Layers of looped Steinberger Klein guitar under a slowly building landscape.  This track was a lesson in backups.  I lost the source files of this recording and the backup in the same week, along with 6 months of compositions and mixes.  This is all that remains. 

Recorded in Venice, CA, 2006.

Telefono Solo

This is one of 3 remixes I did for Craig Bicknell's "Hymmmn."  I changed timings and layers of his original tracks and wanted to create surprises - ended up being an amazingly fun project.  The ALT version has a different beginning.  

Hymmmm (Zappa On Ketamine Remix)

Hymmmn (Zappa On Ketamine Alt Remix)

Custom tuning created for a piece composed for Dancer Susan Rainey.  

A Sunday Night Tuning in Brooklyn

My friend Keha happened to speak in perfect tune in her message  so I started to play some chords over it and this open groove happened.  Voicemail collaboration.  

Goodnight

One of the remixes I made for Jem when I directed her music video for "It's Amazing / 2009." Jem is an incredibly generous and down to earth artist, now filmmaker as well. I wanted to make an unexpected remix for her and blended Persian Daf drums and a few unconventional twists.

Jem "It's Amazing" remix by Saam Gabbay

David Lynch's team asked Nina Herzog for an audition and sample of her singing White Wedding, so we made it into a fun project. 

Billy Idol "White Wedding" Remix (sung by Nina Herzog)

Portion of the film score for "Iran is My Home," a documentary film directed by Fariborz David Diaan which was played at the LA Film Festival, Tibourn International Film Festival and others.

"Elias" from the soundtrack to "Iran Is My Home"

I had no idea this a cappella recording existed, it's really quite profound- had some fun with it on the laptop during a winter night in NY.

Under Pressure (remix)

Impromptu jam session with the musicians from Afshin & Kika's wedding in Florence (2012) at 3 in the morning.  Some lovely bits while we figured out how to play together, along with opinions about what's "right and wrong" with improv.  Everyone was asleep so we had to play very very lightly.  These guys are virtuosos (Any sound they made was gorgeous).  I'm on piano.  Mostafa and Mojtaba (the former on tar and ney, latter on violin/kamanche).

After Dinner in Florence

Sohrab Pournazeri is a profoundly talented and sensitive musician, poet, composer, and writer. He is both technically magnificent and deeply moving and lyrical in his playing. I am often inspired to improvise western jazz themes on top of Iranian music. Sohrab's playing is doing the heavy lifting here, and I wanted to add some surprises by improvising an arrangement in real-time, hopefully ending up with something new that still respects the beauty of his playing.

Homayoun Shajarian Sohrab Pournazeri - Kamancheh (Remix / Arrangement by Saam Gabbay)

I'm an Iranian-American filmmaker and music producer. 
I score remixes that reframe the original song inside a completely new sonic landscape. I like the make music that moves the human spirit through a journey.

Saam Gabbay

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