Sanda Necole Blues is the manifesto of a sound called “Tarabtella”, a contemporary electronic fusion of the soul-stirring Arabic musical tradition of tarab and the driving rhythm of Puglia’s tarantella. It’s a hymn to the meeting of East and West, tradition and modernity, underscored by lyrics sung in the raw Bari dialect and, in moments, Arabic.
Sanda Necole—St. Nicholas—is the saint who protects my city, Bari. Born in the Middle East, devotion to him has spread worldwide, from Turkey to Siberia. He is a saint of border crossings, of layered identities: marked by his birthplace but never fully bound by it.
This song tells the story of a young migrant escaping a fate of oppression and death by crossing the Mediterranean—a sea that is both promise and tomb. It’s a blues born from an ancient chain of songs, strung across time like a thousand-year-old rosary.
But this is also the story of my hybrid city, Bari—a place reshaped by new generations of citizens from countless ethnicities, redefining what it means to “belong.” They unravel the concept like a carpet unfurled for sharing a meal cooked by all. A city marked by people carrying the scars of genocide, oppression, and discrimination, yet drawing from these wounds a fierce, generous creativity offered freely to the world. This city already exists: a mosaic of identities and generations, inclusive and curious, as boundless as its sea, pulsating between East and West like the beat and melody of this song.
St. Nicholas is a saint of crossings. Like him, my music carries multiple belongings. It is a blues for a mestizo city, where difference becomes a shared future.
Official videoclip directed by Domenico Larocca 5:16 minutes
Bari dialect text
Sanda Nëcolë
ca vinë pë marë, nu marë d'orë,
mo' bënëdiscë
a 'sti perëgrinë, Sanda Nëcolë.
Sanda Nëcolë,
c'ammenë stu cilë senza chëlorë.
L'ecchië du chiandë
sckattatë dë sennë, Sanda Nëcolë.
Sanghë dë Cristë
ca gnurë s'ha fattë, Sanda Nëcolë.
Pitë dë Cristë
ca vonnë fëscennë, Sanda Nëcolë.
Sanda Nëcolë, Sanda Nëcolë
ca vinë pë marë, nu marë d'orë.
Sanda Nëcolë
tinëmë u vrazzë,
Sanda Nëcolë.
Sanda Nëcolë, Sanda Nëcolë
ca vinë pë marë, nu marë d'orë.
Sanda Nëcolë, Sanda Nëcolë
ca vinë pë marë e pë marë morë.
Italian text
San Nicola,
che vieni dal mare, un mare d'oro,
benedici ora questi pellegrini,v
san Nicola. San Nicola,
com'è freddo questo cielo
senza colore.
Gli occhi del pianto
stremati dal sonno, san Nicola.
Sangue di Cristo
che si è fatto nero, san Nicola.
Piedi di Cristo
che fuggono, san Nicola.
San Nicola, san Nicolav
che vieni dal mare, un mare d'oro.
San Nicolav
afferrami il braccio,
san Nicola
proteggimi, padre mio
San Nicola, san Nicola
che vieni dal mare, un mare d'oro.
San Nicola, san Nicola
che vieni dal mare e nel mare muori.
English text
Saint Nicholas,
who come from the sea, a golden sea,
bless these pilgrims now,
Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas,
how cold this sky is
without color.
The eyes of crying
exhausted by sleep, Saint Nicholas.
Blood of Christ
that has turned black, Saint Nicholas.
Feet of Christ
that flee, Saint Nicholas.
Saint Nicholas, Saint Nicholas
who come from the sea, a sea of gold.
Saint Nicholas
grab my arm,
Saint Nicholas
protect me, my father.
Saint Nicholas, Saint Nicholas
who come from the sea, a sea of gold.
Saint Nicholas, Saint Nicholas
who come from the sea and die in the sea.
