Brazilian beats and rhythms

Couple of bits of Braziliana at the weekend. We made the last hour at Batmacumba at the ICA on Saturday night. Compared to the first session back in March, my companions were much more enthusiastic about the music, with some old drum ‘n bass classics being cranked out amid more eclectic offerings, including some Middle Eastern/North African sounds and a range of Brazilian musical contributions, from baile funk to Chico Science.

Good to see DJ Cliffy and his collaborators back on form. It’s just a shame it finished so early.

Sunday afternoon made it to Union Chapel in Islington for the end of Mestre Cobra Mansa’s workshop and joined in the roda, playing the agogo (bell). As for playing the game, there were too many people and I didn’t mind; just watching the mestre at work was enough. Not only is he a great player, he’s living history too. According to Matthias’s book (see post below), he was one of the few who brought capoeira Angola back into vogue in the 1980s.