KING A WRITINGS

Saint Levant’s Deira tour came with an elevated aura. The title translates to ‘City/Homeland’ in Arabic, but most importantly names Hotel Deira – which was located Gaza, Palestine built by Saint’s father – however it was destroyed by the bombings. With this homage being paid to a place that housed many of the artist’s memories growing up, listeners can interpret the title as relating to Levant’s Palestinian heritage.

Opening strong for the artist at O2’s Kentish Town was Lina Makoul who subbed in for the song named after the previous album/tour (From Gaza, With Love). The band included Vincent Cut Charpin (drummer), Maxime Barcelona (guitarist), Mehdi Ryan (Bongo drummer) and Sam/Alexandre Bamba (guitarist) who joined the artist in a heart-warming chant of “Free, Free Palestine,” adding an exotic twist through the patois-like  pronunciation. This truly brought to light the unification of two backgrounds, in voicing the need for freeing the country that we are all aware is affected by apartheid. What made it all-more fascinating was the occurrence of this moment, amid Very Few Friends, as the pair on stage soloed their instruments, creating a slow-jam tempo that transitioned into a very reggae-like sound before Levant circled back to the chorus of his viral hit.

The element of surprise was no stranger to this show, as 47 soul, Shadi Alborini and Qasem Najjar took to the stage for Daloona , bringing the energy further up. Levant gave context to this song being birthed from a moment of anger despite being an extremely chill guy (which he is for sure), taking it as a sign that he needed to enter the studio, calling upon this collective in the process to make the track possible. The robust performance re-enforced how Levant’s appearance in Kentish Town’s O2 had united the Middle Eastern diaspora, as well as those who are allies to the Palestinian cause; it also showcased the faces at the forefront of a fresh new genre called Shamstep, characterised by a fusion of Dabke music with electronic dance, alongside its homage to Syria-Palestine.

In a courageous speech, which highlighted Levant’s continued evolution as an artist in both his ability to perform and connect with his audience, the artist voiced: 

“It’s been a very, very tough year for all of us and sometimes I’m not going to lie to you it feels weird to come onto the stage and sing my songs, and dance on stage while my brothers and sisters in Gaza, and Lebanon are undergoing a genocide…and this did not start on October 7^th, this is seventy five years of occupation…everything that they say we are, we are not. We are intellectuals. We are vulnerable. We are amazing. We are everything and more as Arabs…Be proud of where you are from,”

A wave of cheers spread throughout the venue as Saint spoke out against oppression, only to be further accompanied with another inspirational monologue prior to Nails where he shared his perspective growing up creative, following his dreams whilst turning a blind eye to outside noise that may have prevented him from being where he is today. Hearing that really hit in the moment as I was personally reminded that despite feeling boxed up into the role of a trainee pharmacist throughout what has been a challenging year, I am still very much all the things I felt I couldn’t be; a creative, a writer in addition to a STEMer, (hence why I finally found the spark to writing why Saint Levant is giving us purpose).

Last year the artist attended to London’s KOKO, for his From Gaza , With Love tour for a stunning debut. One core memory etched in my mind was meeting the artist at the time, alongside two very good friends (shout out Ela and Tara) only to pull an all-nighter for a final exam that same night into the next day – which thank God, I passed.

Seeing Levant return to our city for another show case, gave us that time to make new memories, update our 0.5x cover photo and witness a moment of artistic evolution. His transformation still possesses the core artistic qualities seen previously, but also delivers a more conscious, refined sound. Deira as an album/tour feels further connected to Saint Levant’s roots, and in touch with the current socio-political climate which he continuously brings attention to by reminding us: that altogether – united as one to celebrate music along with the future liberation of Palestine – we are making history.