LINE UP
Ann Shirley: voice
Florent Mateo: voice
Christophe Panzani: saxophone
Pierre Perchaud: guitar
Tony Paeleman: keyboards
Anne Paceo: drums
Samâ refers to a spiritual practice from Sufism consisting of singing and dancing to express particular inner states and to give praise to creation.
It reflects the joy of life, the abundant life and nature engaged in a perpetual dance. The spinning dervish symbolizes the constant circular movement of the planets and the cycle of life.
The music is thus the sound expression of the law of the universe, engaged in a perpetual circular movement and transformation that would not be accomplished without the existence of a pole, the sun (symbolizing god) and the planets (all living beings) revolving both around it and on themselves.
“I wrote this title during a period when I was discovering the poems of Djalâl ad-Dîn Rûmî (founder of the order of the whirling dervishes and of Sufism). I liked this relationship to life, death, to oneself, and the connection to the whole universe that I felt in the texts. The samâ piece is constructed with melodic loops that overlap and allow the musicians to enter into a kind of trance”.