Ayom: SaLiVa review – a fierce, devotional celebration, from Brazil to Cape Verde

Amid the myriad varieties of “global fusion” on offer, transatlantic outfit Ayom offer something distinct and unexpected. Its members are drawn from Brazil, Angola, Italy and Greece, and are united by a love of mysticism centred on the Candomblé religion and the cultural exchange of the “black Atlantic”. Hence, although essentially a Brazilian affair, their music also draws from Portugal and Cape Verde.

This second album is a confident evolution from their self-titled 2020 debut , overseen by the noted Brazilian producer Guilherme Kastrup, and adding discreet electronica to their acoustic approach. It comes with a weighty concept – sagrado (sacred), liberdade (freedom) and valentia (courage) – that adds up to SaLiVa , the water on everyone’s lips. The opening trio of numbers is therefore slow and devotional, the next clutch celebratory and the final third both fierce and contemplative; a little of everything.

Lead singer Jabu Morales handles it all with agile ease, whether expressing the yearning of migrants on Oxalá, Promessa Do Migrante , or the carnival spirit of Eu Me Quero Mais . There is slinky samba, muscular percussion, stabs of brass and curlicues of accordion from Albert Becucci. Io Sono Il Vento , a 1950s Italian croonalong, provides a lovely soft-focus close.