The Cuban Brothers: A Cuban revolution

Another brightly coloured act coming to Splore 2014, are the Cuban Brothers. They're not really Cuban and they're not really brothers, but they are one hell of a party. Along with his trusty sidekick Archerio, and fever man Kengo San, Miguel Mantovani brings a soulful, sexy, 70s melee of dancing, comedy, and music back to Splore for the second time.

You guys have played Splore before, what encouraged you to come back for next year's festival?

It's just one of my favourite festivals in the world. It has a lot to do with the site which has a very special energy, and the fact that we are welcomed on-site by members of Ngati Paoa and Ngati Whanaunga just adds to the mana pon mana. Aotearoa in general is special as I'm sure all Kiwi cats recognise. Splore celebrates everything across the arts and always has a dope line-up of musical artists that leans towards the more soulful spectrum so everything just clicks with us - the vibe is honest, relaxed and, most of all, fun. I bloody love it.

How does it compare to some of your other favourite performances?

Last Splore was an all-time highlight! Headlining Saturday night beneath Soul II Soul, the reception was next level and to have one of my oldest friends join us onstage for the Latin breaking, Feilding's own D-fresh, an awesome DJ, b-boy and vibesmith - we started DJing together 25 years ago in Palmerston North, so actually just to see the guy after 20 odd years was a blessing, let alone have him share the stage with us. Also Splore was where we road-tested the more uptempo tunes from our album Yo Bonita! before its release, so great memories.

How would you describe your performance philosophy or approach?

We just get down in every manner.We are entertainers first, b-boys who started on the street, and so the whole battle ethos remains in our performance but it's more like we are in competition with each other to see who can go harder, be more ridiculous, create that atmosphere. I mean, I'm wrong! Everyone who knows me, or has seen us knows that I'm a wrong guy. And sometimes that wrongness manifests in a more extreme way than others, but it's a warm wrongness - never mean-spirited, the joke is always on us.We live for this shizzat.

What is it about Cuba that you love so much?

The culture, people, music, food. The fact that a party can pop up out of nowhere. I have jammed, danced, and sung with some of Cuba's most celebrated musicians and with a lot of cats in streets and bars in Pinar del Rio and Camaguey. The vibe is the same either way, and, to be honest, the best musicians I've heard have been at jams on the street, or in families' front rooms. Our show is not a pastiche of Cuban music or culture really, the character I created in Miguel is a comic character who gives me a chance to improvise and make every show different.

Who are your own musical heroes?

So many - Sir Howard Morrison, Mr Dynamite, James Brown, A Tribe Called Quest, Pucho and the Latin Soul Bros, Tito Puente, the Roots, Jill Scott, Steely Dan, Donald Byrd, Fat Freddy's Drop, Aunty Jocelyn Brown, Prince Tui Teka, Samendi, Ella Fitzgerald, Gangstaar, Omar, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, the Stepkids ... the list goes on. If you check our album Yo Bonita!, the influences are prevalent friends. We can't wait to get back to Aotearoa. Mucho aroha!

Who: Miguel Mantovani aka Mike Cuban from the Cuban Brothers
Where and when: Splore, February 14-16, Tapapakanga Regional Park, Auckland
Listen to: Yo Bonita! (2013)

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- TimeOut