Sababa 5 (ISR) I Said Chalaban (MAR/HUN) album release

The popular band Sababa 5 play a kind of instrumental music – a blend of Middle Eastern psychedelia, Mediterranean-Arabic vibes, Afro-funk and disco grooves – that has audiences riveted from the very start. Formed in 2016 by well-known musicians from the local Afrobeat, Afro-funk and world music scene, the Israeli group built on a series of concerts, singles and music videos to produce a debut EP and album in 2022, which was followed in 2023 by their even more enthusiastically received second album, Aspan. The summer of 2024 will see the release of their third album, a collaboration with the Japanese artist Yurika. They therefore now have a range of colourful material to choose from for their first Hungarian concert, made all the more unmissable by their opening act: Saïd Tichiti’s new group, Saïd Chalaban, which will present its first LP, which crosses Moroccan gnawa with dub, funk, and psychedelia.

The musicians of Sababa 5 have played in such Israeli bands as Tigris and the Hoodna Orchestra, and alongside artists from their country like Gili Yalo and Ester Rada. Their music, constructed from a variety of influences, comes together into an immediately recognisable ‘Sababa sound’, in which the grooves play the main role, with the primary source of inspiration drawn from the ‘lehakot ketzev’ Israeli beat bands of the ’60s and ’70s, who themselves combined Western and Eastern sounds. The world has fallen hard for their psychedelic grooves and catchy melodies, and their live shows are truly powerful and uplifting.