I was in Singapore for work and by a sheer fluke of fate, flights were hard to come by on the return leg, which meant I had to stay for an extra day. As luck would have it, that same Friday night was a rehearsal night for the extraordinarily talented Samba Masala. Actually, there is a high chance you might get to catch these guys studiously nailing nail biting samba rhythms infused with South East Asian flair, because they rehearse three times a week for three whole hours. Burn-out be damned! The tiger mentality is transitioned to performance chops that make this group of young sambistas one of the most memorable in the game.
The fact that it takes us over a month to cover the same ground these guys in a week speaks for itself. They are second year students that smash samba for two years, become expert at their craft, then magically move into ambitious careers - most, never looking back. Seems slightly unfair, but what these people achieve in two years is magic. Respect to Budi for developing such a force to be reckoned with.
(We had some visitors of our own this weekend, from Sweden (Abunda), who have also witnessed how these guys completely smash it in Coburg).
I tried keeping up on the caixa but had to spend a decent amount of time just enjoying watching the fast paced syncopated repertoire. I accidentally mentioned that we were taught the kampong break by Budi, which meant it was called in on a couple of occasions but highlighted how rusty that one had become, compared to how good it sounds when clinically and competently done. I blame being double anyone else's age - damn yoots!
Huge thanks to Shaun, Dan and QX for hosting. Cheers!
