Okun Jambá

Okun Jambá formed in Salvador, Bahia in 1993 as a collective of musicians and dancers rooted in candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion centered on the orixás. Their music draws directly from the ritual chants and percussion of that tradition, though they've always approached it with a contemporary ear rather than treating it as purely archival.

Their 1996 debut album 'Sete Vezes (Ponto de Exu)' brought them wider attention, with the title track becoming something of an anthem. That song, along with others like 'Loci Loci, Logun Edé' and 'Meu Tambor É Resistência,' shows how they work within candomblé's musical language while making it feel immediate and alive outside the terreiro.

Over time they've collaborated with figures like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, though their sound remains firmly anchored in the rhythms and spiritual themes of Bahia. They've faced some criticism from more conservative religious quarters for how they handle sacred material, but that tension seems part of what keeps their music from becoming merely decorative.