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The history of the Stuttgart band Tokame (in German: touch me) is connected in a special way with the musician and bandleader Branko Arnsek from Slovenia. Also on the new album Eres la tierra mas linda lets the joint venture Tokame with his mixture of timba, rumba, merengue and purebred Cuban salsa in the style of Los Van Van the dance leg.
The salsa orchestra, which has been in existence since 2002, presents the traditional Cuban music styles without fashionable bells and whistles. Authencity is the instrumentation. In addition to bass, the Cuban guitar Tres, in addition to two trumpets, trombone and saxophone give the timbales and congas in the truest sense of the word the clock. The musicians from Cuba, who live in Germany and Switzerland, improvise with relaxed nonchalance, shaking complicated tone sequences loosely from the instruments. Bonds from percussive Latin jazz, funk and American rock music also flowed in. Living in London Aquilla Fearon, Michel Valdes Martinez and the Berlin-based Cuban Mayelis Guyat alternate in their role as a lead singer. Like many other Cuban salsa orchestras, Tokame combines elegance and energy, lightness and power. Threatening to bring up too much emotion, they are playfully held back and dubbed with the ease of being.
With their mixture of Cuban salsa, Son and funky Mambo Tokame can make the dance leg twitch but also appeal to the heart. And they bring a concert hall with their rhythms and lively alternating singing to simmer. Partying, dancing together and having fun - that's Branko Arnsek's first and foremost duty.
Jürgen spit