Baum x Seye Adelekan (Aarhus, Denmark) July 01, 2022. Baum Guitars and Seye Adelekan (Musician, artist, composer and bassist for Gorillaz live band) have officially announced the release of the Thunder Bass™ – A pink signature bass crafted for the charismatic low frequency slinger to extend and express his thunderous energy on stage. “I want people to leave a show with a smile on their face. And I just know that some kid is coming to see a show for the first time and see this bass – and their eyes are going to pop out of their head, and it is just going to be such a memorable moment. At the end of the day, it is about making good memories for people.” Seye Adelekan

Seye Adelekan is not only a multi-instrumentalist, but a multifaceted artist. Currently playing the bass in the Gorillaz live band (since 2017). Previously, Seye was a part of the musical collective Africa Express, and has also toured with/recorded with musicians such as KT Tunstall, The Noisettes, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Emili Sandé, Birdy, Mumford and Sons, and Paloma Faith.

Outside of this, Seye writes film score, such as the feature length documentary called Tough Bond, or for brands like Harley Davidson. Besides music, Seye has co-written a short story with his brother Olugbenga Adelekan in association with Dr. Martens, and he frequently hosts on the Boogaloo radio show.

Carefully selected by Seye Adelekan himself, the pink Thunder Bass™ is crafted of a solid and lightweight mahogany body, one-piece maple neck and a dark rosewood fretboard with a signature lightning strike inlay across 11th to 13th fret. Sporting 22 frets, 34” scale length, 12” fretboard radius and the original Baum C shape, the new Thunder bass feels like an old friend.

Its playful lightning bolt pickguard and inlay reflects the immense energy that Seye delivers onstage to put a smile on your face. The Thunder Bass™ is the first announcement of the trademarked Wingman-design by Baum in a four-string bass version.

Elaborating on the design, Seye Adelekan says: “I like simplicity. I love the sound of the pick-ups, but I just wanted one. Because with just one pickup, one volume knob and one tone knob are just less complicated. And then it is more on the person who’s playing the instrument to bring something to it. It can do anything, and that is what you get when you can make it really, really simple. It reflects the player. And I’m really, really glad to say that this guitar does that” Seye Adelekan, 2022. Photo by Jens Peter Engedal.

The Thunder’s heart is the single rumbling Goldsound® pick-up designed to merge simplicity with versatility by capturing and extending the nuances and details in Seye’s style. Adelekan is constantly switching his right-hand technique from thumbing, finger styling or picking the strings to bring out the different voicings.
Other design details are the contoured cutaway to grant uncompromised access to the upper frets, the Wave™ headstock shape, Schaller tuners and bridge, CTS pots and a set of 45-105 Stringjoy strings. The Thunder bass™ weighs 4,0 KG. “Seye has an incredible sense for how design and music are closely intertwined when creating a memorable event to people during a live show,” says Morten Bau, Founder, Master Builder and CPO of Baum Guitars. “And while the Thunder may seem simple with its single pickup, it completely makes sense when you experience how Seye moves around during a show and needs all the dynamics from his fingers, and not switches, knobs or similar. It is minimalistic, and thus so versatile.”

The pink Thunder Bass™ is crafted in the Baum Custom shop in Aarhus, Denmark.
Seye Adelekan, 2022. Photo by Yuri Souza Seye Adelekan and The Thunder Bass™ is currently touring the world playing stages all around South America, Europe, Australia, and the US with the Gorillaz Live band. For full specifications, pictures, and more please visit www.baumguitars.com and Baum Guitars’ YouTube Channel, likewise also follow @baumguitars on Instagram and Facebook. Video interview with Seye Adelekan and video demos are releasing today via various channels.
About Baum Guitars Danish origin. Played worldwide. Baum is a Danish brand designing and manufacturing high-quality instruments in Aarhus, Denmark. Led by design and guitar connoisseurs, the Baum team design, and crafts a variety of guitars and basses rooted in Danish design and modern instrument crafts. The Baum signature is new, yet feels so familiar. Baum crafts custom instruments in our own workshop in Aarhus, Denmark. The Original Series and VEGA Series complement the Danish-made guitars and basses by offering more accessible and approachable Baum instruments designed in the Danish Custom Shop and crafted in South Korea and Indonesia. Each Baum guitar comes with the classic Baum proprietary elements: Goldsound® pickups, Levitator™ Roller-bridge and a Baum Modern C Neck. Baum quantifies niche. The Danish way.