Following on from Monobloco’s first visits to the UK & Ireland, “Bloco do Sol Nascente“, Group of the Rising Sun, has been launched!
more at www.flickr.com & www.youtube.com

They have been learning the Monobloco repertoire.

The group of 120, made up from members of many samba groups around the UK & Ireland, performed their first gig in Luton on Sun 3rd May and played excellently! It was the end of a long project and the start of the future!

There will be some more HQ video posted here soon, be sure to call back.

Don’t forget to leave a comment!

Here are some messages ……..

Hey everyone.

Please pass this on to the members of each of your groups that took part.

Brilliant weekend in Luton. Thanks to everyone for all their hard work in making everything run smoothly and without stress.
The band sounded great and the socialising was executed to Michelin Star standards.

Thanks to :-
Marcus, Hej, Fred, Fabao, Simeon, Barak, Gaio, Fabiano, Xavier, Andre, Antonio and Maggie O’ Keeffe and Paul Baxter whose effort in organising both their groups was crucial to the project.

And of course massive thanks to everyone in the Bateria you helped to make it a brilliant weekend.

Finally not forgetting thanks to the staff at the UK Centre for Carnival arts for giving us the platform for showcase our project.
The Thames Festival will be brilliant!
J P

Who would ever have thought that such sights and sounds and experiences could be wrought from the simple act of hitting a drum? That enduring friendship and new understanding could be kindled through carrying out this simple act en masse? And that the prospect of future gatherings could be so full of tangible anticipation?

Who would ever have thought that liver damage on that scale was even conceivable?

For those of you reading this who have no idea what I’m talking about I apologise wholeheartedly, but for those of you who were at the launch of the National Centre for Carnival Arts in Luton this weekend, and were part of the first Bloco do Sol Nascente show a massive and heartfelt THANK YOU!

Thanks to Fabio and Fred from Monobloco, who I think will return to Brasil with a better understanding of how percussion should be played as well as some handy tips on vodka consumption! Thanks to the rest of the lads on the stage : Xavier, Gaio, Andre, Fabiano and Antoni.

A big thank you to my co-conspirators in the Diretoria Marcus, Simeon, Barak and of course JP…..

…… but most of all a huge thank you to those of you who were wearing the blue and gold t-shirts. The Bateria Nota 10! Without your enthusiasm, hard work and all pervading sense of adventure, the project would never have got off the ground.

Thank you and roll on September!

abracos
Hej