CUBAN SIX-PIECE Vocal Sampling have to be seen to be believed. Listen to their Grammy-nominated album, Cambio de Tiempo (Change of Time), and you'll hear all the classic instruments - bass, percussion, keyboards and horns - as they whirl through the rhythms and styles from guaracha to rumba, boleros to salsa.
But watch them live and you'll marvel that there's not an instrument in sight. The a capella group combine their extraordinary vocal talents to create a full-scale Latin orchestra. Think Bobby McFerrin - of Don't Worry, Be Happy - times six.
'They're amazing to see - we made them our first priority to bring over,' says Wong Chi-chung, organiser of Vocal Sampling's two Havana-Mania Carnival! concerts, today and tomorrow (part of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's month-long Latin Passion Festival).
'They're all trained musicians in their own right and can play instruments, but with Vocal Sampling they just use their voices to recreate the sounds of salsa big-band instruments,' says Wong. 'They're incredibly talented.'
Vocal Sampling are the highlight of Wong's two-night Latin extravaganza, for which the Queen Elizabeth Stadium will be transformed, with salsa DJ Henry Knowles firing up the crowd. Dance steps will be led by Latin belly dancer Tamalyn Dallal, the LA Salsa Kids and San Francisco dance duo Salsa Mania, who Wong says have moves to rival Cirque du Soleil's acrobats.
Hong Kong singer-songwriter Chet Lam will perform some of his Latin-flavoured pieces with Edward Chan's Band, and says he's itching to team up with Vocal Sampling for the event's finale. It may sound an odd marriage, but Lam - who has the Cuban outfit's latest album on a loop in his iPod - says there are fertile areas for fusing the sounds of two cultures.
'It's quite similar to a lot of traditional Chinese pop songs from Shanghai,' says Lam, referring to the Chinese jazz era between the 1920s and 1960s that's recently been reprised under the Shanghai Divas label. 'The Latin thing isn't about language. It's in the blood. It's about extremes - in this case, extreme happiness.'
