Turku Old Town Celebration: Ampa-duo feat. Maarika Autio

Ampa is a duo consisting of Beninese musician and song maker Akim Color and his wife Heta Odoumonhou. They have been performing and playing together for years. Akim is a well-known percussionist and drum maker in his native country. Since 2003 he has been visiting Finland to work on various music projects. Heta used to play in a djembe band, whose rehearsals Akim once visited in 2008. Akim and Heta have been playing music together ever since and have danced for many different audiences all over Finland. In 2022, the couple formed the duo Ampa.

Akim composes Ampa’s songs, which are based on the traditional rhythms used in voodoo ceremonies. Ampa means amen, and the word is especially used in the ceremonies of the voodoo spirit Throne Koundé. The band plays a number of African percussion instruments not often heard in Finland, such as the typical Beninese gbon drum. The duo is accompanied by Maarika Autio, who plays balafon and kora.