Her voice leaves no-one indifferent. Slightly rugged and at the same time soft. Sensual and also sad. BUIKA, or María Concepción Balboa Buika, is an artists who has helped build the multicultural and multidimensional structures of art. She oscillates between different genres of music: jazz, soul, reggae, afrobeat and r'n'b, flavoring them with a characteristic flamenco accent. She will sing during the final of the MUSIC.DESIGN.FORM Festival on September 23rd, participating in the creation of a musical story about the famous woman with a beard – Julia Pastrana.
BUIKA is a singer, composer, producer of her own albums and a poet, who has the unique ability to make music without limitations. She was born in Majorca but is the daughter of Equatoguinean parents of the Bubi tribe. Immersed and surrounded by multiple cultures throughout her life, and the variety of musical influences from African high live “Soukous / Makossa” to jazz, flamenco, pop, r’n’b, soul and folk, she once affirmed, “My mother would listen and dance to many musical genres, she had a great record collection”.
BUIKA is a two time Grammy nominee, the latest in the category of ‘Best World music album of the year’ at the 60th ceremony on January 2018 (New York). On NPR music radio she earned an honorable place on their ’50 Best voices of all time’ list, while the newspapers hail her artistic activity:. New York Times, The NewYorker, Ebony, El confidencial, Metro, Daily Mail, El Pais, BBC World and CNN.
She has collaborated with many recognizable artists, including Seal, Nelly Furtado, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Nitin Sawhey, Charles Aznavour, Jason Mraz, Martin Terefe, Aparatjik, Niño Josele, Mariza, Bebo and Chucho Valdes, Luz Casal, Daniel Moorehead, Jose Luis Perales and Armando Manzanero.
The effect of her cooperation with Apparatjik will be heard during the concert "A Heroine for our time – the artist Julia Pastrana", which will close the MUSIC.DESIGN.FORM festival on September 23rd at the Philharmonic in Szczecin. It will be the world premiere of an orchestral version of the song "Heroine of our time," based on musical material for the upcoming opera about the tragic life of the Mexican circus artist Julia Pastrana. The story about the peculiar woman with a beard, her fate and loneliness will be told by the artists: BUIKA – vocal, Apparatjik (Jonas Bjerre, Magne Furuholmen, Martin Terefe), Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Rune Bergmann – conductor. A strong musical experience is guaranteed.
Tickets for paid events taking place within the MDF Festival can be purchased online at
mdf.filharmonia.szczecin.pl,
filharmonia.szczecin.pl,
bilety24.pl, as well as directly at the Ticket Office of the Philharmonic in Szczecin. Until July 29, pre-sales of tickets at a lower price will be held.