Yael Dagon & Àbáse (Co-Creation Residency Tel Aviv / Berlin)

Two musicians, one shared production: As part of the »Tel Aviv / Berlin co-creation residency«, one Berlin-based musician and one musician from Tel Aviv collaborate on a new work. In this edition, the collaboration takes place during the Tel Aviv-based artist’s residency in Berlin. The results of this artistic exchange will be presented live for the first time at the Pop-Kultur Festival, the festival of Musicboard Berlin. The co-creation residency is a collaboration between Musicboard Berlin and Jonathan Lipitz, founder of Kuli Alma in Tel Aviv, fostering transcultural exchange across around 4,000 km and two continents.

Yael Dagon connects the centuries-old sonic tradition of the mandolin with electronic music, Mediterranean elements, and atmospheric soundscapes. The musician and performer moves effortlessly between folk, ambient, and electronic composition, developing a sound that feels both archaic and futuristic.

Shaped by musical traditions from the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and the Middle East, she transforms these influences into a vocabulary of her own. In her live performances, mandolin, bouzouki, saz, and electronic textures merge into hypnotic sonic journeys between ritual, concert, and club music.

Albums such as »Illegal Body« and »Ma Vie« reveal her ability to release traditional instruments from familiar contexts and carry them into new sonic constellations. Her performances invite audiences to pause, listen, and at the same time be swept up by the rhythmic currents of her music.

Under the project name Àbáse, Hungarian producer, keyboardist, and composer Szabolcs Bognár brings his distinctive musical approach to this cultural exchange. Àbáse combines jazz, Afro-Brazilian music, hip-hop, and electronic sounds into a musical language shaped as much by improvisation as by meticulous production. Released in 2024 following his move to Berlin, the album »Awakening« explores music’s ability to connect people across cultural and geographical boundaries. Dense rhythms meet playful horn arrangements, syncopated grooves, and electronic textures, giving his work a remarkable sense of openness.

His debut album »Laroyê«, created during a five-month stay in Brazil, also attracted international attention. Since then, Bognár has worked as a musician and keyboardist with artists across jazz, Afrobeat, hip-hop, and experimental music. His work is equally informed by his experience as a curator and promoter, as well as by collaborations with musicians from Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.

At the heart of Àbáse’s music lies the encounter between different musical traditions. From these influences, he develops a contemporary sonic language that brings together intricate rhythms, improvisational curiosity, and electronic production.