Saint Levant has been ruminating on his identity lately. “I want the world to know Marwan,” he says, leaning his head against the wall of his Paris hotel.
The 24-year-old singer, whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid, has become particularly interested in the divide between Marwan, the man, and Saint Levant, the burgeoning superstar. He explores that separation on his new EP, Love Stories, out today: While the A-side, which takes Marwan’s perspective, is defined by its Arab and North African folk sound (“inspired, really, [by] my Algerian and Palestinian roots,” Abdelhamid explains), the B-side assumes Saint Levant’s point of view, with a sound he describes as “more poppy, ’80s Arab.” Both feature his trilingualism, with Abdelhamid switching between English, Arabic, and French.
Photo: Hussein Mardini
Alongside the EP, Abdelhamid has also dropped a music video for “Diva,” one of the B-side tracks, which was filmed in Algeria, where his parents were raised. Against a synthy ’80s beat, Saint Levant is seen chasing a lover through palatial villas and along the palm tree-lined Algerian coastline, trying to win her back as Marwan.
