Dance to an old rhythmn

Given we're discussing his attempts to rescue the Afro-Amerindian Garifuna culture from extinction in an ever more homogenised world, this seems somewhat ironic.

'Well, man does not live by bread alone,' Palacio chuckles. 'I won't tell you what kind of music I listen to,' he adds, before admitting to having just bought a Def Leppard CD.

But it is partly Palacio's tireless quest to show Garifuna rhythms can sit comfortably in the wider musical world that has helped make W·tina, the album he has created with the multigenerational Garifuna Collective, such an extraordinary event.

'We're building on a foundation laid centuries ago but to a large extent we are current,' he explains. 'Because we're dealing with here and now, I was OK with using Garifuna beats but trying something different.'

W·tina (released here on new label Cumbancha) utilises plenty of revitalised traditional sounds, from the energetically flirtatious punta beat, whose dance moves, Palacio explains, 'focus on the pelvic area', to the deeply spiritual rhythms used in ceremonies remembering the dead.

Some tracks recall lilting reggae vibes, others sound vaguely Cuban, a couple are surprisingly close to Delta blues, and there are some distinctly African drum patterns throughout.

The Garifuna actually came from the Caribbean island of St Vincent, descendants of shipwrecked African slaves and the already mixed Carib and Arawak island population. Eventually driven out by the British in 1796, they scattered along Central America's Caribbean coast. There are now maybe 500,000 Garifuna spread across the globe.

All this could have remained the stuff of anthropology papers, except for the tenacity of 46-year-old Palacio, who, having grown up in a tiny Garifuna village, first found national success in Belize as a genremelding 'punta rock' artist. He has constantly sought to delve deeper into his culture's rich musical heritage.

And now, The Garifuna Collective could well be destined to shake dance floors across the world, thanks to an unlikely collaborator.

'I don't know who told Fatboy Slim about our country but I suddenly heard he was on his way and wanted to explore some musical possibilities with Garifuna music,' says Palacio. The resulting cultural exchange ('he'd never seen turtle shells being used as percussion instruments') seems to have borne some interesting fruit.

'He said he was so pleased he'd consider using some of the tracks on his next album,' Palacio beams. 'And he has offered to remix some of the tracks on W·tina. So the possibilities are endless.'

Tonight, Cargo, 83 Rivington Street EC2, 7pm, £12 adv.

Tel: 0870 060 0100. Tube: Old Street