The Garifuna Collective 
Aban
Kobo Town || Carnival of the GhostsThe Garifuna Collective || AbanThe Garifuna Collective || Hamala (Let Him Fly)Doctor Nativo || GuatemayaKobo Town || Where the Galleon SankGuayo Cedeño || Coco BarAurelio || DarandiRoberto López || Criollo ElectrikCalypso Rose || Far From Home || Garifuna RemixedThe Garifuna Collective || AyóAurelio || LándiniKobo Town || Jumbie in the JukeboxAurelio || Laru BeyaThe Garifuna Collective || UmalaliThe Garifuna Collective || WátinaAurelio || Garifuna SoulLeroy Young (The Grandmaster) || Just Like That.Various Artists || ParandaMr. Peters || Weh Mi Lova DehLugua & The Larubeya Drummers || BumariAndy Palacio || Keimoun
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MORE MUSIC  ⇒
 
ABAN is the new album from Belize's GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE,

their first release since Ayó, their critically-acclaimed 2014 tribute to the legendary singer Andy Palacio. ABAN’s translates as “ONE” in the Garifuna language, and reflects the spirit of unity and self-sufficiency that has kept this Afro-Indigenous people, language and culture alive and fighting in the Caribbean and Central America for over 300 years.

Garifuna culture was forged when slave ships carrying captured Africans wrecked off the coast of St Vincent in the 1600s. The survivors swam ashore, mixed with the island’s indigenous Arawak population and created a unique, resilient culture of free people that resisted European colonial powers for over 100 years.

Members of the Garifuna Collective have been making music together for more than 20 years and this album reflects the deep bond between them. They are a seasoned group of musicians from across different generations, with a dynamic that comes from playing and traveling the world together, sharing their music and stories with global audiences.

Their performances spark the history and soul of Garifuna culture into vivid life, while their recordings dip into the massive well of Garifuna songs to create new compositions – some of the singers in the band know hundreds of songs!

In recent years, the band has been experimenting with new rhythms, recording concepts, and even some "organic electronic" music and dub techniques.

ABAN breaks loose to redefine Garifuna music for the next generation, while maintaining strong roots in traditional concepts and identity. It is deeply rooted in the fertile Garifuna music community, with significant contributions by the younger generation.

ABAN brings different traditional rhythms to the forefront – such as Wanaragua and the semi-sacred Hüngühüngün – and creatively juxtaposes them with new melodies from the deep well of Garifuna song. The results are fresh and adventurous; proof that the Garifuna Collective is still at the vanguard of the long journey to bring the Garifuna’s soulful and vibrant music to the world.

The group has maintained its strength despite incredible adversity and the Garifuna history of struggle.

Their defiant culture persists to this day, in communities in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua, where their distinctive language, customs and music are preserved and continue to evolve.

The Collective take their place in a long line of ancestors, maintaining and growing the Garifuna cultural identity, in a conversation across generations and traditions.

Credits
Marcela Aranda: Vocals
Desiree Diego: Vocals and Maracas
Mohobub Flores: Vocals and Turtle Shells
Sheldon Petillo: Vocals
Emilio Thomas: Vocals
Rolando "Chichiman" Sosa: Vocals and Percussion
Denmark Flores: Garifuna Drums
Sam Harris: Lead Guitar
Guayo Cedeño: Lead Guitar
Eli Levinson: Sampling and programming
Al Ovando: Electric Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Claps
Ivan Duran: Electric and Acoustic guitars, Bass
Produced by Ivan Duran
Additional Production by Al Ovando and Eli Levinson
All music composed and arranged by The Garifuna Collective
Recorded and Mixed at Stonetree Studios in Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize
Additional recordings at OBG’s, Dangriga Belize and El Ceibon, Honduras
Recorded by Al Ovando
Additional Recordings by Ivan Duran and Eli Levinson
Mixed by Al Ovando at Stonetree Studios
Album Photography by Jeremy Christoph Lewis
Graphic Design by MID51