The Palestinian-Syrian singer Abo Gabi was born in Syria.
Abo Gabi graduated in journalism and media from Damascus University. He also studied voice and eastern music, improvisation and the origins of eastern mystic singing with professors from Syria, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asia. He has recorded two solo albums, ‘Hejaz harb’ (2014) and ‘Taksier Sharki’ (2015), and has received numerous accolades, most notably the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press (Beirut) in 2015 and the Grand Prix at the Kélibia International Festival (Turkey) in 2016. He teaches singing in Nantes and since 2016 has participated in the Orpheus XXI project with immigrant and refugee musicians, under the baton of Jordi Savall.
His residency at the Abbey de Fontevraud in 2020 sought to develop a project on the theme of the traditional Arab song mawwāl, linking it with the colours of jazz, electronic and classical music while preserving its traditional characteristics and its need for space dedicated to improvisation. He aimed to combine these aesthetics with excerpts from Western classical music and to experiment with this fusion, adding his voice to musicians playing oud, percussion, cello and piano.