Harsh Agarwal
The albums that grow on you over a period of time are the albums that stick with you. This is one such album, which reveals itself more the more you spend time with it. The members never take the easy way out.
Had the good fortune to organise a show with the band in their first ever European tour and they smashed it to pieces. Don't sleep on it!
"Beirut group Sanam’s debut record Aykathani Malakon blasts to life with its mix of low-tuned guitar jams, industrial drums, and earthy vocals – an immersive collection of dark and spacious textures” The Guardian
“A gritty blend of noise rock, ambient textures and Arabic forms that cast the traditional material in a visceral new context" The Wire
"Absolutely love this record, it's amazing” Tom Ravenscroft
“A bit post punk and experimental and very very interesting” Gilles Peterson
++++
Debut release from the Beirut-based free-rock post-folk sextet. Album mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem in My Heart) and mastered by Heba Kadry.
SANAM's music is a ritual where improvised rock, free jazz and noise underscore an exorcism of traditional Egyptian song and Arabic poetry.
SANAM formed following an invitation to perform with Hans Joachim Irmler from the legendary German experimental group Faust, at Beirut's Irtijal music festival in 2021.
Sandy Chamoun (vocals), Antonio Hajj (bass), Farah Kaddour (buzuk), Anthony Sahyoun (guitar, synth), Pascal Semerdjian (drums) and Marwan Tohme (guitars) bring a myriad of influences gleaned from years performing either solo or as members of influential acts in Beirut’s tight-knit independent music scene (such as Al Rahel al Kabir, Postcards, Kinematik and Ovid).
The musicians had planned to reiterate their fortuitous experience with Irmler but when this plan fell through, they decided to go on a recording residency together instead in a traditional house in the village of Saqi Reshmaya, Lebanon. The recording of the album took place during a particularly difficult time in their native country of Lebanon, which continues to suffer from an unprecedented economic collapse as well as social and political unrest. “We decided to take eight days off in May 2022 in an effort to completely disconnect ourselves from Beirut” says Sahyoun, who also performs in post-rock outfit Kinematik.
During their residency, the musicians, who come from distinct musical styles and backgrounds, decided to record the full album live with no overdubs: “The musical direction for SANAM was set out by the improv sessions with Joachim," says Sahyoun. "We weren't looking at doing something specific, it ended up coming out as a weird mix between improvised rock, tarab/arabic song and ambient. Kind of putting different things in a blender (our different musical backgrounds) and never really letting them quite fuse together. Recounting the insular experience of recording this debut, Sandy Chamoun described it as “almost hallucinogenic, as if there was a tacit agreement among us to produce an album that sounded 'unearthly' ”.
Combining regional and local folklore and poetry with experimental forms of instrumental music are at the core of Aykathani Malakon. Chamoun, who chose the texts for this album and has performed in the Lebanese satirical music collective Al Rahel al Kabir, turned to modern and contemporary Arab writers and composers such as Lebanese poet Bassem Hajjar whose poem Aykathani Malakon lends the album its title and opening track, Paul Chaoul whose poem Chamoun recites in a state of ascending ecstasy in Ayouha Al-Taiin Fi Al-Mawt and the Egyptian composer Sayyid Darwish in the languorous Ya Nass that features prominently the buzuk played by Farah Kaddour. As Chamoun points out, the poetry or lyrics in the album constitute “a collective call for an escape from a hallucinatory state engendered by love but also the mysteries of life itself”.
credits
released July 7, 2023
Sandy Chamoun - Voice
Antonio El Hajj Moussa - Bass, electronics
Farah Kaddour - Buzuq
Anthony Sahyoun - Guitar, Synthesizer, Electronics
Pascal Semerdjian - Drums
Marwan Tohme - Guitars, Electronics
All music composed, performed by Sanam. Ya Nass melody by Sayyed
Darwish.
Recorded at Gisele's house in Saki Rechmaya in May 2022 (LB).
Lyrics for track 1. Bassam Hajjar, track 3. Paul Chaoul, track 4. Badih
Khairi, and track 8. Lisan Eddine Ibn Al Khatib.
The rest of the lyrics are inspired from arabic folklore and collaged by
Sandy Chamoun
A unique blend of analog synths, Ethio-jazz sax melodies, and—per the title—instruments forged from bronze, from strings to percussion. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 20, 2024
Bedroom pop with gentle electronic accents from Josh Thorpe, who paints sweetly intimate portraits of everyday love. Bandcamp New & Notable May 9, 2023
supported by 51 fans who also own “Aykathani Malakon صنم - أيقظني ملاكٌ”
The shape of punk that is. The future is now! Open the Gates is the great conflagration of the past to act as a voice of hope in the darkness. Robby Morgan
