Togo All Stars

They come from Lomé, the capital of Togo. In the middle of the area where West African music blossomed and celebrated great successes: the highlife from Accra, the Orchestre Polyrythmo from Cotonou and the afrobeat from Lagos. In this environment, the Togo All Stars created their exciting, own style, a style in which voodoo plays a major role.

Music journalist and author of the book V oudou (April 2017) Leendert van der Valk writes: “The Togo All Stars mix funky voodoo music with highlife and afrobeat. The driving rhythms and horns of this special collective, which has never been heard outside Africa before, are reminiscent of Fela Kuti's band.”

Meanwhile, thanks to the enchanting album they made for Excelsior Recordings, the Netherlands Festivalland is completely under the spell of the Togo All Stars. From North Sea Jazz to Zwarte Cross and from Vlieland to De Groene Heuvels, Hugo and Marije are in a trance as soon as the gourd starts to work its magic.