Samavayo Pāyān Archives - Page 2 of 2

Samavayo Post Video for New Single “Afghan Sky” Feat. Nick DiSalvo

Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Berlin three-piece Samavayo have unveiled the first single from the forthcoming Pāyān LP in a new video. “Afghan Sky” is the first audio I’ve heard from Pāyān — which is out March 25 through Noisolution — and, uh, it’s pretty sick. This is going to sound weird to say, but I always kind of forget how much I actually like Samavayo. I post a fair amount about them, updates and whatnot, and I talk to frontman Behrang Alavi on the regular, usually when I’m bugging him about something site-related since a few years back when he generously offered to host The Obelisk — efforts on his part that are continually appreciated — but, well, I dug Samavayo a lot before then, as the review archive shows — 2018’s Vatan (review here) was preceded by 2016’s Dakota (review here), 2012’s Soul Invictus, etc. back to their 2005 Nasoni-delivered debut, Deathmarchmelodies! — and I continue to dig them a lot now.

Among the more admirable threads they’ve woven through their career is a willingness to be brazenly political in a relatively conservative underground. Guess what “Afghan Sky” is about. It’s about the fucking sky in Afghanistan, under which my home country, the US, waged 20 years of needless war in order to… ?… before abandoning the population to their fate under a quickly-established Taliban rule the oppression of which was one of the several things we claimed to be fighting against. My generation fought that war. It was pointless, a war of aggression in response to a single attack the effects of which will continue to ripple out through the decades that will comprise the rest of my life and probably beyond that, like Vietnam for the generation before mine. Like whatever the next war will be 10 years from now. Russia? China? Some proxy invasion? That second civil war that keeps getting teased in the newspapers?

Look. Before I go way off any further on social issues — there are so many, so shitty, for so many — the point I was making was that Samavayo measure the stakes of playing it safe vs. saying what they want to say and choose the latter. That is deeply worthy of respect in itself, but the song’s also killer. Alavi‘s vocals have grown more confident in melody over the last half-decade, and he nails the hook in “Afghan Sky” with apparent ease while still pushing himself in a way that underscores the passion with which the lyrics are written. Meanwhile, it’s a suitably brotherly chemistry between drummer Stephen Voland and bassist Andreas Voland (both also contribute vocals) that set the urgent groove in motion, and there’s a guest spot from Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo that adds a classic-style guitar solo for emphasis.

Solid, front to back. The clip can be found below, having been premiered the other day. The lyrics have subtitles as well, so you can follow along.

Dig it:

Samavayo, “Afghan Sky” official video

We are proudly presenting our 1st single Afghan Sky of the upcoming new album “PĀYĀN” released in March 25th 2022 on Noisolution records. Featuring Nick DiSalvo (Elder, Delving), who played a guitar solo in Afghan Sky.

“The song Afghan Sky is about the capture of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021”, Behrang Alavi, singer and guitarist of Samavayo says. “It is about the failure of the rest of the world to save the Afghan people and about their fears and horror, so much that people would hold onto a plane to escape and fall down from the sky of Afghanistan. I chose the topic because it makes me sick – I lived in Kabul before the 1990s, before the Taliban conquered the city. Afghanistan is a country that has suffered for decades and is left so alone by the rest of the world at such a crucial moment.”

“The solo in the song Afghan Sky is kind of special for a Samavayo song, as we usually don’t have specific solo-parts in our song. We invited Nick DiSalvio, a friend of ours, known from bands such as Elder or Delving to play it.”

It is the first time we have worked together with palantirvisuals (https://www.palantirvisuals.com, well known for great videos for Elder, Delving and Eldovar) and it has been an amazing experience! We are very happy with the result and looking forward to future collaborations.

It’s also the first time that we have put subtitles on a video. It was important for us, because of the message of the song. Also it has been exciting to find many different languages among our friends and network. In the end we managed to add 18 languages including Persian, Hindi, Pashtu, Arab, Vietnamese and many more.

