SALVADOR SANGO

The Afrofusion orchestra SALVADOR SANGÓ is the brainchild of Sotiris Papadopoulos, a Greek who has been living and working outside Greece for the most part of his life. The band’s name, which, as it happens, is also Sotiris’s artistic pseudonym, is not accidental: Salvador is the translation of “Sotiris” – savior – in Spanish, whereas Sangó is the god of lightning, the protector of justice and the weak in the Yoruba pantheon, one of the most populous tribes in West Africa with a particular presence in music, dance, and the arts in general.

Circumstances brought the Greek to the land of the Yoruba when he came to Nigeria for the first time in 1980 to play with Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the indisputable Afrobeat king. The same destiny brought him back—through UNESCO—eight years later to head the Physics department of a Nigerian university, having come from the research elite of Oxford. Being a physicist during the day and a musician during the night was a tall order for Sotiris, and after a series of personal and professional pursuits, he opted for music, putting his other talents aside. During this phase, Sotiris formed his well-known jazz quartet, SPICE, and has performed with Dizzy Gillespie and with numerous Nigerian artists including Femi Kuti, Orlando Julius, Victor Waifo, and many more.

The musical result of these experiences is the SALVADOR SANGÓ orchestra, which was created in 2005 with the broader aim of presenting to the international audience a bridging through music of the cultural and racial gap which still reigns supreme in the world of “globalization” today. To a large extent, their music employs West African polyrhythms and folklore as its foundation, but the final result surpasses by far the West African borders: it passes through Latin America for its salsa/Afro-Cuban ingredients, North America for its jazz/blues influences, Western Europe for its classical/rock nuances, and the Mediterranean for its flamenco/arabesque colors, subtly returning to the founder’s Ithaca: Greece. The orchestra’s works comprise vocal tunes sung in Yoruba, Spanish, and English, as well as instrumentals. One could say without reservation that SALVADOR SANGÓ are hierophants of world music for, along with the musical message passed to their audiences, another one, more ethereal and spiritual, is being passed which cannot be described by words but is felt through the wide spectrum of emotions and sentiments their music causes: joy and sadness, nostalgia, exaltation, tranquility, and introspection… Yet, two of these are always absent: fear and anger. The other, particularly African, element in their music is the constant provocation to dance. The orchestra, in its various forms, has performed extensively on three continents and has released three albums: THE ADVICE OF SANGÓ (2008 SANGÓ RECORDS), CUANDO SE CAEN LAS MÁSCARAS - WHEN THE MASKS FALL (2012 SANGÓ RECORDS), and PRIMITIVE FIRE (2023 SANGÓ RECORDS). They have some 80 published videos on YouTube and a collaboration video with other Nigerian artists entitled “Gbadun Ara E”.

BAND MEMBERS

Salvador – composition, guitar, vocals, hand percussion, MIDI programming

Sunday Olatunde – drums, timbales, bongos, bells, vocals

Yemi Akinbode – congas, hand percussion, vocals

Sunday Aladegbaye – bass

Olawale Olayanju – piano, Hammond organ, synthesizers, hand percussion