Beirut Sextet SANAM Returns with Second Album Sametou Sawtan

The Beirut sextet SANAM will release their second album through Constellation this autumn. Sametou Sawtan, which translates as ‘I Heard A Voice’, follows their 2023 debut Aykathani Malakon on Mais Um Discos. The band continues to work with traditional Egyptian song forms and modern Arabic poetry alongside psychedelic rock, electronics, and improvisation.

Title: Sametou Sawtan
Artist: SANAM
Release Date: 2025-09-19
Genres: Avant-garde, Experimental Music, Krautrock, Post-rock, Psych-folk, Psychedelic Rock
Label: Constellation Records
Description: Beirut sextet SANAM releases Sametou Sawtan on Constellation Records, mixing Arabic poetry with experimental rock and traditional instruments.

Recording began at Tunefork Studios in Beirut during early 2024. The group completed sessions at Beit Faris, a medieval house in Byblos, during April, with producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem In My Heart. Additional recording took place at La Frette Studios in Paris while the band toured Europe last summer. The album’s final two tracks remain as captured during the Beit Faris residency.

Vocalist Sandy Chamoun describes the record as processing distance and dislocation, noting that “for the last five years it feels like everyone is leaving Lebanon.” The band consists of Chamoun, Antonio Hajj on bass, Farah Kaddour on buzuq, Anthony Sahyoun on guitar and synthesizer, Pascal Semerdjian on drums, and Marwan Tohme on guitars.

Several tracks rework existing texts. “Hamam” reinterprets an Egyptian folk song, while “Hadikat Al Ams” uses writing by contemporary Lebanese author Paul Shaoul. Both “Sayl Damei” and the title track employ poems by twelfth century Iranian poet Omar Khayyam. Chamoun wrote original lyrics for opener “Harik” and “Tatayoum”.

The new single “Habibon” employs autotuned vocals over slow-building instrumentation. It follows previous single “Harik”, which Chamoun describes as concerning immersion in “an infinite fire.” She wrote the track in February 2024, with the band constructing the arrangement around her words.

SANAM formed in Beirut and released their debut album Aykathani Malakon through Brazilian label Mais Um Discos in 2023. The group emerged from Lebanon’s experimental music scene, combining traditional Middle Eastern instruments with contemporary rock and electronic elements. Chamoun, the band’s primary lyricist and vocalist, studied at the American University of Beirut. The band has performed across Europe and the Middle East, with their live performances incorporating extended improvisation sections. Their music draws from Arabic maqam scales and traditional rhythmic patterns while incorporating influences from krautrock, post-punk, and free jazz.

The band has scheduled European dates from October through December in support of Sametou Sawtan.

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