Sanam

The Lebanese band Sanam has already won many hearts at groundbreaking festivals such as Le Guess Who? and Rewire. Amidst all the guitars, drums, and electronics, Arabic vocals and poetry emerge in an exhilarating mix of styles. For instance, on the recent album 'Sametou Sawtan', we hear an Egyptian folk song alongside a 12th-century Persian poem and text by Lebanese writer Paul Shaoul. A blazing mix of krautrock, electronics, avant-jazz, and Arabic poetry by the six-piece sensation from Beirut at Bimhuis. Sametou Sawtan

Sametou Sawtan (loosely translated: I Heard a Voice) was recorded in Beirut with producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem in My Heart) and makes current events palpable. 'For the past five years, it has felt like everyone is leaving Lebanon,' says Sandy Chamoun, singer of Sanam. 'The album isn't literally about that, but about the idea that something is leaving you... A distance from events, even if you are experiencing them yourself, a distance from your home, even if you live in it.'