HAPE Collective is a platform that promotes cultural exchange through barrier-breaking musical encounters
Caracas / Milano
In December 2022, an extraordinary meeting took place in Caracas, Venezuela. Italian producer Go Dugong (Giulio Fonseca) and Venezuelan musician Washé (Carlos Conde) crossed paths, bound by an invisible thread of shared artistic vision.
Though they had never met before, both artists were deeply inspired by the rituals and rhythms of ancient cultures, crafting music that honored the ethereal and transcendental. HAPE Collective brought them together, setting the stage for an unprecedented collaboration.
Florence
On Friday, 22nd September 2023, in Florence, HAPE Collective presented "Havana Meets Florence," a musical gathering of extraordinary talents in celebration of the connection between the two cities:
Caracas / Milano
Caracas es en ebullición. Después de años de crisis, múltiples generaciones musicales resurgen de la hibernación forzada con propuestas frescas y profundas, movimientos de mestizos rebeldes y el deseo de construir nuevas visiones, a partir de la cultura…
Americas, Africa, Europe
We continue on our quest to bring people closer with music. After some quiet time, HAPE returned to Havana, N’Djamena, Brussels and recently landed in Caracas.
HAPE takes part in the 2021 edition of Cubalandz
Havana, Cuba
On May 20th, HAPE Collective, from Havana's Estudio50, presented "Descarga Live from Havana".
This live ticketed online concert featured artists shaping Cuba's new dance and urban sound, in an interplay between live and electronic performances!
On May 20th HAPE Collective, from Havana's Estudio50, presents: "Descarga Live from Havana". The online concert features artists shaping Cuba's new dance and urban sound.
The one-hour concert will present performances by:
N’Djamena, Chad
Lowup and HAPE Collective are proud to present this double A-sided EP, an unexpected Afro European collaboration between Tchad based MC FTP and Italian producer, DJ and musician Go Dugong.
Both up-tempo rollers combine the conscious urban swag and ‘francam’ (French Cameroonian) lingo of young Cameroon born and Ndjamena-based MC FTP with Go Dugong’s production mixing traditional African balafon and drumming with thumping Afro-trap beats.
Americas, Africa, Europe
2020 challenged the ways we interact, make and experience music.
It brought obstacles to the cultural connections between Americas, Africa and Europe we feel passionate about.
Yet, we are happy to see that the HAPE family around the globe is alive more than ever, working on new ideas and staying creative.
Technology may have allowed us to stay connected but after the distancing, coming together again will fill the void.
Our journey will continue, and we hope you will continue being part of it.
In the meantime, here are some highlights from 2020!
Florence, Italy, 29th August 2020
On Saturday 29th August in Florence New Generation Festival & HAPE Collective invited the public to the closing of ReGeneration Festival presenting John Swing at the Manifattura Tabacchi.
The ReGeneration Festival (#ReGen) was an unprecedented four-day programme of socially-distanced concerts and productions running from 26 to 29 August at the landmark Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens in Florence which was offered to audiences entirely for free while also being streamed live online.
The World, 17 May 2020
In the midst of these strange times, we celebrated the 4 year anniversary of our collective wanting to pay tribute to all the incredible collaborations, musical discoveries, and, above all, friendships built along the way, spanning North and South, East and West.
On Sunday May 17 we joined our friends at Dumba Nengue - a growing pan-African community…
Out on April 27th, ‘Confinement’ (French for lockdown) – a new song by our friends at Pulo NDJ and a living testimony of how the lockdown is seen in West Africa.
Check out confinement on Bandcamp [LINK]. All proceeds of digital sales will go entirely to the band members to help them sustain themselves throughout this difficult time until they are able to return to N’djamena.
Havana, Cuba, 6 March 2020
On March 6th, another very special HAPE event took place in the Casa de Cultura Joseíto Fernández in Centro Habana, presenting fantastic artists, some, for the first time:
Havana, Cuba, 31 January 2020
On January 31st HAPE returned to the Castillo de Los Jardines de La Tropical, a castle built in 1911 inspired by the Alhambra in Granada and its Nasrid style. Special thanks for the beautiful night go to the artists:
Cuba, US, Africa, Europe
Los inicios de año son el momento perfecto para mirar hacia atrás y para ver por dónde los últimos meses nos han llevado…
El colectivo HAPE nació en La Habana a inicios del 2016. La idea era crear una plataforma, donde música y artistas alternativos pudieran estar descubiertos por una audiencia con ganas de algo nuevo.
La cantidad de talentos con los cuales Cuba cuenta, el rumbo constante de DJs, los maravillosos lugares que la ciudad ofrece, y sobretodo el público: esos ingredientes hicieron de La Habana una tierra muy fértil para desarrollar el proyecto
Cuba, US, Africa, Europe
The beginning of the year is a good time for everyone to look back at their journey and where it took them...
HAPE Collective started in Havana in the spring of 2016 from the idea of creating a platform where alternative music and artists could be discovered by an audience hungry for something new. The vast musical talent, the turn-over of DJs visiting, the beautiful locations that the city has to offer, and most importantly the audience, made Havana a very fertile ground for this idea.
Havana, Cuba
Joao Del Monte, anteriormente conocido como « Joao PG Lagarto », es un artista que hemos llegado a conocer muy bien, gracias a sus varias colaboraciones con HAPE.
