Sandy Chamoun – Ruptured Music

Ruptured Album Release // VARIOUS ARTISTS // The Dome Sessions

June 15, 2025September 3, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

The Dome Sessions emerged from the architectural and acoustic qualities of the dome designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1962 in Tripoli, Lebanon. Since 2010, Firas El Hallak has used this space as a site for sonic experiments, exploring the relationships between sound, space, and memory. The dome’s distinctive reverb and resonance have shaped a series of recordings that capture the characteristics of the structure while evoking the untold stories held within its walls.

What began as an individual pursuit evolved into a collective project. Artists and collaborators joined forces, contributing to a body of work that reflects the layered history and collective memory of the dome. Each piece resonates with the space’s acoustics, dissolving the boundaries between past and present, personal and communal.

These recordings extend beyond a musical album; they form part of the soundtrack for an upcoming film that examines the dome’s place in Tripoli’s cultural and historical fabric. The Dome Sessions therefore becomes an exploration of place, identity, and collective history through multiple senses.

At its core, the project highlights the power of collective action. It demonstrates how reclaiming spaces can breathe new life into the forgotten. By transforming the dome into a site of collaboration, the collective emphasizes the role of art in preserving and reinterpreting heritage. The Dome Sessions invites listeners to a shared experience of space through sound.

Wassila Abboud, December 2024

THE DOME SESSIONS: Listen/Order here

All tracks recorded on-site by Tunefork Studios in April 2023.
All tracks mixed at Tunefork Studios by Anthony Sahyoun & Fadi Tabbal, except for Session 8 (mixed by Hadi Deaibess).

Music composed and performed by the artists, except for:
Session 1 (Once I Entered a Garden) originally composed by Medhat Assem for Asmahan.
Session 10 (Zahrat al-Mada’en) originally composed by the Rahbani Brothers for Fairuz.

Created and produced by Firas El Hallak. Co-produced by Anthony Tawil.

Audio captured by Neumann and supported by Eltek. Mastered by Cedrik Fermont at Syrphe, Berlin.

Album photography by Gabriel Ferneini. Artwork & design by Cynthia-ël Hasbani.

Watch the promotional trailer by Firas El Hallak

Ruptured News // SANAM members with Jessica Moss + Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at HOTEL2TANGO // 23+24 June 2025

June 5, 2025August 21, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

For two nights, members of Lebanese sextet SANAM and a lineup of collaborators will take the stage at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango for a series of solo and duo performances. While the band itself won’t be performing, these sets will highlight the individual artistry of its members alongside special guests, exploring free-rock, post-folk, and experimental sounds in an intimate setting.

Hotel2Tango – 110 Van Horne, Montreal QC
Monday, June 23 & Tuesday, June 24
Doors 8 PM | Music 8:30 PM
Entrance $20

Tickets can be purchased HERE.

NIGHT 1 – MONDAY, JUNE 23

Sandy Chamoun (Solo)
A solo set focused on vocal performance, blending tradition and contemporary experimentation.

Farah Kaddour (Solo)
A performance rooted in folk and classical Arabic music, showcasing her mastery of the buzuq.

Radwan Ghazi Moumneh & Anthony Sahyoun (Duo)
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, co-owner of Hotel2Tango, joins Anthony Sahyoun for an exploratory duo performance.

NIGHT 2 – TUESDAY, JUNE 24

Antonio Hajj, Jessica Moss & Pascal Semerdjian (Trio)
SANAM’s rhythm section—Antonio Hajj and Pascal Semerdjian—teams up with avant-garde violinist Jessica Moss for a unique collaboration.

Farah Kaddour & Marwan Tohme (Duo – Cassette Album Launch)
A special set celebrating the release of Farah and Marwan’s new cassette on Ruptured Records, offering an exclusive first listen.

Anthony Sahyoun (Solo)
A closing performance featuring a key voice of Beirut’s experimental music scene.

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest SANDY CHAMOUN // 03 December 2024

January 10, 2025August 13, 2025Music ShowsLeave a Comment

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal – this broadcast features a mix by Lebanese musician SANDY CHAMOUN. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Sandy Chamoun is a multifaceted artist, singer, and actor based in Beirut. Her music draws from her ongoing interest in a wide range of subjects, including audio-visual arts, politics, satire, and folk traditions.

In 2022, Chamoun released her debut solo album, FATA17OCT. She is currently developing her second album, Sawt El Doumoue, commissioned by Mophradat. Beyond her solo work, she is a founding member of two notable musical groups: the political satire band The Great Departed and the free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM. SANAM’s debut album, Aykathani Malakon, was released in June 2023 on the UK label Mais Um Discos to critical acclaim, followed by the live album Live at Cafe Oto a year later.

