Get the latest gossip
Orquesta Akokán: Caracoles review – joyous Cuban dancehall
This hugely danceable reboot of the 1950s Cuban sound features slick solos and a Palo Mayombe priest on vocals
Signed to Daptone, a label that has helped reanimate the soul music of a previous era, Orquesta Akokán have done much the same for the big-band styles of 1950s Cuba, when the likes of Perez Prado and Benny Moré bossed Havana’s dancehalls. Purring reed and strident brass sections, rippling piano and exultant vocals are here, along with insistent, conga-driven rhythms, all overseen by producer Jacob Plasse and pianist Michael Eckroth. On this third album comes a charismatic new singer and lyricist, Kiko Ruiz, who is also a priest in the Palo Mayombe religion, and whose mix of ritual and dance moves is captured in the video for Con Licencia.
Or read this on The Guardian