SANAM - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023

Lebanese free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2023, following the release of their debut album 'Aykathani Malakon'. Relive the performance with our concert film, and the audio recording of the show below:

About
SANAM's music is akin to a ritual, somewhere between a marriage and an exorcism. The six Lebanese musicians blend traditional Egyptian songs and Arabic poetry with improvised rock, free jazz, and noise. These are stitched together by Sandy Chamoun's commanding singing. Fittingly, the group came to be as part of a performance of another notable experimenter, Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler, at Irtijal, the oldest music festival in Beirut. Their first album, 'Aykathani Malakon', was recorded in a traditional house in the village of Saqi Reshmaya, and released via Mais Um Discos.

"Lebanese sextet SANAM‘s serpentine art rock swerves and simmers with aerodynamic precision: sometimes with nimble melodic structures, which, like a billow of birds, can collapse and scatter on a whim, improvising around Sandy Chamoun’s enchanting vocals. In her more free-form, poetic gut-spilling, the rest of instruments – like a parting sea – enshrine her, to moving effect" - Beats Per Minute

Le Guess Who? Recordings
The publication of this recording is part of Le Guess Who?’s ongoing expansion of the festival’s recordings archive, with 100+ recordings from past editions now freely available online.

This archive contains audio and/or video recordings of performances by Stereolab, Tom Skinner, Selda Bağcan, clipping., Aldous Harding, Deerhunter, Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Microphones, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lightning Bolt, Neneh Cherry, Arooj Aftab, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland, as well as special collaborations and one-time performances such as Saul Williams & King Britt present Unanimous Goldmine, Indian ensemble the Rajasthan Express together with Shye Ben Tzur and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, and AEAEA, the live premiere of a collaboration between Nicolas Jaar and Patrick Higgins.

Captured at TivoliVredenburg's Pandora on Thursday, 9 November, during Le Guess Who? 2023

Sandy Chamoun - Vocals
Antonio El-Hajj Moussa - Bass, Electronics
Farah Kaddour - Buzuk
Anthony Sahyoun - Guitar, Synthesizer, Electronics
Pascal Semerdjian - Drums
Marwan Tohme - Guitar, Electronics

Direction: Dammes Kieft
Camera: Anaïs Saebu, Chris Groos, Jonathan Sipkema, Nicky Pajkić, Rikash Gobardhan, Yuma Eekman, Dammes Kieft
Production: Studio Dammes, Ramon de Lima
Montage & Grade: Peter Marcus
Sound recording: Marc Broer
Sound mix: Fadi Tabbal at Tunefork Studios (LB)
Photography: Lisanne Lentink

SANAM - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023

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