Sanam: Sametou Sawtan (CD)

The title of the second Sanam album is as alive with possibility as the Lebanese band’s music. Sametou Sawtan translates from the Arabic to “I Heard A Voice”. Spooky or spiritual, however one reads the phrase, it speaks to the ability of sound and language to cause pause, steal attention, and open us to the moment.

Likewise, the music of Sanam blurs tender frenzies and fire-scorched ballads, collapsing free-flowing rock and jazz frameworks into deeply rooted Arabic tradition. To hear them in full flight is to be held in the present and reorientated towards an open horizon.

Work on Sametou Sawtan began in early 2024. Initial ideas formed at Tunefork Studios in Beirut were fleshed out in April during a residency at Beit Faris, a medieval house in the coastal city of Byblos. The sextet: Sandy Chamoun (vocals), Antonio Hajj (bass), Farah Kaddour (buzuq), Anthony Sahyoun (guitar, synth), Pascal Semerdjian (drums), and Marwan Tohme (guitars), were joined by producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart).

1. Harik
2. Goblin
3. Habibon
4. Hadikat Al Ams
5. Hamam
6. Sayl Damei
7. Tatayoum
8. Sametou Sawtan