SANAM is a ritual where improvised rock, free jazz and noise act as an exorcism of traditional Arabic song and poetry.

The band formed following an invitation to perform with Hans Joachim Irmler from the legendary German experimental rock-noise group Faust, at Beirut’s Irtijal music festival in 2022. 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. During their residency, the musicians, who come from distinct musical styles and backgrounds, decided to record the full album live with no overdubs. Thus came Aykathani Malakon’s صنم – أيقظني ملاك (Awoken by an Angel), a work combining regional and local folklore and poetry with experimental forms of instrumental music.