Imagine watching a band perform and then realising there isn’t actually a band.
No drums. No bass. No guitars. Just six people on stage making all the sounds themselves.
That’s more or less what Vocal Sampling have been doing for more than three decades, and they’re returning to the Canary Islands for a concert at Teatro Leal in La Laguna on 6 October at 8pm.
They haven’t performed here for years, so it’s a rare chance to see them live.
Six voices, one very convincing band
Vocal Sampling were formed in Havana in 1989 by a group of music students who decided to do something a little different with a cappella music.
Rather than simply singing songs without instruments, they recreate the instruments with their voices.
The result is a sound that can include drums, bass, brass and all the other bits you’d normally expect from a full band.
Their shows mix son, salsa, rumba, bolero, jazz and contemporary music, along with plenty of rhythm, improvisation and humour.
And apparently, after a while, you stop thinking about how they’re doing it and just enjoy the music.
They’ve impressed a few famous names
Over the years, Vocal Sampling have caught the attention of some fairly serious names in music, including Bobby McFerrin, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel.
They gained international recognition after appearing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1996, followed by a performance at the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2000.
Not bad for six people who left the instruments at home.
Their albums include Una Forma Más, De Vacaciones, Live in Berlin, Cambio de Tiempo, Akapelleando and Así de Sampling.
Their 2002 album Cambio de Tiempo was also nominated for a Latin Grammy.
Still going strong after more than 30 years
Three decades after forming in Havana, the group is still recording and performing around the world.
They recently took part in the 2026 International Jazz Plaza Festival in Cuba, where they were also involved in educational events exploring the human voice as an instrument.
Their Tenerife concert promises to be one of those shows where you’ll probably spend the first few minutes trying to work out where the sound of a particular instrument is coming from.
Then you’ll realise it isn’t coming from an instrument at all.
Tickets are available from the Teatro Leal box office and online through Tickety.es.