New from Brazil, via Budapest and Lagos: Àbáse fuses samba and hip-hop into a sun-sparkling mixtape.

It will soon be 25 years since the death of supermacho, saxophonist, bandleader and activist Fela Kuti. But his art still influences each new generation of musicians* who seek to combine danceable material from a wide variety of genres. "Fela turned everything upside down," says Szabolcs Bognár aka Àbáse. Born in 1991, the Hungarian began studying jazz piano at the Budapest Conservatory. He experiments with Rhodes sounds, works as a DJ and dives deep into the highlife and Yoruba culture of West Africa. After organizing the Kuti festival "Felabration" in Budapest in 2017, Szabolcs, called Szabi, rather accidentally drifts to South America. His mission: "To present the deep beauty of African heritage in Brazil! And combine it with contemporary elements".

He takes drum lessons, performs during Carnival. And he records local artists* in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador for months. Szabi puts the results together in Budapest. Berlin, where he has lived since 2018, also plays a role here. "Laroye" is a light-footed and danceable debut, gentle yet euphoric, a sunbeam-sparkling mixtape full of samba, retro hip-hop, Afrobeat and at times even baile funk and R&B. Szabi had in mind: "a record that never leaves a DJ's bag" - the eclectic album will be released in November.

Àbáse (pronounced: Abaschee) means collaboration in Yoruba. It is both his own stage name and that of his six-piece band, which the pianist will bring to Leipzig. Collaborative work that produces great things far from home: Szabolcs Bognár thus definitely stands for a good Hungarian tradition. Just as decades ago Gábor Szabó and Attila Zoller, and in more recent years Tony Lakatos, first had to leave Budapest to become the jazz heroes they are regarded as today. Àbáse is only at the beginning of this journey.