EDKUB BUILDS A BRIDGE BETWEEN CUBAN AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC

Created in 2018 by Swiss composer, producer and bassist Fred Sumi, EDKUB has forged a distinctive artistic identity at the crossroads of Cuban music and electronic music, infused with a jazz spirit.

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The origins of EDKUB are deeply intertwined with Fred Sumi’s story and his profound connection to Cuba. The project’s very name bears the mark of this connection: “ED” for Fred and “KUB” for Cuba.

​During his first trip to Cuba in 1995, Fred Sumi felt an immediate and profound connection with the land as soon as he arrived in Havana. More recently, he experienced a similar feeling in Villars, Switzerland, his place of origin. Two distant territories, yet connected by the same sense of belonging. Ever since that first trip, Fred Sumi has nurtured a deep passion for Cuban music.

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EDKUB is the result of friendships and collaborations with renowned Cuban musicians. Together, they create organic and resolutely contemporary music, where deep bass lines, electronic textures, Cuban percussion, acoustic instruments, vocals and jazz improvisation meet and interact freely.

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In the creative process, Fred Sumi begins by building the project’s musical foundations around Cuban grooves, which he produces and shapes with warm, contemporary electronic sounds using his keyboards and bass. The Cuban musicians then record freely over his compositions, bringing their own sensitivity and creativity to the music.

The first recording session took place in Geneva with Duniesky Barreto on congas and Maykel Garcia Gonzalez on piano and keyboards, who were both members of the renowned Cuban group Pupy y Los que Son Son at the time. Maykel Garcia Gonzalez is now the pianist of the legendary Cuban group Los Van Van.

Following this first session, Fred Sumi composed new musical foundations and travelled to Havana to continue the recording process. There, he met singer Marbis Manzanet, whose voice is deep and intense; brothers Yassell and Raysel Sotomayor, whose vocals carry distinct Afro-Cuban accents; trumpeter Eduardo Bringuez Ayarde, also a former member of Pupy y Los que Son Son; as well as Roicel Riveron on drums and timbales, formerly a member of Manolito y su Trabuco.

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Following YAYA in 2022 and COLOR DE ROSAS in 2025, EDKUB is entering a new phase with its third album, ECLIPSE DEL TIEMPO, scheduled for release in March 2027.

This new album further develops the project’s musical identity while opening a new chapter in its sonic universe. The fusion of Cuban grooves and electronic textures takes on different forms, always driven by a strong sense of musical freedom and a jazz spirit. With this third album, EDKUB more than ever asserts its desire to bring cultures and generations into dialogue. The project offers music that is warm, danceable and inventive, deeply rooted in the Cuban heritage while resolutely embracing the electronic sounds of today.

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Since the beginning of EDKUB, Jack El Calvo, famous Cuban music DJ based in Paris, has been supporting the project. He selected the first single KEY JAM as the generic of his mixes on social networks during the confinement in 2020, in particular in his mix The Lockdown Sessions - Para Bailar Casino  on New Morning Radio, Paris.