Monday, August 14, 2017

Tokyo




Tokyo is blessed with heaps of samba bands. I was told that it was something to do with a government sponsored cultural exchange programme, where the Japanese sent farmers to Brazil and got samba drummers and dancers in return. That might be the abridged version, but it sure sounds like a bloody good deal to me.


The city is massive and has spawned scores of samba bands to support happiness and joy amongst the teeming and thronging population. I remember the last Brazilian Ambassador to NZ, who was a solid Batucada fan, saying that the only two countries where he had worked, where he thought they truly got the joy and passion of the original (not just the technical and repertoire) were Japan and NZ. I thought he was being generous towards us because he worked here, but practicing with these guys, I reckon I now know what he meant.


I had a marvellous guide in the shape of Anri. I was whisked along to a six hour rehearsal (just thirty minutes more!) with Liberdade , in preparation for the upcoming Asukasa carnival - famous as the biggest samba carnival in the northern hemisphere. A shame I couldn't stay the whole month for the main event, but the gravity of reality was slowly pulling me back towards the nine to five.



There were loads of dancers, loads of bateria, lots of song, lots of laughs, and a metronome.
And we have another convert to the sacred brother and sisterhood of Batucada. Once you don the t-shirt there is no turning back.



I also did a midweek samba soiree to see Saude play near my hotel. I would have been foolish to pass the opportunity up. I was greeted with ripping Manguiera from Yokohama and a bunch of my old pals from Liberdade. Whoop!






Osaka




I was super lucky to make contact with some samba friends before heading to Japan. They introduced me to the inimitable Take-chan. A gentleman and a scholar. He went out of his way to recruit a small group of sambistas - dragging them away from their weekend schedule to have a random practice with me before I headed further east.



The local team is called Despertador and a few people came in from Kyoto and Kobe. We rocked an hour or so of samba and then I tried to teach these very patient people one part of afoxe. I don't think I inspired much confidence but I reckon a break from the old samba routine is good for the soul. 

One of the local crew - the sharp eyed beer lover will notice - was wearing a Speight's t-shirt. Obviously a southern man at heart with damn good taste in good old fashioned, no nonsense, call a spade a spade, beer. SPADE! It turned out he met a Kiwi lass from Bluff and, unsurprisingly, they decided on Osaka as a place to settle.



 The dastardly global infiltration of Wellington Batucada into the world of samba continues with the insidious conversion of Take-chan into the inner circle.

Coburg 2017

It is impossible to deny the lure of Coburg. Every year the lucky folk of Europe get to haunt the same streets and meet new and old friends in one hedonistic three day samba-marathon. Unfortunately, for us, stuck on the other side of the planet, it's a minor miracle getting the band to plan, travel, pay for and organise such trips. So, to do it a second time is no mean feat and a massive amount of respect is due to Nigel for leading us to the hallowed land as a band a second time.


This year we decided to take the Maori influence of two years ago one massive leap further, and combine our very own eclectic take on samba with kapa haka. Our legendary shaker player, Ngawara, called in a family favour and asked Koro Tini to assist us take coburg by storm. He was amazing and it must be a world first combination - challenging the audience and menace the stage with his taiaha, while combining the rhythmic nature of the ritual with our performance. The dude is a massive professional and immediately knew where to add cultural gravitas.


The audience didn't know how to react. Being mostly used to scantily clad samba dancers with come hither stares, seeing Koro prowl through the band and with fierce pūkana certainly got their attention.

We were also joined by two dancers this year, which was awesome. Our repertoire is heavily choreographed for each of the different pieces, so it was great to have them work with Koro to make the spectacle even more magic.

Baking all that up with Tim G on directing duties gave the band the confidence to smash the living bejeesus out of our set. Bring on 2019!