Ayom

We are a group of six wanderers: Jabu, a Brazilian; Alberto, an Italian residing in Spain; Timoteo, of Greek and Italian descent; alongside Francesco, also Italian; and Ricardo and Walter, both Angolans. We came together because of a love story and share a common passion for African diasporic music, including songs from Brazil, Angola, and Cape Verde, which found in Lisbon a kind of homeland.

In these circumstances, AYOM was born.

After performing with the Black Atlantic Tour in diverse corners of the globe, we realised that our music resonated with people on a primal level, transcending linguistic barriers. We communicated emotions that went beyond the mere words of our lyrics or the origins of our rhythmic and melodic inspirations. Despite the strong Afro-Lusitanian and Afro-Latin musical influence, the music of Ayom breaks cultural barriers. It creates such a strong experience with the audience that people recognize themselves as a community, transcending origin, gender, race, and ideology. These drives are organised into three universal souls; the colours we use tell about our history and references, but the emotions we share are universal.

And so, SA.LI.VA is born.

SA.LI.VA, an acronym representing the three distinct impulses woven into Ayom’s music: “SA-grado” (sacrality), “LI-berdade” (freedom and love), and “VA-lentia” (courage). The album is a trilogy where each chapter contains three songs.