Vocal Sampling
The musical kingdom’s illusionists ! Close your eyes and listen !
Fresh and seductive as the waters of Cuba´s beaches, melodic and rhythmic as the wind which moves its palms and people, this is Vocal Sampling !
The Cuban group that made musical instruments from their voices, becoming the illusionists of the musical Kingdom. Concert of Vocal Sampling is to participate in a magic show.The unbelievers look for the trap. They do not want to believe that the group of sounds and the excellent melody they listen, come from the musicians´s voices. Meanwhile the experts applaud, because they know there are not deceits or tricks, but brilliance and harmony !
Aware of their cultural roots, with an unquestionable and undeniable stamp that characterizes Cubans, these six men, with nothing else but their voices, move very comfortable among the most dissimilar rhythms, from the so-called art music to the popular one.
They are six wizards who have been leaving us mouth opened up on each concert, with strokes of originality and talent.
Biography
Everything began in 1989, when six talented instrumentalists from Havana Arts University started simulating the sounds of brass, string and percussion instruments with their voices. What started as a game in their leisure time, became the creation of the unique sound of Vocal Sampling, and the start of a beautiful musical career that took them to all corners of the world.
1993 Una Forma Mas was their debut album. Henceforth, the sextet gained the attention of artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon.
In 1996, at the artist’s invitation, Vocal Sampling performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival alongside artists such as Chaka Khan, Phil Collins, Mick Hucknall and Toots Thielemans to celebrate Quincy Jones’s 50 years in the music business.
In 2000 the group made a huge impact when they performed in a sold-out Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms.
On the back on this success, Vocal Sampling released their album Cambio de Tiempo which got nominated for 3 Latin Grammy Awards 2002.
Vocal Sampling maintained a busy tour schedule throughout the years and has been present in the most important circuits of World Music and Jazz in Europe, Asia, Latin and North America. The group performed at venues such as Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay in Singapore, Royal Albert Hall and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, New Morning Club in Paris, Vienna State Opera House, Israeli Opera House in Tel Aviv, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, festivals including WOMAD in England, Chile and Spain, WOMEX in Berlin, Montreux Jazz Festival and Paléo Festival de Nyon in Switzerland, Printemps de Bourges in France, April Jazz in Finland, Shanghai’s World Music Festival, The Bath Festival, London A Cappella Festival, and other important concert stops in New York, Vancouver, Mexico City, Bogota, Caracas…just to name a few.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary from 2020 onwards, Vocal Sampling marked this event with an original creation which proposed a new repertoire, but also new facets of its vocal talent and a collaboration with a symphony orchestra.The event has already been marked by prestigious concerts in Cuba with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra, and at the Musikverein in Vienna and the Festspielhaus in St. Pölten (Austria) with the Tonkünstler Orchester.
Members
René Baños Pascual – director, composer, arrangements, lead & backing voices
Oscar Porro Jimenez – bass voice
Reinaldo Sanler Maseda – lead & backing voices
Ramiro Perez Guerra – percussion voice
Luis Alberto Alzaga Mora – lead & backing voices
Ruben Dario Perez Guerra – lead & backing voices
Videos
Press
- “MUSICAL MAGIC. Vocal Sampling must rank as one of the most extraordinary groups in the world… So effective is it that initially you think they must be using backing tapes, or that the real musicians are hidden offstage. They are not, and even the brass and flute parts are created only by their six voices. Their timing was impeccable, their presentation theatrical and their repertoire imaginative.” – The Times (UK)
- “Vocal Sampling’s set… showed the power of talent to create magical moments out of nothing… No matter how well you decide what Vocal Sampling does, it won’t sound as good on paper as it did on the glittery stage….The group’s warmth and inventiveness made this the year’s most memorable Latin show so far.” – Los Angeles Times (US)
- “The most exciting a cappella group to hit the scene in years… The purity of their voices is immaculate and there isn’t a part missing nor gap to be filled. It’s difficult to distinguish the different voices as they seem to flow from one, bringing together a united body of tight, rhythmic and melodic concoctions.” – New York Latino (US)
- “Vocal Sampling’s music transcends novelty. They are masters of rhythm and harmony as well as being spirited showmen. Performing crisp, intricate arrangements by bandleader René Banos, they prove to be serious musicians.” – Miami New Times (US)
Discography
Booking
Germany / Austria / Switzerland
HANDSHAKE BOOKING / Julian Hölscher (Managing director)
Oppelner stresse 29
D-10997 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30 6981 4840
Mail: julian@handshake-booking.com
www.handshake-booking.com
