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April 6th Orquesta Akokan

Akokan is a Yoruba word used by Cubans to mean from the soul. The sixteen piece big band Orquesta Akokan brings original songs with an old school mambo sound to New York’s Daptone Records. They couldn’t afford to record the album in New York so they came together in the legendary Areito studio in Havana. The band brings some of Cuba’s most ferocious musicians together with stars of New York's latin music scene, as well as veteran vocalist Jose Pepito Gomez. Orquesta Akokan’s album reminds us that the roots of Cuban music are stronger than ever and continuing to spread.