Womad

Monobloco

The massed ranks of Rio's percussive kings

It's not just The Rolling Stones who can enthral a sizeable gathering on Rio's beaches. OK, so Mick and the boys entertained an untouchable 1,000,000 souls on Copacabana in 2006, but let's not ignore the not insignificant efforts of Monobloco. Each year, the samba collective's own carnival parade attracts around 50,000 revellers as it snakes by the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon while furiously pounding out the city's indestructible beat. Formed in 2000, the mass-membered outfit have a dual motivation - to revive the classic Rio samba sound but also to extend its horizon to embrace funk and pop. As such, their battery of percussion readily tackles the finer moments of Brazilian pop, often via the songbooks of icons like Chico Buarque, Jorge Benjor and the mighty Nacao Zumbi. If we told you that, when travelling abroad, Monobloco slim their numbers down quite considerably, you might be a tad disappointed. Worry ye not. Their touring party still features between 16 and 21 musicians. Admit it, that's more than enough to satiate both your ears and your twitchy limbs.

Biog by Nige Tassell