Chamoun has also delved into Arabic folk songs with social and political themes. She has performed the works of iconic figures like Sheikh Imam and Mona Meraashli at venues such as Metro Al-Madina in Beirut. As a performer, she has appeared in several acclaimed Lebanese theater productions, including Political Circus, Welada88, and Aghani Servicet (Taxi Songs). Her skills extend to sound design, with credits in short films such as There Is a Baba in Our House by Leil Zahra Mortada and Congress of Idling Persons by Bassem Saad.

TRACK LISTING:

– Anthony Sahyoun feat. Julia Sabra: Wasted Efforts
– Marc Codsi: Fugue 1
– Youmna Saba: Al Khayal
– Kamilya Jubran: Wahdi
– Diamanda Galas: Judgment Day
– Howie Lee: Bankers
– Katibeh Khamseh: Silat Rahem
– Arca: Prada/Rakata
– Malayeen: Omar
– Jerusalem in my Heart: 2asmar Sahar
– Mohamad Omran: Aslamtou Wajhi
– Saint Abdullah: Sounds from the Hosseinieh
– Abdullah Miniawy: Purple Feathers

Ruptured Album Release // SANDY CHAMOUN, ANTHONY SAHYOUN & JAD ATOUI // Ghadr

December 13, 2024March 6, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

Releasing November 29, 2024 on Ruptured Records:

On Ghadr, Sandy Chamoun, Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui play with chaos. Built on group improvisation, surges of coruscating electronics and distortion meld with vocals that, while stemming from a background in classical Arabic singing, seek to reroute tradition.
“We explore rhythmic structures that don’t have specific time signatures,” says Atoui about his and Sahyoun’s use of synthesis to embrace the tension between order and chaos. “Sandy’s approach to singing isn’t necessarily very rigid either. We felt a common inspiration.”

The album, whose title imperfectly translates to ‘Treachery’, began on a residency in Switzerland while the trio were touring Europe (Chamoun solo, Atoui and Sahyoun as their duo NP). It was later finished in their home city of Beirut. The five tracks are built on vibrant circuits of guitar and modular synthesis, the former often acting as a trigger for the latter’s volatile output.

Chamoun’s vocals blend her background in classical Arabic music with free-singing, using tradition as a foundation for exploration rather than standards to follow. Apart from “Hayawanon Ghader (treacherous animal)”, all the songs’ lyrics pull from the archive. Opener “Tahal Layl” interprets a Bedouin folk song. “Bihali” is based on a tenth century poem by Abou Firas Al-Hamdani. “Al Moulatham” quotes an Instagram post by Yousef Al-Domouky about the war in Gaza. “Al Samaa” uses a text from contemporary Lebanese poet Paul Chaoul. “I’m working with my references, and with the music,” explains Chamoun. “It’s a playful place with my history and now.”

WATCH a video excerpt by Nour Ouayda

About the album’s title, Chamoun explains: “On this planet, the only thing that’s happening now is treachery. It’s the headline of our days.”
Terror in Gaza, its shockwaves through the Middle-East and its place in longer histories loom over the record. However, while Ghadr reflects the present moment, it isn’t consumed by it. The trio agree the album reflects tenderness as much as anger. It’s audible in the effortless swings between abstract and soaring. The way Chamoun’s lyrics put ninth century odes to a bird and ancient Bedouin love songs next to personal reflections by Al-Domouky or Chaoul on real world tragedies.

Sonically and lyrically Ghadr is music of possibility and potential. The five tracks travel through unbounded terrain rather than along fixed paths. “I don’t like to pull the listener in one direction,” Chamoun continues. “You need to play with your imagination and not stick to one story and one meaning.”
While the record reflects their state of mind as residents of Lebanon, and the uncertainty that entails, Sahyoun suggests they’re striving to reach beyond it. “We try to access parts of our subconscious and see what dimensions it has outside of what we’re witnessing day to day. When we play, there’s a rhythm between the three of us. We feel each other sway,”

Ghadr is the first release under the name Chamoun/Sahyoun/Atoui, but the trio’s connection is deeply rooted. Sahyoun and Chamoun are members of ecstatic rock collective Sanam. Atoui and Sahyoun’s explorations of synthesis, solo and as NP, are long-running. On Ghadr these histories form something new. A charged record which faces the world as it is while offering glimpses of something else.

