Rune Harder Olesen, Denmark's most played musician on radio and TV and one of the country's most sought-after session musicians over the past 40 years, has, in parallel with his career as a sideman, delved into the study of Afro-Cuban music and has been initiated into the batá tradition (omó aña).

Together with his Cuban spouse, the charismatic singer and dancer Raisa Castro, he has formed the orchestra Ngánga, which also includes their two daughters, Sophia and Cecilia Castro. The band is complemented by two internationally recognized musicians: Cuban Yasser Pino on bass and guitar and Dawda Jobarteh from Gambia on kora.

The name Ngánga comes from the Bantú people of West Africa and is referred to as both a spiritual healer and a musician. The music of Ngánga is deeply rooted in the rich Afro-Cuban folk music tradition, which was brought to Cuba by West African slaves from the early 16th century to the mid-19th century.

The band's di...

Rune Harder Olesen, Denmark's most played musician on radio and TV and one of the country's most sought-after session musicians over the past 40 years, has, in parallel with his career as a sideman, delved into the study of Afro-Cuban music and has been initiated into the batá tradition (omó aña).

Together with his Cuban spouse, the charismatic singer and dancer Raisa Castro, he has formed the orchestra Ngánga, which also includes their two daughters, Sophia and Cecilia Castro. The band is complemented by two internationally recognized musicians: Cuban Yasser Pino on bass and guitar and Dawda Jobarteh from Gambia on kora.

The name Ngánga comes from the Bantú people of West Africa and is referred to as both a spiritual healer and a musician. The music of Ngánga is deeply rooted in the rich Afro-Cuban folk music tradition, which was brought to Cuba by West African slaves from the early 16th century to the mid-19th century.

The band's diversity is striking, both in terms of ethnicity, gender and age.

The music has a spiritual dimension, and the group's expression is both powerful, melodic and polyrhythmic. They combine their own compositions with fresh arrangements of traditional Afro-Cuban songs and rhythms, rarely heard outside Cuba....

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