Sentient

Multi Grammy award winning Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana has announced that his passion filled retrospective album, “Sentient”, will be released via Candid Records on March 28th, 2025.

“Sentient” is composed of 11 dazzling tracks, 3 of them previously unreleased, compiled by the virtuoso guitarist, remastered and sequenced in a way that allows a new and dramatic story to emerge. As is often the case when the spark of musical magic strikes, Santana was surprised, delighted and receptive. “I’m always driven by passion, emotion and inner instinct”, he says. “When I 1st heard these tracks floating around in the house, I said, ‘why don’t we put these all in one place?’.”

The songs that make up “Sentient” are complex compositionally, but they float by like a dream. There are brilliant collaborations with Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Miles Davis, Paolo Rustichelli, Darryl DMC McDaniels and Cindy Blackman Santana, but no matter the mood or genre, whether it’s lush pop or high intensity cosmic jazz, it’s all part of a common thread. As Santana says, “from Stravinsky to James Brown, it’s all the same song, meaning it’s all connected to the umbilical cord of humanity and planet Earth”.

The album’s 1st single offers listeners a new view of "Please Don’t Take Your Love", the heavenly slice of funky, soulful seduction that paired Santana with the incomparable Smokey Robinson. The original version, featured on Robinson’s 2009 album, "Time Flies When You’re Having Fun", saw Santana contrast Robinson’s shimmering vibrato with searing, soul shaking soloing. The alternate take on “Sentient” is no less emotionally wrenching, but as Santana notes, it boasts a never before heard guitar performance. “I went to the studio and did my own thing. I said, ‘let’s just roll it’. I did another take with Smokey sort of guiding me. Smokey loved them both, so he wound up combining the 2. What’s on 'Sentient' is the 1st version”.

Exceleration Music partner and Grammy winning music executive John Burk, known for his work with legendary artists, shared his excitement about the project, “Santana has always been a trailblazer in music, combining musical styles and cultures in ways that have forever changed the face of music. This amazing collection demonstrates his unique ability to transcend genres and lift our spirits through his music. It also highlights collaborations with a diverse lineup of musical trailblazers, including Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson, and DMC, each, like Carlos, an iconic innovator, united on this album by the musicality, spirit, and passion of Carlos Santana at his finest”.