Release date: 23 April 2022, Record Store Day
Djabe held a surprising premiere concert on March 20, 2019. They played their 1998 Witchi Tai To album, because a remixed and remastered, double vinyl version was released, earlier in 2018, for the album’s 20th anniversary. The record was cut at half-speed at the Abbey Road Studios in London from brand new analogue master tapes. The lacquer master discs were cut by the world-famous Miles Showell. The 45 RPM vinyl record was unveiled, with great success, at the 2018 Budapest Hi-Fi Show.
Witchi Tai To is one of the band’s most successful albums to date. Simultaneously with its appearance, Djabe exploded into Hungarian music life. In addition to success among the audience, the original double CD and single LP also received the Golden Giraffe Award from the Association of Hungarian Record Publishers as World Music album of the year. The second disc of the dual CD contained multimedia content for computer playback, created by the interactive division of Abbey Road Studios. This happened to be a world novelty then.
Tamás Barabás, who recorded the album, remixed Witchi Tai To in 2014 using the original multitrack tapes, and also created a surround mix for the release of the DVD-Audio. A year later, the Djabe: Witchi Tai To mediabook was released, which included the 2014 remixed audio on CD and DVD-Audio in the form of an LP-sized 64-page book. In addition to these, a full CD of extra remixes, concert and rehearsal recordings were included in the book, as well as a DVD of the Witchi Tai To Tour concert film, previously released on VHS tape, recorded at the 1998 tour, with plenty of visual extras.
And for the 20th anniversary, a new double LP was released. Encouraged by the success of the release, Djabe organized a premiere concert at MOMKult. Ferenc Muck, from the original line-up, was called on stage, and András Sipos walso appeared, through video recordings.
The 1998 big hits Coffee Break, Djabe and Visions were also performed at the concert. And with the premiere of Early Mornig, there was a composition that the band never played live, not even on the 1998 debut tour.
In the second half of the concert, after the introduction of the Witchi Tai To album, the band played from the then current Flow album, in which Ferenc Muck also participated.
Ferenc Muck – saxophone
András Sipos – vocal, percussion (from video recordings)
Attila Égerházi – guitar, percussion, vocal
Tamás Barabás – bass guitar, double bass
Áron Koós-Hutás – trumpet, flugelhorn
Péter Kaszás – drums, vocal
János Nagy – keyboards
Side A
1. Visions 4:04
2. Djabe 2:46
3. Early Morning Snow 8:20
4. Coffee Break 6:56
5. Gallop 3:49
24:57
Side B
1. Venezia 0:58
2. Witchi Tai To 7:22
3. Curved Mirror 5:19
4. Another Dive 6:21
5. Final Word 4:48
24:48
The release of the LP was scheduled by the band for April 23, 2022, the International Record Store Day, supporting record stores.
The CD+DVD digipak album released on 3rd of March. 2022.
You can order here: https://djabe.hu/en/uzlet/djabe-witchi-tai-to-live-2019-cd-dvd-gr-155/