Saïd Tichiti, who is of Berber origin on his mother's side and black African on his father's side, founded Chalaban in Budapest. The diversity of the group's sound is defined by the musician's Afro-Arab roots, with their lively, exuberant Moroccan music enhanced by elements of Carpathian Basin, Roma and Balkan music. Their most recent album, the 2017 Gleimim, celebrates Tichiti's hometown. The more traditional-sounding album also explores offers a deeper examination of the origins of the Berber, Arab and black African customs that come together in Morocco. Naturally, Chalaban have played their captivating musical mixture to great acclaim not just in Hungary but throughout Europe. Their music also featured in the 2018 documentary film Échos du Sahara, which examines the 20-year career of the band's leader. The film sees Tichiti return from Budapest to the Sahara Desert, where he draws inspiration from the spiritual Hassan culture and presents a fruitful encounter of diverse musical traditions. Of course, we will also have the chance to enjoy the colourful sound of the band's six studio albums during this special anniversary concert, not to mention Saïd's talented classical music-studying children and a superb Guinean guitarist-singer, Moh! Kouyaté, who you may remember from the Womex event held in Budapest. Born into a family of musicians, Kouyaté learned from renowned local masters before moving to Europe and beginning to combine various influences: West African music with the Mississippi Delta, Afrobeat with jazz funk. He will now add further colour to his palette with his appearance alongside Chalaban.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest