Who we are

Dear Visitor,

My name is Hughes José Gallez,

Music has always played a central part in my life since I was a child. I started playing the guitar and singing at age 12 by taking classes at Rock’s Cool. At 15, I received my first drums which I started to play self-taught. This approach enabled me to sharpen my musical ear and to develop my memory, creativity and spontaneity. I consider myself an eclectic musician as I play various musical styles. ​

In 2014 I started playing the drums for Mellow Steez and together, we played many gigs. I took part in the composition and musical arrangement of several songs and in their recording in a professional studio. ​

From 2016 to 2024, I studied music theory and drums at “Conservatoire Balthasar Florence” of Namur. I am honored to have been taught by David Lomazzi, among other wonderful teachers. David himself studied with Laurent Mercier, Juan Carlos Rosquete, Antoine Cirri, Marek Patrman, Bruno Castellucci, Thierry Gutmann, Pirly Zurstrassen, Guy Cabay, Arnould Massart, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Jessica Ryckewaert, Franck Filosa, Franck Agulhon and many more fabulous teachers & musicians. David is also a graduate from “École Supérieure Nationale Dante Agostini” of Paris. Thanks to his rigorous & positive teaching, I developed a structured work ethic, I improved my technique and I could finally understand, read and interpret partitions.​

In 2019, I took classes with Stephan Pougin and Bilou Doneux.

From 2019 to 2022 I taught drums and music theory at La Ronde Des Musiciens in Namur.

In 2021, I invented the ABEL Rhythmic Alphabet©. A rhythmic alphabet is a musical learning system that assigns specific rhythmic patterns to letters, allowing all musicians—particularly drummers—to read, practice, and combine rhythms as if they were spelling words, speaking a language. Since the main rhythmic patterns (1, 2, 3, 4) of my rhythmic alphabet fall on the letters A, B, E and L, I decided to call it ABEL.

In 2022, I created ABEL Rhythm Dominoes ® with the aim of making learning music as fun and accessible as possible.

I drew my inspiration from renowned educators such as Carl Wilhelm Grimm, Phil Perkins, Joe Bergamini, Benny Greb, Udo Dahmen, Jaki Liebezeit, Gary Chaffee, Mark Guiliana, Dante Agostini, George Lawrence Stone, David Lomazzi and many others.

In 2023 I took classes of Music Pedagogy provided by “Institut Royal Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie” & HÉNALLUX.

In 2024, I moved to Los Angeles, California and I obtained the Sabian Education Network Certificate from Joe Bergamini & Andy Zildjian.

During my professional career I had the immense chance to collaborate and play with very talented artists and bands like Escale, Mélanie Duchesne, Ziza Youssouf, Oded Kafri and many others.

I’ve also had the privilege of taking master classes with Angelo Moustapha and Bruno Castellucci and following drum clinics with Leyan Senay, Anika Nilles, Will Calhoun, Kaz Rodriguez, Benny Greb & Virgil Donati.

In addition I collaborate with Legendary Drummer, Producer, Music Director, Artist Development Expert & CEO of ATM productions, Alvin Taylor who is now my mentor.

I am delighted to announce my official partnership with Oded Kafri for this new year 2026!

Thanks for reading. I wish you all the best.

Hughes José [Abel] Gallez