Coming from the Caribbean shores of Puerto Rico, ÌFÉ introduces their contemporary take on Cuban rumba in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Their name, ÌFÉ is the name of an ancient Yoruba city in Nigeria and if you did not know, the band sings Yoruba music. With electronic and dancehall influences, spirituality and culture is still retained from afro-cuban and Yoruba roots.
The band urbanizes traditional styles using electronic sounds and futuristic vocals. Playing 3 songs on their set: “House of Love (Ogbe Yekun)”, “Prayer for Oduduwa (Para Meceditas)”, “Bangah (Pico y Palo)”, the band uses an improvisational approach to perform. Otura Mun explains his ability to fuse percussion and electronic music by applying sensors and assigning sounds to acoustic congas.
The project ends their set with “Bangah”, a song about liberty. Mun dedicates it to those in Puerto Rico who are fighting to free themselves from colonialism. Below you watch ÌFÉ’s entire Tiny Desk Concert.
You can catch ÌFÉ at Echoplex on May 10th at The Regent with DJ Raul Campos!
