FE – Ritual Performance & Album Project

FE is rooted in a long arc of lived experience and artistic research.

Liliana Zavala’s first artistic residency in Cuba took place 26 years ago, where she encountered Afro-Cuban ritual traditions such as Santería, Palo, Arará and Abakuá. More than two decades later, a residency in Sobo Bade, Senegal, brought her into direct contact with Ndep ceremonial chants learned from two elder women singing while playing calabash. During the same period, she observed the rhythmic and dance traditions of mbalax and studied calabash performance with a local percussionist.

These experiences are not approached as stylistic references, but as embodied memories that reveal the deep connections between African and Latin American traditions. Sound recordings from the residency in Senegal are woven into the album as samplers, alongside Ndep chants and calabash, transformed and integrated into the rhythmic structures of the compositions.

African-rooted religions and Catholicism historically served as vehicles through which enslaved people preserved rhythm, spirituality and identity. This resilience — the ability to endure, transform and continue — stands at the core of FE and reflects the central legacy Liliana received from her mother.

FE is Liliana Zavala’s third album and the final chapter of her album trilogy, scheduled for release in 2026. Conceived both as an album and a ritual performance project, it unfolds through voice, percussion and movement as an exploration of transformation. Each single opens toward a different sonic landscape, offering thresholds rather than closures.

The album was recorded at Nevo Studio in Sundsvall with guitarist Marian Pellegrino (co-author on several compositions), bassist Rubem Farias and pianist Arvid Svengungsson, with special guest Ale Möller, and with support from Konstnärsnämnden. Beyond traditional concert settings, FE is adaptable to concert halls, festivals, curated spaces and sacred environments, transforming each space into a collective experience of sound, movement and renewal.