Rosie Bergonzi
Boubakiki
‘an ethereal fluid blend of international flavours’ – Trust The Doc (2019)
Boubakiki is a duo of saxophone (Joe Steele) and handpan (Rosie Bergonzi) formed in 2017, having met whilst undertaking a traineeship in music leading with award-winning arts charity Spitalfields Music. For this unusual combination of instruments, Joe and Rosie play mostly material which they have devised themselves through improvisation and collaborative composition. Utilising the full colour palette of their soundworld, Boubakiki create highly varied music, from atmospheric, serene textures to upbeat earworms, drawing influence from classical, jazz, folk and non-Western musical traditions.
In January 2018 Boubakiki released their self-titled debut EP (available on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music), featuring four new pieces utilising the Db F minor handpan. More recently they have been exploring new directions with the use of other handpans (Rav Vast) and creating innovative arrangements of existing pieces, which both complement and contrast with their own material.
They are thrilled to have been invited to join Live Music Now, a scheme that brings music into unusual venues. Boubakiki love to put on interactive concerts with audiences of all ages invited to engage however they like.