Led by keyboardist/producer Szabolcs Bognár, Àbáse has defined the European jazz-hiphop-afrobeat scene for years. And now the audience at the Festival Theatre will get to attempt to work out the secret of its success. And providing the basis for all this is the material from the group's latest album, Awakening, with guest artist Dumama certain to add something extra to the experience.
In addition to founding such successful line-ups as Solqlap Budapest and The Mabon Dawud Republic, Szabolcs has played with many bands, including Amoeba, Akkezdet Phiai and Irie Maffia. He has been living and working in Berlin since 2018, where he is a member of Sonic Interventions, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange (ZFEX) and Wayne Snow, just to mention a few of the ensembles he is affiliated with. One of the important aims of his solo project, Àbáse, is the search for the point of intersection between afrobeat, hip-hop, jazz and electronic genres. Their releases are played by top DJs and radio stations. Awakening will come out in the autumn of 2023, issued jointly by the globally recognized Analogue Foundation and Bognár's own label, Oshu Records. This evening at Müpa Budapest will be a chance to enjoy the Hungarian premiere. The members of the band have gathered from far-flung corners of the world in order to share with both each other and us their defining styles and sources of inspiration. Hailing from Hungary are Fanni Zahár, András Koroknay, Ernő Hock and Szabolcs himself, while Ori Jacobson, Eric ‘Sunday' Owusu and Ziggy Zeitgeist represents the musical cultures of Israel, Ghana and Australia, respectively. Dumama, for her part, is a celebrated singer/storyteller/sound poet/producer from South Africa. "The spiritual motif coursing through Awakening is a new realization of the cycle of life and the miracle of continuous rebirth, along with the constant perception of a new reality.”
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
Àbáse:
keyboards: Szabolcs Bognár
flute, alto saxophone: Fanni Zahár
tenor saxophone: Ori Jacobson
double bass: Ernő Hock
bass guitar: András Koroknay
drums. Ziggy Zeitgeist
vocals, percussion instruments: Eric Owusu
Guest:
vocals: Dumama