Spiked with plenty of guaraná, BrazilBeat Sound System is a high caffeine rush from head to toe.

A rising international talent on the cutting edge of roots and dance music, this DJ-percussion live-act originated in San Francisco, California in 2000, bringing their upbeat sound to Aotearoa NZ the following year.

Internationally renowned Brazilian master percussionist Nego Beto created the project after touring, recording, producing and educating in five continents over a 20 year music career. Highlights include touring with reggae legends The Wailers, producing programmes for MTV in Brazil, and playing with dozens of high-profile bands. His hard-case MC style and riveting performances on congas, timbales, bongos, drum machines and varied percussion instruments send audiences to delerium. DJ Mara infuses captivating Brazilian melodies with thunderous basslines. The BBSS live sound is a mashup of baile-funk, breaks, dub, roots & drum ‘n bass. Tight percussive arrangements complete the picture.

After eight years of playing live, this DJ-percussion act scooped up the many influences that inspire them and cranked out their first full-length album, Nova on their fledgling indie label Belezza. The bedrock of this record are the Afro-Brazilian percussion rhythms: afoxé, ijexá, samba/batucada, baião.

Nego Beto & Mara also write the Brazil Beat column in The Beat Magazine (USA), bringing the newest trends in Brazilian music to tens of thousands of readers. www.brazilbeat.org www.myspace.com/brazilbeat

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