Karen Salicath Jamali is one of the most interesting and unique artists I’ve featured on these pages.
By Graeme Smith
A near-death experience in 2012 resulted in her receiving music through her dreams. She’s composed thousands of pieces in the last fourteen years this way, which she sees as a kind of spiritual dictation.
Even today, she’s prone to wake and record at dawn, having receive a composition the night before. That was precisely the case with her latest work, Angel Sandalphon.
Recorded just before the new year, the piece marks new beginnings. “That moment, when night turns into day, carries a very special energy for me, and I wanted to capture that first breath, that clean freshness, in the sound,” Jamali says.
The Angel Sandalphon, after whom her latest piece is named, is known as the angel of music and prayer as well as being the angel of new beginnings. The angel also appears on the single’s cover art, an original work by Jamali.
The piece is beautifully peaceful and reflective, opening with a looping, nuanced piano refrain played with understated expression. Its gentleness is undeniable, evoking the dawn scene in which it was composed. You can almost picture Karen at the keys, bathed in warm light as you listen.
It continues meditatively with enough variation to keep things interesting as it unfolds, finally arriving at a soft, lulling conclusion.
Angel Sandalphon marks new beginnings in many ways, from its dawn composition to its symbolic meaning, and to the reality of Jamali’s career. She’s just embarking on a new chapter with the Los Angeles, New York, and London–based label EMPIRE and publisher KOSIGN, which is powered by Kobalt Music Group, the world’s largest independent music publisher. This is her first release with both.
It’s the latest step on a career that’s going from strength to strength for the Denmark-born, USA-based artist. She now has over ten million streams, and her global audience includes over 100,000 followers.
You can keep up to date with all things Karen Salicath Jamali by heading to her website, and by following her on Facebook, X, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Bandcamp, and Songkick.
And I’d urge you to listen to her other pieces we’ve shared if you haven’t already, including her 2025 album, Dream of Angels, particularly if your looking for a moment of calm.
Angel Sandalphon (The Angel of New Beginnings) is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
