Respected Dallas, Texas-based singer/songwriter/producer/musician Salim Nourallah is set to release a sprawling double-album, Somewhere South of Sane,. on September 28 on Palo Santo Records. His seventh solo album, it is Nourallah’s boldest work yet.
Recorded and mixed mostly at Nourallah’s Pleasantry Lane Studio in Dallas, the self-produced album is an honest, often brutal introspective exercise that is relatable, heartbreaking, and amusing all at the same time. With the two-fisted melancholy of John Lennon and the elegant bluntness of Neil Finn, Somewhere South of Sane elevates Nourallah to the apex of his art, trading rock riffs for a classical guita rand assisted by the mind-bending instrumentation of guitarist Nick Earl, Nourallah’s bandmate in the Travoltas and a musician he calls a “total freak genius.
21 tracks that comprise the four-sided Somewhere South of Saneare what the respected musician/producer admits is “the work of a functional crazy person.” He adds, “Spending a lifetime dedicated to any form of writing is a particular form of madness. Especially in the face of the unlikely event that you will ever see much or any monetary compensation.”
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering one of the 21 tracks, “Everything Under The Sun.” This is what he had to say about it.
“‘Everything Under the Sun’ encapsulates the ‘music not suited for performance in bars’ vibe of Somewhere South of Sane. I learned a lesson years ago, after a particularly brutal outdoor concert in Austin, where I stood in the blazing sun with my acoustic guitar, gingerly strumming maudlin, introspective songs. It wasn’t the proper time or place. I swore I’d never do that again, and I haven’t since. Songs like these aren’t meant to be played in places where people are out to have a good time. They’re meant to be on records. ‘Everything Under The Sun’ is the second oldest song on Sane. It was written within two weeks of ‘I Missed My Own Life’ in February of 2008. My vocal and acoustic guitar performances were actually recorded nine years ago when I was demoing songs for my Constellation record. I sent that demo version to the album’s producer, Billy Harvey, along with about 14 other songs. It didn’t make the cut because we both agreed it didn’t fit in with the overall vibe of Constellation. I’d always meant to circle back to the ‘unfinished’ lyrics but when I revisited ‘Everything Under The Sun’ for possible consideration on Sane, I was struck by how perfectly it fit in. It had been recorded all those years ago in basically the same fashion. Me, in front of a microphone, with my acoustic guitar in the control room of my studio with nobody else around. I ended up taking the original ‘demo’ as-is and had Nick Earl add his otherworldly guitar parts to it. After that there was no denying this song had finally found its proper home. It just took a lot longer than most of the other songs to get there.”

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