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Monobloco - News
UK Tour 2008
 
Confirmed Dates
Line-up for Monobloco UK Ireland Tour - 2008
Like professional musicians the world over, all members of this years tour have fingers in many musical pies. Here are the personnel charged with the responsibility of bringing you the powerful Brazilian musical experience that is the Monobloco Show.
Celso Alvim da Gama e Souza
Celso is a founder member & a director of the group. He is the wizard behind many of their musical arrangements. Celso is also a member of “PLAP” Pedro Luis e a Parede (Pedro Luis & the Wall). He learned much of his art from the great Mestre Odilon. On this tour he’ll be playing the caixa & surdo.

Fábio Pereira Filho
Fabão is the lead singer, bringing a mountain of energy with him. Garaunteed to charm the audience with renditions of Brazilian classics he is equally at home with his rock band O Salto.

 Gabriel Guimarães Lopes
Multi-instrumentalist Gabriel is well known on Rio’s music scene. When he’s not performing with his excellent group Feira Livre you’ll find him playing surdo premeira with the Monobloco Show. For the pagode gigs that will happen in the tour, he will be playing acoustic guitar.
José Teixeira Junior
The lightning quick Junior is Monobloco’s tamborim player. One of Rio’s top players he is highly regarded. Junior learned his art playing for G.R.E.S Mangueira.		 Marcos Rios Santos
Feijão is a master caixa player and a magician with a stick.  He brings his huge skill to the Monobloco groove. He also plays kit drums in Rio de Janeiro. His Dad is in the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest running band, MP4, with an unchanged line up.		 Carlos Alexandre Ferrari Neves
A director of the group CA is also a member of PLAP. His enormous skill with a repenique, learned from Mangeira & Mestre Odilon, will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
Alexandre Kohl
Professional music teacher and musician Momo plays guitar for the group. He also sings lead and backing vocals, with great presence, providing the bedrock for Monobloco’s melodies.		 Carlos Abreu de Almeida
Cachaca is the latest addition to the Monobloco musical armoury. An established musician working around Rio's samba and forró scene. He’ll be adding his own particular brand of cavaquinho playing to the show.		 Barak Schmool
Respected for his work throughout the UK & Irish samba & jazz scenes City University’s Music Professor will once again be joining Monobloco on caixa. Barak is the man behind the musician’s collective F-IRE and London’s Rhythms of the City.
Hej Jones
Renowned DJ/producer Hej has spent 6 years in Rio. In that time he has made his name as top club DJ. Although he has now returned to his native Norwich he will always remain as Monobloco’s British Ambassador in Rio de Janeiro after sewing the seed of the first Monobloco UK tour. You’ll find him on surdo secunda.		 Simeon Smith
Well known for his percussion work with Goth band, Dead Can Dance, Simeon has led a dual musical life researching Brazil’s rich musical heritage. After many visits he founded Dublin’s premiere, monster, Samba School maSamba. A joint project was recently undertaken where some members of Monobloco visited to join their friends maSamba for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. You’ll find Simeon playing agogo and atabaque for the tour. He doesn't like brown shoes.		 JP
JP is one of the UK’s top Brazilian & Cuban music percussionists. He’s made many visits to Rio and studied Monobloco’s material. He has been teaching what he’s learned to his own bloco Toque Tambor, sambistas back in his native Ireland and to Yorkshire’s Bloco Brigantes project. JP will be joining Junior on tamborim.
Greetings to everyone we met on our 2007 visit and thanks for the lovely comments:
  I thought they were awesome. We learnt some really sweet new grooves, learnt how to play quietly!! and had a huge amount of fun. On the gig I experienced playing in the middle of an elite caixa section... ahhh bliss! Get them back ASAP ;-)
Adam - London
Whoa!!! If you missed them through choice... bad idea. These guys rock. Refreshing, focused and expressing their styles and that of those they've been through in Brasil in a simple style without losing the complexity of it all, but very effective way. And they are fantastic guys as well. That's me happy. If there one word for it's "valeu".
NEXT!!!!
Freed :0)
Thanks again for all your chauffeuring of Monobloco. It was great tosee you in Norwich - as you said, the place that is not on the way to anywhere! The band are still buzzing from the session on Tuesday night - what an amazing group of teachers. I was really impressed how they handled the less experienced of our members and got the best out of them (without the tendency to histrionics you sometimes get). Paul and I were really sorry not to be able to make the mestre's session on Saturday. Will see you again at some point I am sure.Keep up the good work.
All the best.Marcus
This is just the beginning.
Barak
Anyway, to second what other have said, it was an excellent workshopwith some really cool musicians (that includes everyone there), and Ido hope that we can organise something similar, but bigger event for them next year!
Simeon
I'm with Barak on this one.
Mick
If you're exclusively into samba-enredo, these guys can give you a lot to help with swing and arrangement, also samba is very present in the funk and shuffle beat, and if you're a bloco style group who're into fusion, then you'll find a lot here to inspire in terms of creating and arranging fusion grooves, and because they have pretty good english, you don't need to find a translator!I had a great time, I hope that many more people will have the opportunity to meet and play with Monobloco when they come over next year.Many thanks to Mick for putting it all together at such short notice, btw, where do I put my coat?
Sue
Thanks for the great mestre workshop the guys did for us. I enjoyed it hugely and found the group very likeable. Monobloco were, as I find usual for Brazilian musicians, very nice guys and very knowledgeable and willing to pass on their expertise. Also their English was excellent and their method of teaching was also effective. So once again thanks for the invite.
Ron Vint
Not only a percussion 'tour de force' but some very nice and personable people, a pleasure to meet, great ambassadors for both Brazil and Brazilian music. I look forward in anticipation to next years tour of the UK.
Scott
 
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