Song taken from album “Pāyān” (2022) / Noisolution
Music, Production and Lyrics by Samavayo.
Guitar solo by Nick DiSalvo (Elder, Delving).
Recorded and Mixed by Richard Behrens / Big Snuff Studio Berlin
Mastered by Pascal Stoffels

Afghan Sky Credits:
Created by Malachi Cull
https://www.palantirvisuals.com/
Camera (Band) by Danny Kötter
https://www.instagram.com/thezitterman/

Tour dates with Stoned Jesus in April:

Samavayo is:
Stephan Voland (Drums, Vocals)
Andreas Voland (Bass, Vocals)
Behrang Alavi (Vocals, Guitar)

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Samavayo on Instagram

Samavayo Announce New Album Payan out March 25; Post Studio Documentary

Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Just when I begin to think maybe the Samavayo in-studio documentary below that covers the making of their new album, Pāyān, is glossing over some of the less-thrilling moments of a given recording process — the times where you’re waiting for something to be set up, or fixed, or reset, or whatever — on the screen there flashes a sign that says ‘2000 Years Later,’ and that about sums it up. Still, the Berlin-based trio look like they had a blast making their latest outing with producer Richard Behrens, which will be out on Noisolution on March 25 and their first record since 2018’s Vatan (review here), and the documentary is a good look at their process, all the way down to celebrating Stephen Voland‘s birthday while they’re there.

Pāyān, the Persian word, translates to ‘the end’ in English, and though I raise an eyebrow anytime a band names a release in some reference to a kind of conclusion — does this mean they’re breaking up? and so on — the release announcement below makes sure to point out that, no, it’s not necessarily the end of Samavayo after some 22 years. There are plenty of other endings around to focus on. Noteworthy contributions from Greenleaf/Dozer‘s Tommi Holappa, Stoned Jesus‘ Igor Sydorenko, Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo and Coogans Bluff‘s Willie Paschen, as well as a cover of Iranian pop singer Googoosh add intrigue to the proceedings, and it would seem that the lesson Samavayo have learned in the last few years of tumult is that if you’re going to do a thing, go all in.

So be it. March 25 is the release. In the spirit of looking forward, here’s the documentary and album announce — complete with cover art featuring the band’s enviable new logo — as well as the previously announced tour dates with Stoned Jesus for this April.

Enjoy:

Samavayo, “Pāyān” Studio Documentary

“Pāyān”. The end. Persian.

SAMAVAYO deals a lot with “the end” in terms of content on their new album. The end of the bad, of the good, the end of humanity, end of the way we treat our planet. It’s about the destruction of our planet, division, racism, greed, exploitation, war, isolation, loneliness. But every end means at the same time a beginning, a new start and beginning. “Payan” – the seventh album of SAMAVAYO in the 22nd year of its existence is fresh and full of energy and power!

“Our sound has never been so clear from the ground up as it is on this album. We definitely can say that after 22 years we have finally found our sound.”

Musically, the record is different from its predecessors: more heavy, more prog, lots of anger and a pinch of punk, Alice In Chains vocals, and last but not least some unusual guitar soli are added by a illustrious bunch of guests who visited the studio: Igor Sydorenko (Stoned Jesus), Tommi Holappa (Greenleaf, Dozer), Nick DiSalvo (Elder) and Willi Paschen (Coogans Bluff) didn’t take long to contribute.

Without too much “world music” sounds, the trio has continued to incorporate oriental sounds, including two songs with Persian vocals again. The title track, as well as the cover version “Talagh” by Iranian pop superstar Googoosh have become extremely gritty versions that rhythmically would also suit Tool well.

“Shot Shot Shot” is, as the song title says, straight in the face. A hard uptempo number that leaves no questions unanswered. “Transcend! Exceed!” comes ingratiating, melodic, riff-heavy and compact. One album. Seven songs. No failure. Extensive arrangements, a grandiose production by Richard Behrens (Kadavar, Silvershark, among others). More versatile than ever, uncompromising and hard-hitting.

But also otherwise the band looks beyond the horizon and has ideals and goals that definitely show that you have grown not only musically. “As a musician, you often travel long distances to concerts. That’s why we decided to compensate our CO2- emissions by investing in sustainable projects. Our website server runs on “green electricity”, we produce fair trade shirts and we look to use as little plastic or recycled material as possible in the production of the records.”

An extraordinary album and a special band that has not stopped for more than two decades and always has new goals. More than remarkable and no end seems in sight.

Tour dates with Stoned Jesus in April: