Orquesta Akokán - Orquesta Akokán (The Instrumentals) (Daptone)
Add Date: 06/18/2019
FCC: Clean
Focus Tracks: 6, 10, & 1
Formats: Hip Hop, Jazz, Latin, & World
Artist Info: Critically-acclaimed as one of the best albums of 2018, Gammy-nominated Orquesta Akokán’s self-titled debut release for the venerable soul label Daptone Records – the label’s first Spanish language album – was a transformative and modern mambo recording that exquisitely captured the spirit of pre-revolutionary Cuba by today’s foremost Cuban musicians. On June 14th the Instrumental versions of their debut will be released digitally on Daptone.
The powerhouse big band collective also returns to the United States for its biggest tour to date, following its recent blockbuster sets at NYC’s globalFEST and a headlining performance at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In June & July 2019, Orquesta Akokán gets audiences up on their feet for raucous dance parties at a series of venerable venues throughout the West Coast, Southwest, the Rockies, the South, and East Coast.
Hailing straight out of Havana, Cuba, Orquesta Akokán is a fierce orchestra of deeply soulful mambo reminiscent of Benny Moré, Pérez Prado, and La Banda Gigante of the 1940's and 1950's. Orquesta Akokán boasts an all-original lineup of compositions recorded at the historic state-run Estudios Areito with a multi-generational cast of Cuba's finest players. The album is led by the inimitable singer José "Pepito" Gómez with incendiary arrangements by Michael Eckroth, and it was produced by Chulo Records' Jacob Plasse. The ferocious wind and rhythm sections of Orquesta Akokán consist of musicians from storied groups including Irakere, NG La Banda, and Los Van Van. Robust, time-tested musical architectures of son cubano and mambo are honored and contemporized through a synthesis of the rich compositional styles of Havana, New York, and beyond.