Okuté’s Okuté

Hailing from Havana, Okuté is a contemporary collective of the city’s finest rumberos driven by an Afrocentric conceptualization of Cuban music. Led by the haunting incantations of Pedro "Tata" Francisco Almeida Barriel (who is pictured on the album’s cover), the ensemble's self-titled debut finds the legendary Vizcaino family, Roberto Sr. and Roberto Jr., joined by Machito, Ramoncito, virtuoso trésero Coto and bassist Gaston Joya in a seance of tradition that illustrates the profound debt rumba holds to the music of West Africa. “Caridad,” “Chi Chi Ribako” and “Devuelvame La Voz” all seduce with polyrhythmic rapture, while the methodical meditations of “Quiere La Rumba” and “Rumbarimbula” hold the listener in a state of spiritual awe. By tapping into the cultural collective consciousness of rumba’s raw power and making it real to a new generation of listeners, Okuté is an aesthetic and musical achievement.

***

If you like Okuté, check out:

• Kologo by Alostmen

• Sonocardiogram by Daymé Arocena

• The Last Mambo by Cachao

• Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer by Ibrahim Ferrer

• Orquesta Akokán by Orquesta Akokán