Chi Tayyib

Emerging from a brotherly bond and a natural pull towards musical expression, the Lebanese band “Chi Tayyib” is loudly standing out at the edges of contemporary music, casting novelty with each live performance.

Formed in 2019 by the Sawma twins, Abdo (drummer) and Charbel (bassist), along with their childhood friend Rami Abou Khalil (keyboardist), “Chi Tayyib” also known as “Bonne Chose”  is a musical reflection of the ever-changing instant, notably in an unpredictable environment such as Lebanon.

Improvisation, passion and curiosity lay at the heart of their craft, making the trio as unconventional as it is accessible, piercing through collective sensibilities with their music. Instead of a genre, the band is defined by their musical fluidity and their constant search for what “tastes good” in each instant.

For an interview conducted by The Beiruter, the artists share how music, as a language, allows to shatter the limits set by spoken words and broaden the spectrum of emotional expression. Before playing music, the trio grew a shared passion as listeners, which quickly became an inspiration.

This path extended into a collective experimentation, exploring the endless possibilities of music.

All of the members are self-taught musicians and Chi Tayyib’s early days are marked by their intuitive approach, anchored in a punk spirit. Rather than a collective of genius, it is the group’s curiosity and humble shamelessness that breathed life into this synergy called Chi Tayyib.

The band’s core is assuredly characterized by jazz fusion elements, inspired by pioneers of modern jazz, such as Weather Report, Return to Forever or Herbie Hancock. But, during the interview, the musicians insisted that their creative process stems from a musical syncretism, in which pieces of various inspirations come together to form something new.

From early psychedelic rock to modern electronic music and everything in between Bonne Chose’s influences reflect a musical open-mindedness, that truly defines their style. However, the glossary of jazz, allowing more fluidity in musical expression, stays the most relevant to them.

This openness resonates in their multiple collaborations with artists from diverse musical backgrounds. Deeply immersed in the local art scene, the trio whether performing as a band or as soloists continually seek new artistic experiences. Moreover, each project or performance offers them a new window to create and express something unique through improvisation.

Nevertheless, improvisation has its own rules, rooted in chemistry, humility, artistic flexibility and mastery qualities that each of the three band members embodies. It is these very qualities, anchored in Bonne Chose, that refine the rawness of spontaneous expression.

In their own words, art loses its magic without the element of improvisation, as it strays from the instant. Too much rigidity and structure deprive music of its poetic essence and turns it into a cold science, leaving less room to capture the fleeting moment.

This compulsion to express the ephemeral, accurately reflects the persistent instability of life in a place like Lebanon, where solid grounds dissolve under successive deceptions. For the last decade, the situation has forced most of Lebanese residents to improvise day by day, making them highly resilient to the waves of chaos.

More than an artificial escape, music is, for Bonne Chose, an instrument to tame this chaos and to embrace the lack of control imposed by circumstances. Through their musical expression, the trio offers personal resolutions to collective tensions and serves as an immaterial mirror for any curious soul.

As Charbel Sawma claims in the interview, music is one of the few universal languages, allowing a limitless conversation, between hearts rather than minds. It is precisely in that conversation that music, itself, becomes a teacher for the arts of emotion.

Indeed, the musician is a servant of the arts, not the other way around. Through mastery, passion, and dedication, he becomes a vessel, a messenger of music, ultimately fulfilling one of the most ancient and persistent needs of society and of individuals.

Fully embodying this archetype, Chi Tayyib’s devotion to musical transmutation enables them to move their audience and create a symbiotic space where music speaks clearly and abstract expressions turn into cherished impressions.