Artists
Esinam Dogbatse is a Belgian-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist based in Brussels. With her artist moniker ESINAM, she creates a musical world of her own, filled with rhythms, grooves, melodies and loops. As part of a MetX wild card, she’s developing the project ReBirth of Hope, which will be presented on the 23rd of June 2024 at Concertgebouw Brugge.
Already at a very young age, Esinam Dogbatse became fascinated by music, in particular by percussion instruments such as the tama or Talking Drums. The piano was her first main instrument, but for practical reasons when traveling, she soon opted for the flute. At the very start of her career, she joined Luc Mishalles gnawa jazz band Marockin’ Brass and played on their 2018 album Beats & Pieces.
The same year, ESINAM released her self-titled debut EP on Sdban Records. Favourably received by the press, the music sector and the public, she has been invited to play on famous stages like Eurosonic/Noorderslag (NL), Europavox (FR), Les Nuits Botanique (BE), Brussels Jazz Festival (BE), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (DK), Prague Music Festival (CZ), Jazz Re : Freshed (UK), Accra Jazz Festival (GH), Visa For Music (MA), Mithra Jazz Liège (BE), Gaume Jazz Festival (BE), Sfinksfestival (BE) or Gent Jazz Festival (BE).
Allowing herself to get carried away by rhythms and sound scapes, ESINAM succeeds in blending her soulful voice with traditional African percussion, adding electronic influences combined with sensible melodies and flute improvisations. Her compositions reveal traces from numerous geographical, cultural and musical influences, which she collected from her personal history and through various travels, encounters, tours and collaborations.
As a flutist and percussionist, she plays or has played in, amongst others, Kel Assouf, Témé Tan and Sysmo. She has also been solicited by Baloji, Ibaaku and Jaguar Jaguar for musical collaborations. ESINAM has been invited as opening act for international artists including Mélanie de Biasio, Alsarah & The Nubatones, Selah Sue, Moses Sumney and Mayra Andrade. In 2021 she released her debut album ‘Shapes in Twilights of Infinity’ via W.E.R.F. Records.
After starting her solo career as a “one woman band” – sampling and looping all instruments herself to build her tracks – she has recently invited other musicians to join her in order to have a full live band. In 2022 she has also started to collaborate with South African guitar-player, percussionist and vocalist Sibusile Xaba.
Still performing with both her solo and band set-up, ESINAM always unveils herself by orchestrating an authentic music full of poetry, with rhythms and melodies that make her a unique voice in today’s jazz-and-beyond scene, leaving no listener untouched.
In 2024, MetX and Concertgebouw Brugge are giving ESINAM carte blanche to create a brand new work on the theme of birth. Drawing on her West African inspirations, she will be working with other artists from different disciplines. Poetry, dance and music will have their place in this unique creation. An intriguing collaboration between disciplines and artists, coupled with the community arts project Toope Ajoyo with Beninese percussionist Ejaspapa Gnonlonfoun and his new group GanGan TNS.
