Afro Cuban Percussion with Elizabeth Pupo Walker

This is the first in a series of sessions we recorded at Red Bull Studios NYC.

Afro Cuban percussion provides some of the most emotive and dynamic sounds known. The way intricate grooves and upbeat dance rhythms meld and blend through its signature polyrhythmic drumming will get anyone on the dancefloor. Renowned Afro Cuban percussionist Elizabeth Pupo Walker shared her talents, history, and passions for the genre in crafting this pack. Dig into congas, bongos, cahon, and other Afro Cuban percussion one-shots and loops.

Pupo Walker studied in Havana, Cuba at Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba and in Matanzas, Cuba with the world-renown percussion ensemble Los Munequitos de Matanzas. She has sought out specific instructors throughout her career, delving into the drumming dialects of Brazilian Batucada and Carribean rhythms of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and more. She formed the eclectic percussive jazz group, Manah in Seattle; recorded and toured with the band BRAD, featuring members of Pearl Jam; and performed regularly with Reggie Watts. She’s been featured in DRUM! Magazine, toured internationally, and has performed and recorded with a wide variety of artists including Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, John Legend, Mark Ronson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, TV On the Radio, The Roots, Nels Cline, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lee Fields and The Expressions, Mavis Staples, among several others.