Toécito

Toécito is a very special and deeply personal song for us.

It was born many years ago, at the deathbed of my father. In those final moments, when there was nothing left to hold on to, this song came as a last goodbye. A song for his passing played on the N'Goni, and also an initiation for myself… into surrender, into letting go, into accepting that mysterious threshold we all will cross one day.

There are moments in life when the veil between worlds seems to become thinner. When death no longer feels like something far away, but comes very close. When love remains, even as a body is leaving. Toécito was born in such a moment. The Toé, a very potent and even deadly plant from the Amazon, somehow became part of this song and its mystery. A plant that carries within it that delicate boundary between worlds, between life and death.

And so it feels deeply meaningful that Toécito will be released on November 1st — a day when, in many traditions, we remember those who walked before us and turn our attention towards our ancestors and the unseen.

For me, this song will always carry the memory of my father. But over the years, it has also become something more: a song about the inevitable letting go we all meet in our lives, about love that does not simply disappear, and about the mystery of what may exist beyond what our eyes can see. In ceremony we play the song very accoustic with only two N'Goni's (African harp), here we used the extra musical magical elements to paint the magical spheres between life and death. In this video, you can see how Li-Ma Westerhout brought this beautiful artwork to life. We are so grateful for the love, care, and devotion she poured into every detail of this creation.

In this video, you can see how Li-Ma Westerhout brought this beautiful artwork to life. We are so grateful for the love, care, and devotion she poured into every detail of this creation. Thank you, Li-Ma, for sharing your beautiful art with us.

With love, Marijn