Sababa 5, Tel Aviv’s funkiest export, upgrade their signature Middle Eastern psychedelic funk with the addition of Hoodna Orchestra’s dynamic brass section, another essential 45 from Batov Records’ Middle Eastern Groove series.
Labeled by the likes of Truth & Lies as a “serious contender in the world of instrumental funk”, Sababa 5 have created a modern sound, fusing funk, disco, and psychedelic rock with a wide range of Middle Eastern influences, culminating in last year’s acclaimed self-titled debut album.
Named after their new studio address on the border of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, “Eilat 22” & “Elifelet 23” spring from the same sessions that delivered us the enormous ‘Funk #1 / Funk #2’ 45, as championed by the Nostalgia King, Skeme Richards, BBC Radio 6 Music host, Huey Morgan, and influential music portal, Music Is My Sanctuary.
Sababa 5’s tight-as-ever instrumental grooves are enriched by the bright bass sounds of The Hoodna Orchestra brass section, comprising Bar Ashkenazi on trumpet, Eylon Tushiner on tenor, and Elad Gelert on baritone saxophone. Hoodna are renown for their energetic take on Afrobeat, and have been touring and recording recently with Ethio jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, and here they supply a touch of JB’s meets Africa ‘70 energy.
On “Eilat 22” the Sababa 5 rhythm section of Raz Man on drums and Amir Sadot on bass is in full funk force, supporting a vibrant hook from the Hoodna brass section, leaving room for solos from guitarist Ilan Smilan and synth mage Eitan Drabkin, full of Middle Eastern flavour.
On the flip “Eiffelet 23” grooves along like a Dap Kings funk nugget, except in this case there’s room for Eitan to improvise across the jam with a microtonal organ sound reminiscent of legendary Egyptian musician Magdi el-Husseini.
Due for full release on vinyl and digital on 2 June, “Eilat 22” & “Elifelet 23” open another page in Sababa 5’s rapidly diverse and ever-engaging discography, with two songs destined to head light up dancefloors over the coming months.
credits
released June 2, 2023
Eilat 22 composed by Ilan Smilan
Elifelet 23 composed by Ilan Smilan and Eitan Drabkin
Keys - Eitan Drabkin
Guitar - Ilan Smilan
Bass - Amir Sadot
Drums - Raz Man
supported by 63 fans who also own “Eilat 22 / Elifelet 23”
Every track is Anatolian fire. If you’ve arrived here by chance, it’s not by chance. You were destined to discover the ecstatic psychedelic joy of this record and to snap it up before the last 11 are sold Gareth Fitzpatrick
