As an organisation we have always been interested in the fusion of music. Samba itself has historically be seen as a fusion that has turned into a music form that is Brazilian. If you look at the term samba band as it has evolved and crossed the oceans you will find a plethora of drumming groups that have taken the parading form and the drums while not taking the samba. For me this infusion of styles, creations and heritage is fundamental to both the creation and evolution of samba as a carnival form. In the music we say what we believe in, the heritage that we believe in. The music within the band tends to medley samba and afro Brazilian Music with common themes, such as forming a common link between samba reggae and afoxe music through the son clave or fitting old samba patterns with other common diasporic grooves like soca, like baile funk.
For myself a fundamental aspect to this collaborative music is our own traditions, heritages, cultures. Figuring out how we create and connect with other musicians and to give them space. It is my hope to have a samba group that is truly inclusive of heritage, styles and trends in the same way the samba is here in London.
A couple of weeks ago we invited some musicians into our space. Femi Oriogun-Williams, a guitarist and Katherine Michie, a violinist. We took a common ground for the instruments. Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major which is also used as a call and response for drums by the Samba School Salgueiro. Interweaving this common ground with improvised grooves by Femi and Kat as well as taking notes on how samba changes with different dynamics in volumes or arrangements to signal different sections, finding the uniqueness when putting these forms together. Because the samba school sound is very encompassing it is very important to think about the space that is needed within the composition to give to other instruments the ability to be heard and to take centre stage.
