Sandmoon “Wake Up” - Review

“Wake Up” swirls into a driven psychedelic dream-pop sensation. Urgent, expanding, and timeless. Originally written on a piano during a time of political unrest, “Wake Up” calls out to the awakening of spirituality and consciousness. The energetic guitar uplifts the heavy feelings in the piano and turns up the tempo. Although the beginning of the music video sets its tone in a black-and-white world, the music seems to have enough color and light that guides lost souls.

It’s interesting how the short piano passage in the bridge reminds you of the theme of Westworld. Like the moon that has turned around, exposing the other side of the sphere, it carries a certain emotional stillness that again strikes the conversation about consciousness.

Sandmoon is a diverse band with great potential. Writer, lead-vocalist Sandra Arslanian is a Lebanon-born Belgium-raised with Armenian root. “Wake Up” showcases the versatility and expressiveness of her vocal, but her past projects have seen her wielding similar mood-filled indie rock passages as if coming from a PJ Harvey song. She also presents an otherworldly purity when going into a more spiritual direction in the music making.

Although the band Sandmoon mainly explore a rock-infused indie-pop soundscape, a hint of middle-eastern mystic can be found in details. Sandmoon’s music is never aggressive though at time can be intense and stormy, brewing a sultry, tempered, melancholy sensitivity. It feels like summer, but through a mood-filled filter, like something you’d see in a film. It’s impressionistic with great aesthetic.

In the interview, we talk with Sandra Arslanian about the social context, creative process, and collaboration behind “Wake Up.”

Punk Head: I’m absolutely fascinated by the depth and openness behind “Wake Up.” You mentioned that the song was written during Covid-19 lockdown, after months of protests in Beirut. For our audience who are not familiar with events in Beirut, can you shed more light into the social context behind “Wake Up”?

Sandra Arslanian: These past two years have proven to be quite harsh worldwide and extremely so for Lebanon. End 2019, the financial bubble burst, exposing Ponzi scheme, corruption and general mismanagement of the state. It was the start of the country’s descent into an abyss – out of which we don’t yet see any way out. The August 2020 explosion further aggravated the situation.

There is no state electricity, no water, banks have ‘hijacked’ people’s life savings, medicine is hard to find, prices have soared, there are 4 different exchange rates to the dollar, the poverty rate has never been as high…

PH: Following up with the first question, what was your personal journey/reaction towards what was happening in Beirut that was then being manifested into “Wake Up”?

SA: It’s very telling the way you formulate the question - how was it “manifested” into “Wake Up”? Usually, the way I write lyrics is through automatic writing. I don’t make a plan, scheme it out or think of a subject then write a text. I start with a word or two, then a stream of words follows, which I only touch up slightly afterwards.

When I wrote “Wake Up”, things had only started to look gloomy. We were still full of hope after months of protest that had started in October 2019.

I still believe in an awakening, I do feel that mentalities have changed, that a portion of the population, a portion of the youth opened their eyes and now reject the sectarian, clientelist, feudal system Lebanese politics is built on. The results of the May 2022 polls show a move in the right direction, but not enough to bring down a corrupt system.

However, ‘Wake Up’ is not only to be understood in this ‘socio-political’ context. It is also about spiritual awakening, the path to knowing thyself and to be true to who you are.

PH: How has the choice of instrumentation, genres, and musical aesthetics played a part in vocalizing what you aim to express?

SA: I originally wrote ‘Wake Up’ on the piano. It had been a few years I hadn’t written on the piano, preferring the more jangly and feisty sound of the guitar. I suppose I went back to my first instrument- the piano, like going back to the source to express the notion of awakening.

However, as part of the upcoming indie pop/rock album, we thought it would sound better if we replaced the piano with glittery synths. And the rest followed. Sam Wehbi added his slashing guitars, Georgy Flouty his groovy bass lines and Dani Shukri a mix of electronic beats and dynamic drums. And, Marwan Tohme, the producer was essential to shaping up the song in terms of sound and texture.

PH: The film director shared his interpretation of “Wake Up,” as he said, “Suffering stops when we open our eyes.” What’s your take on his interpretation in shaping this project?

SA: Salim Mrad, the Director, is very sensitive to the notion of spiritual growth and awakening, as well as politicalactivism. I think the song struck a chord.

There is a line in the song that says: “Be well, be you, it’s all in the mind then you heal” – I suppose it’s in the same line of idea as his quote.

Awareness is indeed a path to healing. I think both the song and the video try to convey this. In the song, we are invited to open our eyes. In the video, we are helped in the process by caring and kind feminine figures. Then we can discuss the role of women… but that’s another subject. 😊

PH: As a musician and a filmmaker, is there something particular you’d like to achieve with your art making?

SA: It’s a difficult question to answer without sounding too grand, but I’ll try to.

I don’t write a song thinking it will achieve something, but rather because I feel the urge to express myself. There is a cathartic, transformative power in music and singing which are, I believe, unequalled in any other discipline. And I think it is true for the performer as it is for the listener. To be able to share the experience with as many people as possible is something to look forward to.  

Filmmaking on the other hand might serve a more pragmatic goal of conveying a message or portraying a concept through storytelling using an analytical lens (documentary) or an artistic one (fiction). My work as a filmmaker has been limited to commissioned documentaries and corporate films.