Tabanka

Energetic and festive funaná from Cape Verde. Tabanka is a fresh Cape Verdean group from Rotterdam, whose music has been inspired by that of Cape Verdean artists from an older generation, such as Code di Dona, Bulimundo, Américo Brito and of course Bitori. The group has an energizing and contemporary take on funaná: the upbeat, energetic and festive music and dance style, once forbidden by the Portuguese colonial rulers, that became part of post-independence Cape Verdean identity in the eighties. Funaná was derived from the music from the descendants of slaves, mixed with contemporary pop and jazz. The base of the funaná are the diatonic accordion (gaita) and the rasping sound of the ferrinho, a notched metal bar played as a Caribbean guiro.