MUSICAL SEAFARERS

Ayom are musical seafarers who traverse the Black Atlantic from Brazil to Angola and Cape Verde with a distinctly Mediterranean identity. Their sound is a mix of Brazilian, Tropical, Afrolatin, and Afrolusitan sounds played with irresistible swing, like tropical sun penetrating grey clouds. However, it’s also influenced by the cosmopolitan energies of Lisbon and Barcelona, where the group’s musicians have made their homes.

The project was born when Jabu Morales met Alberto Becucci and Timoteo Grignani in Barcelona. Together, they started to compose new music that fuses Brazilian rhythms with rhythms from all over the world. They recorded the first album during a week in an old Portuguese house in the countryside.

The name, Ayom, refers to the “Lord of Music'' that, in Afro-Brazilian mythology (Candomblè), exists in the tambor and taught humans to play music and sing. Blending century-old traditions with the black and rhythmical language of Lusophone cultures, Ayom provides a hot-stepping and spiritual voyage across the African diaspora. Thus, musicality flourishes nomadic, profound, provocative, and dancing, where tradition and contamination, male and female, poetry and energy, joy and engagement coexist.

AYOM’s power, originality, and poetry emerge from the weaving together of its band members: Jabu Morales, with an incredible voice, great percussionist skills, and deep knowledge of Brazilian rhythms; Alberto Becucci, an Italian accordion player and music arranger with a Mediterranean and poetic touch; Timoteo Grignani, a Greek-Italian percussionist and researcher of Latin American rhythms; Ricardo Quinteira, an Angolan guitarist specialized in African grooves and Flamenco; and Walter Martins, an Angolan musician and DJ. Additionally, Francesco Valente is the bass player, specializing in Brazilian and Afro music.

MUSICIANS

Jabu Morales: Voice and percussion

Alberto Becucci: Accordeon

Timoteo Grignani: Percussion

Walter Martins: Percussion

Ricardo Quinteria: Guitar

Francesco Valente: Bass