In many cases, in order to make an adaptation of these rhythms to Greek urban folk that uses odd meters, a slight alteration or adaptation of the rhythms was needed. In the cases of Songo and Tumba the rhythms were adapted to 9/8.
Within the jams, in order to make the adapted patterns work, some new rhythmical patterns surfaced. A sample of these patterns can be found in the songs Mes ton teke tis marigos and to paixnidi tou Americanou.
Maracatu is an ancient Afro-Brazilian carnival tradition from the north-east of Brazil. Its roots go back a long way into the sugar fazendas and slave estates of the Pernambuco state, where African slaves formed religious brotherhoods to preserve African culture and heritage. Each year the crowning of the slave King and Queen was celebrated with music and dance.
This rich cultural ceremony – first recorded in 1674 – has been preserved through the centuries by the maracatu naçãos – literally “maracatu nations”, which form the colourful parades of drums, dancers and costumed kings and queens of today’s world-famous Recife carnival.
The instruments used in forming our Maracatu Rhythm section were:
Alfaia (a large wooden rope-tuned drum),
gonguê (a metal cowbell),
tarol (a shallow snare drum),
xequerê or agbê (a gourd shaker enveloped in a net of beads)
Tumba is a music genre originating in the former Netherlands Antilles, particularly Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Brought overseas by slaves in the 17th century, Tumba's name is taken from an African rhythm. Originally played on makeshift instruments constructed out of farm equipment, Tumba now usually includes African drums accompanied with more contemporary instruments. Most Tumbas are arranged in 2/3- or 6/8-time signatures. Typically sung in Papiamentu, lyrics frequently are gossiping, accusatory, or satirical, so they are not always sung with the music.
The instruments used to form our Tumba Rhythm section were:
Wiri
Congas
Drums
Cowbell
Zouk, popular dance music associated mainly with the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Haiti, all in the French Antilles (French West Indies). The music blends a variety of Caribbean, African, and North American music styles. It is characterized by frequent use of the French Antillean Creole language, the prominence of electronically synthesized sounds, and sophisticated recording technology.
The various types of Caribbean music played mostly was Mizik Zouk. Included in the Mizik Zouk rubric were the Haitian popular music styles known as compas and cadence, beguine from Martinique and Guadeloupe, and cadence-lypso, a hybrid of Haitian cadence and Trinidadian calypso popularized in Dominica in the 1970s.
The instruments used to forming our Zouk Rhythm section were:
Drums
Congas
Cowbel
Timbales
Britanica (2010)
Songo is a Cuban musical genre created by Juan Formel in 1969. It represents a major legacy and is a predecessor to the Son in contemporary Cuban popular music. According to Formel, the term Songo comes from the combination of Son as a genre and Go, from Go-Go. Songo is distinctive for its integration of different elements and styles and it has become one of the most representative forms of dance music. It combines rumba, jazz, rock, beat, pop, bossa nova and even rap and reggaeton and funk, somehow finding a way to integrate all of these styles and rhythms into the Son tradition.
The instruments used to forming our songo Rhythm section were:
Drums
Congas
Torres, G. (2010). Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music.
In this project, 6 different traditions were examined. Three from Brazil, two from Aruba and one from Colombia. The research upon the rhythms was initiated due to the curiosity of the musicians and also due to the love of the musicians for some of these rhythms. Added to that, while jamming between drums and bass, or in some cases with the whole group, new patterns rose up and were eventually used in the songs.
In my attempt to get an understanding of how things work in Brazil regarding traditions, fusion and music, I sat down for a talk with one of my great teachers in music and beyond, Mr. Adriano Adewale. Here is a part of our discussion:
Samba is a Brazilian music style of infectious rhythm and complex origins. It developed as urban music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the favelas, or slums, of Rio de Janeiro. Its roots, however, trace back hundreds of years to customs and traditions brought to Brazil by African slaves. Many of these slaves first came to Bahia, a region in northeastern Brazil along the Atlantic Ocean.
Samba is considered the music of the common people. Its roots come from old Bahian music and dance styles, like the Lundu and Jongo, which connect back to the African slaves. When descendants of these men and women moved to Rio, most of them settled in specific neighbourhoods in the favelas, bringing their distinctive music with them. The original form of samba is called Samba de Morro (morro means hill and alludes to the slums located on Rio's hillsides). It usually includes an improvised verse sung by a soloist, followed by a choir.
The instruments used to form our Samba Rhythm section were:
Surdo (a large bass drum),
Caixa de Guerra (snare drum)'
Tamborim (6 inch smaller drum)
Pandeiro (hand frame drum)
Agogo (bells)
Roco Reco (wooden Scraper)
Ganza (shaker)
Coco, which comes from the fertile and verdant Northeast region of Brazil, embodies, nonetheless, one of its most interesting primitive genealogical aspects. Several heterogeneous influences can be sensed in the music: the repetitive African rhythm, inherited from the first Angolan and Congolese slaves who arrived in Brazil; the versification, which is Portuguese; and the rich iconography evoked by the lyrics, with references to the native flora and fauna, and which attests to the native and Amerindian influences.
