Between the ethereal and the concrete, the intense and the delicate, HamaSaari creates music as if painting sonic landscapes. Blending post-rock, folk, and cinematic atmospheres, the duo explores not only sounds but also images, ideas, and deep human emotions. We spoke with the band about their creative process, the evolution of their sound from the album Ineffable to the new Pictures, and how they turn each live show into a unique moment of connection with the audience.

By Sandra Pinto

In this conversation, they reveal how freedom, polyrhythms, and artistic honesty intersect in the creation of sonic worlds that defy boundaries and invite an inner journey.

HamaSaari are often described as balancing the massive and the delicate. How conscious is this contrast when you’re writing and arranging your music? 
Each song is different, sometimes we begin with a precise idea of a part or a melody, sometimes we just play together without knowing where we are going. It’s pretty natural for us, from the beginning, to play with dynamics, add effects or try something raw, play with the ideas until we find something we really like. We could explore an instrumental part, play with an acoustic guitar or in the opposite play together with the maximum intensity and distortion. The rule is: there is no rule, we feel it’s easier for us to express what we feel without having a limit.

The band emerged from the ashes of Shuffle with a more serene and melancholic identity. What changed artistically and emotionally between those two incarnations?
Basically, everything changed! We chose to start a new project with a new lineup with a better artistic connection and a shared vision of how music should exist and be shared. We needed a brand new start.

Your debut album Ineffable captured a strong sense of atmosphere and movement. Looking back, what did that record teach you that shaped the creation of Pictures?
With Ineffable, we wanted to reconnect with the roots of the music we love, often recorded live, with musicians playing together in the studio,
without too many technological limits like a fixed tempo. We focused on the take itself and on the raw sound of each instrument, trying to capture what we had in our heads with just microphones.
We quickly realized how difficult that approach can be. To achieve a deep, natural groove and organic changes in dynamics, we needed a strong connection between us: total focus on every detail, and at the same time the ability to let go emotionally. We made mistakes, learned a lot, and eventually found our balance: having fun and trusting each other. For Pictures, we wanted to go further. We recorded everything together at home and handled the entire process ourselves (except for mastering). We’ve always preferred the energy of live music, even on studio records, because imperfections make it human. Mistakes are part of the beauty of human nature, and no technological perfection can replace that. We learned to trust how the music naturally breathes between us. Pictures feels like an old-school record: drums, bass, two guitars, vocals — simple, organic, and honest, like records from the 1970s. No synths, no computers playing with us, just the band as a live concert.

Pictures revolves around images, paintings, and dimensions. How did this conceptual framework first take shape, and did it influence the music or the lyrics more strongly?
On our first album, we imagined how wild animals might perceive the human way of living, how young humanity is compared to the planet, and how we deal with power, ego or the difficulty of living together. With Pictures, we wanted to go deeper. We began exploring human
behavior through history and philosophy. The imagery came very naturally and influenced both the music and the lyrics. Sometimes it started with a feeling or a sound, sometimes with an image or an idea, but everything grew together as part of the same world.

Myths, ancient civilisations, dreams, and fiction all feed into the album’s themes. How do these elements help you explore modern human fears and belief systems?
Personally, I’m (Jordan) very curious about how people lived in the past, their inner worlds, their mindset, and how their cultures and beliefs still live inside us today. We often think of nowadays humanity as both the dominant force of life and a kind of disease for the Earth. But we are interested in the awareness of people from the past, and in cultures outside Western atheism and Christian traditions. We want to question our systemic education and the belief systems we inherit without really choosing them.
Through these themes, we reflect on materialism, consumerism, our fears, and the place of technology in our lives. At the core: what are we
attached to? What do we believe in? How does our perception of reality shapes who we become?

Your sound clearly nods to progressive rock legends like Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, but also draws from post-rock, folk, and alternative music. How do you prevent these influences from overshadowing your own voice?
To be honest with you, we never think about other bands or influences when we are creating music. We use these band names to explain briefly what kind of art we are doing. Most people know Pink Floyd for example and we think we share some intentions or the use of space and time to create an immersive journey and not just a song. On the other hand, we are and we sound different from Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree, we try to be ourselves as authentic as we can.

Rhythm plays a central role in your music, particularly through polyrhythmic bass and drums. How important is rhythm as a storytelling tool within HamaSaari’s compositions?
Rhythm is absolutely central to HamaSaari’s music, we are inspired by the traditional cultures of this beautiful world. Rhythm is not just “1, 2, 3, 4” or a binary system. We see rhythm as a powerful tool to express ourselves and we use polyrhythm to create tension, movement, and sometimes even dialogue, guiding the listener through different emotional states. Rhythm allows us to suggest instability or grounding or urgency by combining 3 or 4 divisions. It becomes a narrative language of its own, riffs evolve or resolve. When the polyrhythms lock together, both the band and the audience can slip into a trance, where rhythm takes over and time feels suspended. And finally, these rhythms are deeply rooted in Elie’s (our drummer) DNA.

Vocals in your music feel clear yet restrained, almost another instrument in the mix. How do you approach vocal delivery within such layered and cinematic arrangements?
We don’t really think in terms of hierarchy. For us, sound is a shared space, every element breathes together. The voice isn’t meant to command, it resonates like any other instrument. It’s another layer of emotion moving through the composition.

Compared to Ineffable, does Pictures represent continuity, evolution, or a deliberate break from the past?
For us, “Pictures” is a new experience. It’s about growth and exploration, opening new paths rather than breaking away. Becoming more independent has allowed the music to breathe and evolve freely.

The album is described as an invitation to drift and reflect. How do  you hope listeners emotionally connect with Pictures on a first listen?
We see it as a journey through shifting landscapes. Everyone travels alone, guided by their own images and emotions. It’s an invitation to turn
inward, to observe rather than react, something close to a deep, meditative experience.

Translating such atmospheric and detailed music to the stage can be challenging. How has your live performance evolved in preparation for the new album?
Because we already played these songs live together in the studio, the transition felt very natural. There wasn’t much to change, just a careful
adaptation of the sound to each venue. On stage, we listen closely to one another, shaping something both massive and precise. The goal is to help everyone enter a trance, and to recreate that almost telepathic connection between us, the same one we felt the very first time we jammed. We don’t fully know how it works… and maybe that’s part of the magic.

With an extensive European tour planned for 2026, what do you hope audiences across different countries will take away from a HamaSaari concert?
We simply want people to share a real moment with us. Nothing is fixed or frozen, we play without samples or click tracks (metronome), so every concert becomes its own unique experience, shaped by the energy of the audience and the way each space resonates. On stage, we try to be as sincere and transparent as possible: just playing the music, fully present, and enjoying it together. We’re deeply aware of how privileged we are to live these moments, and we treat them as something truly precious.

At its core, HamaSaari seem driven by music “shared without boundaries.” In an increasingly fragmented music landscape, what does that philosophy mean to you today?
Boundaries are mirages. They dissolve as soon as you stop believing in them. Music isn’t owned, it flows through nature, through vibration,
through time. We’re only passing through, briefly shaping these frequencies before letting them return to the infinite. To share music without boundaries is simply to remember where we come from.

Website : https://hamasaari.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/hama5aari
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/hamasaari
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@HamaSaari
Webstore : https://store.hamasaari.com
Bandcamp : https://hamasaari.bandcamp.com