feat. BrazilBeat Sound System and friends

With its grimy basslines, shamelessly pirated samples and nasty lyrics (if you can understand them!), Brazilian "baile-funk" is a worldwide phenomenon, championed by the likes of M.I.A., Diplo, Bonde do Role and Tetine. Open-air dances ("bailes") held in the "favela" ghettos of Rio de Janeiro crank with unimaginable wattage and goings-on; a booty-bass workout with the lowest common denominator.

NZ's own BrazilBeat Sound System bring their ELECTRO-CARNAVAL party to the South Island for a taste of the fun and the funk.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brazilbeat bring heat of Carnaval to South Island winter

The East Coast of the North Island, New Zealand, has a sunny reputation to uphold. Gisborne, being the First City of the Sun and all, has more than its share of heatseekers for a town of its size. But beyond surfers and the Rhythm & Vines festival, Gisborne is also home to a unique music group, BrazilBeat Sound System.

BBSS is percussionist and MC Nego Beto and DJ Mara. BBSS specialise in one thing: raising the temperature on a dance floor, Brazilian style. And that's exactly what they intend to do when they hit the South Island with their "Electro-Carnaval" the first week of July. The live-act started mashing up house beats with live percussion in San Francisco, USA in 2000. They spent the summer in Aotearoa the following year, and have been spreading the love here ever since, performing at clubs and festivals like Rhythm & Vines, Soundsplash, Splore, Parihaka, uni Orientations and most recently Homegrown. Internationally renowned Brazilian percussionist Nego Beto created the project after playing in many different bands, recording, producing and educating in five continents over his 20-year music career. Highlights include touring with reggae legends The Wailers and working as a producer for MTV in Brazil. In 2006 he participated in B-Live/Loop's OE: Brazil project, the New Zealand tour. Beto's hard-case MC style and riveting performances on congas, timbales, bongos, drum machines and varied percussion instruments send audiences to delirium, while DJ Mara provides the thunderous basslines. Planting the Brazilian flag in Oceania, BBSS have developed a strong underground following in New Zealand.

BrazilBeat released their debut full length album "Nova" last November on their own fledgeling label Belezza.

The Waikato Times review: "Festival favourites DJ Mara and Nego Beto grab you by the scruff of the neck with their grunty Latin-flavoured house and breaks, and toss you into the middle of the dancefloor--where you have a damn fine time shaking your booty. A long-awaited, fun and uplifting debut."

While Nego Beto and his drums have recently crossed Cook Strait with other bands, BrazilBeat Sound System have not played in the South since 2004, when they rocked the dance tent at the legendary Destination festival in the Canterbury high country. BBSS are excited for their return and the chance to lay down their brand new original sounds and some of the hottest riddims from around the globe. The current mix covers a wide spectrum of genres, from electro-breaks to drum & bass and of course baile-funk, the grimy Brazilian ghetto dance music that has become a worldwide phenomenon.

A cohort from the "East Coast", Hamish Pinkham joins BBSS for the Electro-Carnaval tour. Founder of Rhythm & Vines, promoter of the sold-out Kiwi-themed "Endeavor" concert in London (2007), and founding member of the folk-rock band Blackbird, Pinkham is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and DJ with a penchant for a good party! His yearly travels to the UK and Europe ensure a fresh dose of cutting edge music. On the decks he spins a colourful hybrid of indie/nu-rave/disco-punk.

BrazilBeat Sound System will return to the States at the end of July for their US album release tour, with shows in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.