Aman Aman are a group of skilled world musicians and ethnomusicologists who came together to explore the traditional music of the Sephardi, the Jewish people of Spain. This mixture of Jewish heritage with Spanish language, customs, and music created a fascinating culture that is seldom recognized. Aman Aman formed as something of a L'Ham de Foc splinter group, drawing on many of the popular band's members. Aman Aman are comprised of Mara Aranda (voice/bender), Efrén López (oud, santur, lavta, etc.), Matthieu Saglio (cello), Diego López (bender, darbukah, riq, etc.), Aziz Sansaoui (qanun), Hristos Barbas (ney, kaval), and Eleni Kallimopoulou (politili lyra, bender). With a wealth of knowledge between them (many of the bandmembers teach music at the university level), the ensemble reproduces music from many Mediterranean countries, including Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and Spain. The ensemble's premier recording was completed in 2007, and released by L'Ham de Foc's longtime label, Galileo Records. The release, entitled Musica i Cants Sefardis d'Orient i Occident, experienced much more success than expected for a disc that could be filed under "period music." The album spent three months in World Music Europe's Top 20. The group's niche character and large number of musicians prevented major touring. Nonetheless, Aman Aman made a number of appearances in places like Alacant, Carcaixent, and El Puig in the summer of 2007 in support of their debut release. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez