Toronto is buzzin’ with the release, "PumPum," the high-energy track by singer-songwriter Munir Hossn and 2 Time JUNO Award winner OKAN. The song’s title borrows from a word in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santería, but 'PumPum" is, essentially, a track and an invitation to experience music at its most visceral.
Right from the start, Hossn’s emotive vocals dovetail with OKAN’s hallmark musical interlacing. Renowned for blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, conservatoire, and folk forms, OKAN brings a certain kind of sophisticated, yet gut-level depth to the track. The arrangement comes alive, pounding percussion rumbles like a heartbeat, and subtle melodic extras suggest far-away shores, situating the listener in a genuinely global soundscape.
Hossn’s performance is quietly intense, every word sung in the close, confiding tones that make you lean in. There’s a rhythmic conversation taking place here between voice, percussion, and instrumentation that reflects the communal nature of Santería, a religion where music and spirituality intersect. It’s a connection that continues to echo well after the song is over, leaving you whistling its cadence hours later.
One thing that descends on "PumPum" is traditional and contemporary sensibilities at once. Afro-Cuban motifs are there, but never overwhelming, they twirl around pieces of jazz and classical music in a conversation so lively that it’s both recognizable and brand new. It’s a testament to OKAN’s genre-flexible versatility and Hossn’s finesse at imparting emotional nuance in every note.