Desde su primer concierto, con su energía contagiosa y su carisma magnético, siempre ha logrado cautivar al público, en particular con « Machetero ». Esta canción fue producida con Wichy de Vedado, DJ pionero de las primeras horas de la escena de música electrónica de La Habana y talentoso productor, capaz de mezclar varios sonidos y estilos musicales, de ayer y de hoy.
Hip-hop, jazz, salsa clásica, electrónica moderna, todos se entrelazan con armonía en esta canción, la banda sonora de la juventud melómana e inquieta de La Habana.
Havana, Cuba, 16 November 2019
On November 16th, HAPE celebrated Havana’s 500th birthday in the Casa de Cultura Joseíto Fernández in Centro Habana, a venue part of the architectural and historic heritage of the city. It did so with a U.S. & Cuba line-up
Brussels, Belgium, Summer 2019
The HAPE Brussels crew hosted some old and new friends during the summer season, swinging back and forth from Chez Ta Mère to Woodpecker in Parc Central. DJ Wait&See and DJ Zwalla have welcomed them with groove as opening and closing acts.
After a break in preparation of PULO NDJ’s Africa tour, HAPE BXL will come back in 2020 with other hidden gems from Europe, Africa and Latin America, trying to placate your thirst of new musical discoveries!
Havana, Cuba, 14 September, 2019
On September 14th, HAPE returned to Havana after summer stops in Venice, Brussels and N’Djamena, presenting a formidable line-up at Escuela Cubana de Wushu, in the heart of China town.
Havana, Cuba, 21 June 2019
On June 21st in Havana’s Santa Fe area, HAPE celebrated its III birthday with an international line-up in a garden by the sea. THE COMADR3 SELECTA, Colombian DJ living in NYC, opened with a 100% vynil set, mixing boogaloo, salsa and reggae. Having just returned to Havana from a tour that took him to Colombia and Germany - passing by HAPE Brussels - El Individuo presented together with DJ Lapiz and JD Asere songs from his latest EP, including new collaborations, such as his latest single Luz.
Brussels, Belgium, 15 June 2019
For the second time, HAPE participated in Cubalandz - Festival of contemporary Cuban art.
This year, HAPE Collective presented one of its favourite DJs in Havana: DJ Cami Laye Okun and her funky Afro-Cuban groove, followed by the frenetic beats of DJ SebCat of Rebel Up! Collective
Ndjamena, Chad, 10 June 2019
5 stars review on Songlines, mentions and interviews on the Guardian, BBC, RFI, Rai Radio2... and airplays in more than 25 countries! Two months after the release of Desert to Douala, we are mesmerised by the success of Pulo NDJ’s debut album. And if you have not listened to it, or want to check what the media have said about it, here you can find all the reviews, radio shows and podcasts who talked about us.
Brussels, 8 June 2019
Giraffes & Penguins and HAPE collective joined forces for a night of underground african and hip-shaking dancehall vibes with legendary DJ/producer Poirier (CA) and DjDoctor Pepper Jamaica (JM/BE) !
Miami, USA, 5 May 2019
Together with CubaOne and CET HAPE has presented Creativas2 , a unique meet-up event that will bring four of Havana’s brightest women entrepreneurs to the Miami Light Project on Sunday, May 5th, at 3pm.
Lauren Fajardo, Cristina Figueroa, May Reguera and Marta Deus presented a topic of their work and its impact on a new generation of Cubans in Havana.
N’Djamena, Chad, 29 March 2019
Announcing our first album, Pulo NDJ's "From Desert To Douala" - a collaborative record between Nickodemus, HAPE & a group of local musicians recorded in N'djamena, Chad. Our friends at Afropop Worldwide have the very first taste of the album with "Clandoman" - an uplifting track paying homage to the Taxi Motorcycle drivers in Chad's dusty capital.
Preview & Pre-Order Digital, 2x7" pack or CD -->
https://wonderwheelrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/desert-to-douala
Brussels, Belgium 16 March 2019
Rebel Up and HAPE Collective joined forces on 16 March to organise a night of fresh afrobeats & tropical dancefloor madness, with a heavy international cast, presenting two new albums! A Belgian première!
Havana, Cuba, 16 March 2019
HAPE, Friends of Havana and Estudio50, presented “La Habana Creativa”.
The event celebrated the closing of “Hablemos de Las Industrias Creativas de La Habana”, two days of talks and work-shops, where international experts discussed with the Cuban counterpart about the ways of unleashing the potential of Havana’s creative economies
OUR STORY
HAPE Collective started in Havana in the spring of 2016 from the idea of creating a platform where alternative music and artists could be discovered by an audience hungry for something new.
The vast musical talent, the turn-over of DJs visiting, the beautiful locations that the city has to offer, and most importantly the audience, made Havana a very fertile ground for this idea.
The events organically evolved into a network promoting "club culture" and musical experimentation through collaborations between Cuban and international artists.
Later, we exported the spirit of HAPE's events outside of Cuba. HAPE is now represented in the U.S., Chad, Italy and Belgium.
Through our association based in Brussels, Latitude8, we create spaces for collaborations and creativity, focusing on the exploration of new forms of musical expressions, at the crossway between tradition and contemporary.
“Cuba es Tropical… Seamos Tropicalistas”
ése era uno de los varios lemas elegidos por Las Cerverias “La Tropical y Tívoli”, la compañía que creo unas de las más conocidas marcas de cerveza cubana.
La Historia de Los Jardines empieza con la adquisición de la Tropical por Cosme Blanco Herrera en el 1897