Marwan Abdelhamid, AKA Saint Levant, was born in Jerusalem to a French-Algerian mother and Serbian-Palestinian father during the second Intifada. He spent 10 years growing up in Gaza, to which he would dedicate his first EP From Gaza with Love. In 2007, Marwan and his family were forced to flee to Jordan, where he would live out the remainder of his youth until moving to Santa Barbara, California, for university.

Drawing inspiration from his origins with influences that combine traditional Arabic music, R&B and hip-hop, the young artist embraces the plurality of his own cultural heritage, the Arab community worldwide and the Palestinian struggle abroad. His songs – written in Arabic, English and French – have captivated a global audience with their international appeal.

His latest release, Love Letters, dropping on Valentine’s day, is a compilation of new music by Saint Levant, each song representing an ode to different aspects of his world – triumphant, reflective, hopeful, and heartfelt, Saint Levant’s Love Letters weds two discs:

An A side that expresses its love through Arab & North African styles; and a B side that has Levant adopt a western 80’s funk approach, with Saint Levant’s take on contemporary pop.