gull’s wings in the breeze: “This is my light don’t block the sun / This is my seat can’t you tell / This is my time don’t waste it up / This is my land nont for sale,” she declares. By the time you get to Escape, the project’s crescendo of a closer, the unexpected blend of folk, Afrobeat and R&B feel like a euphoric sun shower.