Caracoles
Coming straight 'from the heart', Havana's Grammy-nominated Orquesta Akokán presents its "unique brand of mambo" with album number three on Daptone Records. Led by producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Plasse and virtuosic pianist, composer and arranger Michael Eckroth, "Caracoles" serves up another crisp helping of life-affirming mambo tunage, rooted in the past yet achored firmly in the 21st century. This novel record of theirs also showcases the exquisite vocal talents of Cuban lyricist, singer and composer Kiko Ruiz, who commands the stage in the story-telling spirit of legends such as Benny Moré, Perez Prado and Machito and with a rare swagger.
"While some songs [give recounts of] everyday Cuban life [...], Ruiz, a tata – or priest – informs his lyrics with a Palo Mayombe spirituality propelling the mambo back to its original meaning. Despite being popularized world-wide as a festive, light-spirited, danceable genre, mambo is not to be taken lightly in the Palo Mayombe religion. Mambo is both a song and a prayer, beseeching good spirits to guide one’s journey away from darkness," the release notes detail. "Two of the album’s songs – including the title tune – are in this [Congolese] dialect, designed to be impenetrable by the uninitiated. [Ruiz affirms that] the fierce, effervescent grooves [of ‘Caracoles'] can 'vibrate your soul, which is precisely what the world needs right now.'"
Fact is, everything on this album is in constant motion, from the band's tight-knit delivery to the triumphant vocal prowess of Kiko Ruiz, bound to keep listeners engaged and hips swinging. "Caracoles" is serious business, musically speaking, performed to infectiously danceable effect and appealing to the lighter, more joyous side of life. Percussive to the bone, horns blazing and grooves pumping, Ruiz does his thing to promote the swing. An entertainer in his natural habitat backed by an extraordinarily able and vital ensemble, there is no doubt in our mind that Orquesta Akokán are in it to win it. You can watch the music videos to album opener "Con Licencia" here and "Pan Con Tíbiri" below.
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