Bantü Salsa

African salsa performed by eight musicians, from Cameroon, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, Mali, Mexico and Spain? This is the remarkable and joyful mix provided by the group Bantü Salsa.

Songwriter, performer and bass player Just Wôan has arranged and produced an array of albums and projects for many emerging or confirmed artists. Following three solo albums, he embarked on an ambitious project: to create a group that would enable him to discover and explore new musical worlds. The group in question is Bantü Salsa. Since its early days in 2019, it has been characterized by its originality. Getting Latin beats to cohabit with the poetic strings of the kora, or delicately orchestrated brass instruments to join with mighty percussions, is a wild challenge that has been mastered thanks to the passion and talent of its members.

Montréal, a truly cosmopolitan and intercultural city, is also a source of continuing inspiration for Just Wôan, who conveys the unifying values of diversity, social cohesion and the need to live together in harmony. His ever-festive tunes are also intended to recall darker themes, such as slavery. Musical travel is thus a form of remembering. 

From these rich and transcendent sounds emerges the voice of Just Woân, described as “one of the most beautiful in Québec.” He demonstrates astonishing ease between the elegance of his high notes and the groove of his low notes, adding to the sense of travel. 

Bantü Salsa’s members are among the artists who dream of highlighting the multicultural wealth of Québec and of Montréal through music. The universal spirit of Kessai, their début album released in February 2020, takes on its full meaning. The product of two years’ work, it pays tribute to the history shared by Africa and Latin America and creates bridges between art, culture and, of course, music.

The audience will be able to discover and appreciate this joyful blend of African salsa, with its groove and jazz facets, on the stage of the Incontournables series.