Daryl Worthington, September 2024

GHADR: Listen/Order here

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Movement Radio // 06 December 2022

January 6, 2023February 28, 2023Music ShowsLeave a Comment

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly mix for Movement Radio in Athens, featuring music from Lebanon, Egypt, Belgium and Canada. This mix was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of MOVEMENT RADIO.

Jerusalem In My Heart – Ana Lisan Wahad (feat. Farida Amadou & Pierre-Guy Blanchard) [LB/CA/BE]
Abadir – Bass Belly [EG]
TEDTEDTED – Calculators [LB]
Liliane Chlela – Charr [LB]
Rise 1969 – Floating Memory [LB]
Etyen – Goodbye [LB]
Sary Moussa – In Praise of Shadows [LB]
Yara Asmar – it’s always october on sunday [LB]
Elyse Tabet with Pascal Semerdjian & Yara Asmar – Low Toms [LB]
Sandy Chamoun – Nas el Wahel [LB]
Pie Are Squared – Oscillate Thrice [EG]
Maurice Louca – Saet el Hazz (feat. “A” Trio) [EG/LB]
Julia Sabra & Fadi Tabbal – Snakeskin [LB]

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Movement Radio // 17 September 2022

October 16, 2022October 16, 2022Music ShowsLeave a Comment

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly mix for Movement Radio in Athens, featuring music from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan. This mix was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of MOVEMENT RADIO.

Naujawanan Baidar – Midnight Procession / Blood Can’t Clean Blood [US]
Tarkamt – The Silo [EG]
Jawad Nawfal – Nawa Athar 0 [LB]
Anthony Sahyoun – Irhamna (Amulets Remix) [LB/US]
Daou – Regrets [LB]
Safa – 1000 Months [LB]
Sandy Chamoun – Siret el Ro3eb [LB]
Muqata’a – Dirasat ‘Ulya [PS]
Etyen & Salwa Jaradat – Galah Waji [LB/PS]
Rust – Mawali [LB]
Toumba – Floating On The Dead Sea [JO]
TEDTEDTED – Dancerep [LB]
Saint Abdullah – Blurring Of Management Theory [IR]
Liliane Chlela – 2025 [LB]

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Movement Radio 08 // 13 May 2021

May 17, 2021October 16, 2022Music ShowsLeave a Comment

Ziad Nawfal’s 8th monthly mix for Movement Radio in Athens – featuring music from Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Switzerland, Canada and the USA. This mix was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of MOVEMENT RADIO.

1. Aken’s Sleep (Pie Are Squared + Ali Soliman) – B|D2.1 [EG]
2. Nur Jaber – Black Potion [LB]
3. Pie Are Squared – Blanket [EG]
4. Raed Yassin – The Cyber Oracle [LB]
5. Sandy Chamoun – Dreams of The Imagination [LB]
6. City of Salt (Paed Conca / Omar Dewachi / Sam Shalabi) – Dreamy Ape [CH/IQ/CA]
7. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh + Stefan Christoff – Radwan Ghazi Moumneh [CA/LB]
8. El Rass & Munma – Elevator Music [LB]
9. The Bunny Tylers – Mothers Make Murderers (Summer 91) [LB]
10. Calamita – FTC [LB/IT]
11. Mutamassik – Long Beards [EG/US/IT]
12. Hassan Khan – Tabla Dubb No.2a [EG]

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Radio Ma3azef // 14 April 2021

April 21, 2021April 27, 2021Music ShowsLeave a Comment

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly mix for Radio Ma3azef in Tunis – featuring music from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iran, Scotland and the UK:

1. FRKTL – Where All Levels Cross [EG]
2. Pie Are Squared – 0CL8 [EG]
3. Jawad Nawfal – Nine Hundred Chariots [LB]
4. Azu Tiwaline – Tessiture [TN]
5. Shakeeb Abu Hamdan & Sholto Dobie – Sling Shotting [LB/UK]
6. Ahmed Saleh – Right Side [EG]
7. Etyen & Khansa – Rabbi [LB]
8. Saint Abdullah – The Birds Discuss the Journey (feat. John Butcher) [IR/UK]
9. Sandy Chamoun – Dreams of The Imagination / أحلام الخيال [LB]
10. NP [Jad Atoui + Anthony Sahyoun] – Grinning Through Dust [LB]
11. Hassan Khan – Tabla Dubb No.15 [EG]
12. Bikya [Maurice Louca / Mahmoud Refat / Mahmoud Waly] – Rokab [EG]
13. Sepehr – Contamination [IR]