Tabanka

is a young Cape Verdean group from Rotterdam, whose music is inspired by Cape Verdean artists from an older generation, such as Code di Dona, Bulimundo, Américo Brito and, of course, Bitori. The group has a fresh and contemporary take on funaná, the upbeat, energetic and festive music and dance style once forbidden by Portuguese colonial rulers, which became part of post-independence Cape Verdean identity in the eighties. Funaná was derived from the music played by the descendants of slaves, mixed with contemporary pop and jazz. The foundation is formed by the diatonic accordion (gaita) and the rasping sound of the ferrinho, a notched metal bar played like a Caribbean guiro. Tabanka knows how to put on an exuberant live show that makes it impossible to stand still.