Sababa 5, Saïd Chalaban, Cyborg Templar, Tibsã,

The band's first concert in Hungary will offer a colourful selection of material, and the programme is not to be missed if only because Saïd Tichiti's new formation Saïd Chalaban will present its first major album in the first half of the evening, crossing Moroccan gnawa with dub, funk and psychedelia.

After the concerts, Cyborg Templar and Tibsã, hosts of the radiocafé's Conga Heaven, Bongo Hell! show, will spin the records in the lobby of the House of Music. The set will feature music from a wide variety of ethnic groups around the world, from roots to today's hybrid dance music.

The musicians of Sababa 5 have played in Israeli bands and with artists such as Gili Yalo, Ester Rada, Tigris and the Hoodna Orchestra. The music, which draws on a wide range of influences, is assembled into a recognisable 'sababa' sound, with the main inspiration coming from the local beat bands of the 60s and 70s (lehakot ketzev scene), who combined sounds from the East and West. Their psychedelic grooves and catchy melodies had the world in stitches, and live they are truly drifting and inspiring.

In 2022, a new chapter in Saïd Tichiti's musical life has opened: under a new name, with a new sound and new collaborators, he continues on the path he started more than two decades ago. His latest project, Saïd Chalaban, brings together ancient gnawa, shaâbi and Hassan songs with Western genres such as dub, funk and psychedelic rock. By evoking the aesthetics of these modern genres and leaving room for improvisation and experimentation, he pushes ancient desert traditions to new horizons.

So, after Chalaban, his new formation Saïd Chalaban, formed with members of the dub-reggae band Manaky and guitarist Jü, debuted at the end of 2023 with a four-track EP, and this concert will be the live presentation of his debut album.

Saïd was born in the south of Morocco to a Berber mother and a black African father. He arrived in Hungary in 1998, where he founded his band Chalaban with local musicians a year later. In the 20 years of their existence, they have released six albums, played numerous concerts in Hungary, Europe and Morocco, and have done a great deal to promote the various Moroccan musical genres in Hungary and Central Europe. To crown the period, they completed a highly successful month-long tour of North America. Alongside Chalaban, Saïd and his other band, Tariqa, play Afro-Arabic trance music, gnawa, to great international acclaim.