Caracoles catapults the (GRAMMY Award-nominated) Orquesta Akokán's unique mambo sound into the 21st century, giving it the group's signature sense of akokan - a Cuban Yoruba word meaning 'from the heart.'

Returning to the fold are producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Plasse and virtuoso pianist, composer and arranger Michael Eckroth. On this, their third album, they combine their talents with Cuban lyricist, singer and composer Kiko Ruiz, who has toured and recorded with Pancho Amat's famous Estrellas del Buena Vista Social Club, but also has extensive experience as a singer, composer and arranger with the Orquesta Maria Alejandra y Cubanía. And although Caracoles is from the present day, the sounds reach far back in time, representing a glorious return to the iconic grooves of an era marked by Benny Moré, Perez Prado and Machito in New York bands and Cuba's Orquestas Gigantes in the mid-twentieth century. Mambo is both a song and a prayer, imploring the good spirits to guide the journey away from darkness. Two of the album's songs - including the title track - are in this Congolese dialect, which is said to be impenetrable to the uninitiated. The wild, effervescent grooves of Caracoles, says Ruiz, can "...make the soul vibrate, and that's exactly what the world needs right now."

Limited edition in OCEAN BLUE vinyl.

TRACKS:

SIDE A
1. Con Licencia 2. Pan Con Tibiri 3. Caracoles 4. Suave Suave 5. Cha-Cha-Cha Pa'ca

SIDE B
6. La Fiera 7. Pregonero 8. Las Sieta Vidas Da Inés 9. Flor De Mi Campo 10. Dona Felipa