TONIO is the newest musical evolution from artist and producer Gabriel Antonio — a bold Afro House project created to awaken something deeper than sound. Born from Gabriel Antonio’s own name, Tonio represents a stripped-back, darker, more spiritual extension of his artistry: a world where rhythm, ancestry, nightlife, and culture collide.

While Gabriel Antonio has built his sound through Latin music, dance, and global pop influences, TONIO steps into a new lane — one rooted in Afro House, tribal percussion, deep basslines, ancestral chants, Latin rhythms, and cinematic club energy. It is not just a side project. It is a new identity. A new world. A new ritual.

At the heart of the project is the phrase:

“Los ancestros van a despertar.”
The ancestors will awaken.

That message sets the tone for the entire TONIO universe — a journey through ancestral memory, Caribbean spirit, African rhythm, Latin soul, and the energy of the dance floor. Every record feels like part of a ceremony: dark, hypnotic, powerful, and built for the night.

The first chapter begins with “Zonga Malembé,” arriving June 19, a tribal Afro House record that opens the portal into TONIO’s world. The momentum continues on June 26 with “Papacito,” a bold, seductive, high-energy release driven by rhythm, heat, and late-night movement.

On July 10, TONIO will release the full debut album alongside the next single, “Bembé.” The album expands the sound even further, bringing together songs such as “Zonga Malembé,” “Papacito,” “Bembé,” “La Trompeta,” “Que Siga,” “Huracán,” “Sango,” “Cartagena,” “Chango,” and more — each one designed to feel like a different moment inside the same spiritual, underground, Afro House experience.

The project blends the energy of a live festival set with the soul of an ancestral ceremony. It is music made for rooftops, jungles, clubs, beaches, after-hours rooms, and global dance floors. The sound is dark but alive. Spiritual but modern. Tribal but futuristic.

TONIO is where Gabriel Antonio disappears into the rhythm — and something more primal takes over.

This is not just music.

This is an awakening.

Zonga Malembé

“Zonga Malembé” marks the official introduction of TONIO, the new Afro House project from Gabriel Antonio.

Built on deep drums, ancestral rhythm, hypnotic energy, and a dark late-night pulse, “Zonga Malembé” opens the door into the world of TONIO — a journey through sound, spirit, movement, and the awakening of something ancient.

As the first single from TONIO’s debut album, set to release July 10, “Zonga Malembé” sets the tone for what’s to come: cinematic Afro House, tribal percussion, Latin soul, and festival-ready energy made for the night.

The ancestors are waking up.