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Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band Travels Across Generations And Genres On 'The Serpent's Mouth'

This German group delivers steel drum covers of Mary J. Blige, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr and more.
The latest album from Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, <a href="https://bacaorhythmandsteelband.bandcamp.com/album/the-serpents-mouth"><em>The Serpent's Mouth</em></a>, walks a tightrope between embracing steel pan's melodious charm and its kitschy past.

Back in the 1960s, steel pan albums from Trinidad and Tobago began to catch on with United States tourists, leading many bands to incorporate pop hits into their repertoire. The fad hit a peak in netted a for best ethnic or traditional recording. Notably though, the most enduring song off that album wasn't a traditional Trinidadian standard, but a cover of 's "I Want You Back." This craze clearly struck a chord with Germany's Bjรถrn Wagner, who, after living in Trinidad and Tobago, returned to Hamburg, Germany and formed the .

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