This collective musical performance is organised around a “leader”, who selects a repertoire of traditional verses or personal compositions. A random group of participants, the Coquistas, moves around the performer, responding to him/her in chorus, and accompanied by elementary percussion. The duration varies depending on the energy of the revellers.
The instruments used to form our Coco Rhythm section were:
Bumbo Le Gueuirro (deep bass drum)
Ganza (shaker)
Alfaia (a large wooden rope-tuned drum)
Pandeiro (hand frame drum)
Congas (Skinned drums)
V: Thank you for taking the time to meet. We just listened to the song Samba mou ksigiesai of Manolis Chiotis. In our own version we combine the song which is a Serviko in 2/4 with Samba rhythm also in 2/4. The interesting part here for me was that even though Serviko stretches the first quarter note, Samba in the rhythmical parent stretches the second quarter note.
How do you like this version, how do you see the two worlds coming together?
A: From what I hear, even though I do not know the original version of the song, I really like it.
I thought it worked well. And about what you said about emphasising the one, in Greece, the melodies of Samba in Brazil also emphasize the one but the rhythm itself has the strong beat on the two.
Actually I can see that the melody stretches both the one and the two, but the rhythm is on the two.
But I think it works quite naturally actually with that melody.
Adriano asked me to sing the melody and we improvised on it.
A: For me it was a very happy marriage.
V: Would you see that version of the song ´´standing´´ in the ears of someone who has samba as his or her own tradition? Or would it be something that would not be accepted as a fusion. And I am asking also because of the other characteristics of the song, such as the scale, the mode, the colour of the sounds, the instruments... Would this version ´´stand´´ on the other side of the globe?
A: You would hear that there is something different going on, but it does not mean that this is wrong. I think it is very different if you want to present a samba song and then it is not actually a samba song, it is different. But the way you presented it was as a combination, so you would expect that something is different and that is great. I also understand that the bouzouki is there. But the bouzouki there reminded me of mandolin and sometimes even cavaquinho when it was soloing. Cavaquinho is there is brazil, big time so is mandolin. The scale, ok, the mode, maybe but not even that. You can see that this is not a traditional samba, but I think that this is the whole point. You are mixing two traditions. These elements stand out, and of course the lyrics sung in Greek, so you understand that something else is happening there.
V: How strict are Brazilians are with their traditions when it comes to music? Is traditions there and it cannot be touched or does traditions seeks ways existing, evolving and coexisting with different traditions?
A: Look, in the very end of the day, most of the styles that we hear today around the world, are a result of a combination or a mix of different things. For instance, in Brazil what is considered traditional nowadays is actually a result of many different rhythms from different parts of Africa, because many African people reached to Brazil from different parts, and so, with them, they brought their rhythms and harmonies. Many people from Europe went to Brazil, and brought their rhythms and Harmonies, and the people who were Already in Brazil, the indigenous people as well!
So it is a mix Right, that it is evolving. And then it reaches a point that this mixture becomes characteristic of a region. Once you have that, to return to the original question, in Brazil you have both, you have people who are really strict with how the tradition is, how it must be, how it must be played and you do not mess with it. No new instruments, no new effects, no new chords, no new sound.
On the other hand there are people that are like, hey, you come with that combination? Fantastic!
There are Big artists that are very open and keep collaborating with different artist from around the world, Korea, Iran, different places, super openminded. So, switching and altering they find new worlds.
Like the Samba schools in Brazil, are very traditional. There are schools that are very strict, very serious, people putting their lives into it. The whole community involved and so on. Some directors of the batteria, some will be very strict, but some will be very open, and they will include new instruments that are not traditional from Samba. You will find both.
But the important thing to remember is, no matter where you come from, whether you are stricter or more open, the tradition itself is very strong. It is Steady and concrete. People identify hugely themselves through tradition.
V: I find that this happens all over the world and everyone keeps his or her own tradition high feeling special about it. But when you travel you can really see that this is a global phenomenon in music. Every place has own tradition which is loved and cherished. There are just different instruments, rhythms and so on.
What does it take in order to make the marriage of two traditions a happy one?
In the case of our song that two very strong traditions meet, what are the elements that could make it work?
A: I think it is the musicians. I think so. There can be similarities in the background that help, but I think it is the musicians. If the musicians want to make something happen, it doesn’t matter which tradition they are coming from, they can make certain kinds of music. In some combination the result will appear faster, in other combinations you will need to work harder to achieve. I don’t know if you can combine Baroque and Maracatu, how can you make that work. But I believe you can. Gregorian chant and samba schools. I believe it can! It is the collaboration. If people are willing to do it. And this is quite deep because I think people tried to divide us or it worked naturally as a division characteristic, so we will not mix.
I think it is the other way around. When you mix, you learn from each other and you grow, and people look at things in different ways more openly.