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The seven gates of the title refer to the seven stone gates, or Bab of ancient Damascus. The album also represents a crossing from East to West, both literally, from Chhadeh’s physical move to the UK from Damascus in 1999, and stylistically, as the 72-stringed Middle Eastern zither the qanun along with Syrian accordion and nay (Arabic flute), meet a mixed bag of Eastern and Western percussion, ranging from daf, to darbuka to a standard kit and a jazz double bass.

Although Seven Gates has many elements of classical Middle Eastern music, there is a fantastic jazzy feel to the album, and while Chhadeh’s qanun stands as the lead instrument, there is great interplay between the musicians. The musicianship is tight and the adventurous compositions have space in all the right places, giving each of the instruments room to breathe and show off their potential.

Seven Gates is Chhadeh’s invitation for us to discover Damascus, the compositions exploring the characteristics of the seven gates, from sedate passages that stroll the hushed paths leading up to ‘Bab Al Salam’, to the chaotic fast-paced piece depicting the bustling traffic-heavy café centre of ‘Bab Toma’. But the beauty of the album is that we don’t just get to see Damascus through the eyes of a Damascan musician, but through the instrument of a musician looking back at Damascus from the outside, bringing in the influences around him to aid his exploration and draw the listener in.

The liner notes walk the listener through the different areas of Damascus, and reading them, a few tracks into the album I could feel my feet itching to get up and go.