Before he could begin recording his debut album, Sandeep Savio Sequeira knew he had to clean up his life and put his house in order. The UAE-based singer-songwriter quit smoking and other unhealthy habits, started working out and overhauled his diet. He also sought professional psychological help, attending therapy for the first time in his life – because more than physical, his problems were first and foremost mental, the root cause stemming from the emotional exertion of a destructive romantic relationship.
"I had fallen off the wagon, in all aspects of my life," says the singer and guitarist. "Truth be told, in these few years, I completely forgot about myself. Whatever I wanted to do got lost. As soon as this relationship ended and I had a way out, I knew I needed to get back to myself."
After more than two years of creative inertia, by February this year, the blackness had lifted, when Sequeira took a month off work to record. It was an incredibly fertile four-week burst that saw the songwriter lay down the bulk of the 15 tracks that would make up the cathartic outpouring of Metanoia. The LP would be pointedly released under the name Palayan – the Sanskrit word for escape.
“In 2014, I recorded more than 40 songs,” he remembers. “And in 2015, I recorded nothing. In 2016 – again, nothing. I had gotten into a relationship that completely consumed my own life.” During this period, Sequeira was far from idle. As a member of UAE rockers Physical Graffiti, he estimates he clocked close to 100 gigs in 2015 alone. But his solo music was left strangled by personal circumstances and his Palayan avatar put on indefinite hold.
Metanoia, then, is a rebirth; the sound of a human being emerging from the fire by clinically raking over the coals of despair. It is an assured set of confessional songwriting. Pro-shot video singles for the catchier moments Empty Seed and It Was Never Enough were released in November. Next, the plan is to tape a live, stripped-back, acoustic version of the entire album, alongside a band who will be tasked with bringing these eclectic, atmospheric soundscapes to life.
There is little chance of stage fright. Born in India and raised in Bur Dubai from the age of 3 months, Sequeira has played a dominant role in the UAE's underground rock and alternative scenes for more than a decade. Brought up listening to his dad's Indian classical-music cassettes, the 28-year-old's first taste of western rock 'n' roll came with the introduction of MTV to the region in the late 1990s. This laid the first stones of a guitar-centric path that soon progressed from the popular nu-metal and rap-rock of the day – Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park – to darker, more ambitious subgenres, such as death and extreme metal.
Sequeira taught himself guitar in his early teens, but with few music venues in existence, he recalls an adolescence spent playing semi-private, under-the-radar gigs in communal compound gyms and hotel ballrooms. Greater success came in his late teens and early 20s as a member of metal band Beneath the Remains, who for a half-decade spell achieved relative local notoriety and were close to being signed before self-combusting in 2010. For Sequeira, who had quit his studies for the music, it was crushing.
"It was a good band, but people left and relationships fell apart, it just crashed," he recalls. "I had put a lot into that band. I put my life on hold – it was looking good, we had labels talking to us, but unfortunately, people turned out… whatever. It was a very difficult time. I had no job, I had not finished university; I couldn't even get a job."
After re-enrolling in an audio-engineering course at SAE Institute Dubai, Sequeira was forced to pick back up the guitar he had tried to sell. After gaining confidence from some remotely recorded Bollywood session work, he began recording original compositions under the moniker Palayan, penning a series of ambitious, progressive guitar instrumentals.
“I had no idea I would ever sing in my life,” he remembers. “I always wanted to, but didn’t think I could. I didn’t think I had a voice people would want to listen to.”
Back at SAE, Sequeira – now employed as a supervisor and guest lecturer – met a group of students proudly wearing their hard-rock influences stamped on the name of their band, Physical Graffiti. Conflicting schedules saw the veteran musician invited to fill a vacancy on guitar for a single gig in mid-2014. “One show became 80 or 90,” he laughs. “We never spoke about it – they never asked me to join and I never brought it up.”
Soon established as one of the UAE's most hard-working bands, Physical Graffiti provided a useful distraction at a time when Sequeira's own life was in turmoil. But during this period, his own creativity dried up. "I stopped taking care of my health," he recalls of the period. "Every aspect of my life had fallen apart – spiritually, mentally and physically. I realised I needed to get myself back – I went through some major bouts of depression, and went to get help at the end of last year. All I knew, after trying to get myself back, is that I had to do Palayan again."
When his relationship broke down for good, Sequeira found the key to rediscovering himself, his music, and his moniker, in the submerged audio snapshots lodged deep in his phone. He unearthed recordings of 20 almost-complete songs documenting the various stages of pain and catharsis – both a time capsule of hurt and an artistic gift. "I thought: 'That's my album,'" he recalls. "I decided to stop hiding from myself. I thought: 'Let me go full-on with this.' To get to that point, I had to do a lot of work on myself. I had to start living again. I told myself I would only do the music after I was fit and healthy."
Cleaned up and 15 kilograms lighter, he began recording. Sequeira's skeletal musical ideas, sketched on acoustic guitar, were ornamented with an eclectic sonic scope, placing synths and turntables alongside tablas, violins and flutes – a meticulous mix of indie, folk, world and electro aesthetics which, despite the stark lyrical revelations, rarely feels overbaked or overwrought; the song and story always remain paramount. An ongoing video blog captured the album's creative arc, from those first home sessions, via overdubbed additions from traditional classical musicians recorded in India, to the final mastering, which was completed in the United Kingdom.
The material's footage-style genesis gave birth to Metanoia's conceptual structure, which is split into four chapters themed according to the temporal moment in which they were composed, entitled Premonition, Remember the 5th, Where Do I Belong? and This is the End. Taken together, they plot a pained emotional journey, moving through betrayal, exhaustion and escape to eventual recovery – closing with the epic catharsis of If I Have to Grow, You Must Go. A ringside seat to an internal boxing bout, after sitting down to Metanoia, one cannot help but wonder what the album's emotional muse makes of the music she inspired.
“She loves it,” Sequeira replies uneasily. “She knows each and every note and word on the album. I really don’t know why she does it [to herself] – there’s a lot of painful feelings there, that I can sing all these things I went through because of her. But it’s not about her, really – it’s about me.”
Listen to Metanoia at www.palayan.ae
________________________
Read more:
Making sense of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The year in review: 2017's best classical music moments
Habibi Funk: rare tunes from Arabia
The poetic licence of Arab indie scene leader Tania Saleh
________________________
Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
RACE CARD
4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Bantamweight:
Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
New Zealand T20 squad
New Zealand T20 squad: Tim Southee (captain), Finn Allen, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wicketkeeper), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Will Young
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Results
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Tathoor, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: Aiz Alawda, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohammed Daggash
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
Winner: Somoud, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Al Jazi, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
DUBAI WORLD CUP RACE CARD
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Well Of Wisdom
7.05pm Summrghand
7.40pm Laser Show
8.15pm Angel Alexander
8.50pm Benbatl
9.25pm Art Du Val
10pm: Beyond Reason
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
