Cantos

Description

Born on the lands of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, the Yoruba religion based on the worship of the orishas is the origin of Caribbean voodoo cults and the Cuban santería also known as La Regla de Ocha. Arriving in the 16th century with enslaved people, these cults, where each god has its color, developed to become the center of Afro-Cuban culture celebrated notably by the batá drums that artists like Chano Pozo would later bring to New York to confront jazz. New York-based Yoruba percussionist and priest Abraham ‘Aby’ Rodriguez has decided to revive the rituals of santería with the Okonkolo project. After Rezos, a first EP released in 2016 on Big Crown Records, the combo enchants us with nine new hypnotic and transcendental incantations gathered on the album Cantos. Faithful to the rituals of Santería, the drums (Batá / Coro) are at the center of all offerings. These traditional and sacred percussions are played by Rodriguez, Gene Golden, and Xavier Rivera while the ecstatic Yoruba chants are performed by Amma McKen, Jadele McPherson, and Abraham ‘Aby’ Rodriguez. This spiritual journey benefits from the jazz production and arrangements of Jacob Plasse, a figure of today's Latin sound in NYC and producer of the neo-mambo group Orquesta Akokán. Cantos is a modern and thrilling musical hybrid where the trance of the percussions and chants is propelled by the powerful groove of bassist Nick Movshon, all intensifying with breathless orchestrations inviting saxophones and a string ensemble.