KEY POINTS:
School is finally out for Batucada Sound Machine. After only four years of studious grooving, this baker's dozen of Pacific-flavoured Latinistas have an album they're proud of and enough confidence in their chops to dream of taking them back to their source: Brazil.
It's been a very public learning curve played out on sweaty, cramped stages up and down the country. While the shows have earned Batucada Sound Machine plenty of kudos for infectious energy and vibrancy, fans may not be aware of the lengths they've gone to to ensure what they dish out is the real deal and not some whitebread knock-off.
BSM's rhythms draw on everything from funk to hip-hop, latin and reggae and they want every beat to be on "the one".
Unfortunately, Godzone is a hell of a long way from the homelands of those inspirations. Sure you can pick up plenty from lending a close ear to dusty old records, but nothing beats having someone on tap who can tell when your samba is leaning more toward a polka. Especially when you end up playing on the same bill as some of the people who got you into music in the first place. No one wants to look a fool.
If that makes them sound all bookish and calculated, relax. BSM's story is more one of happy accidents rather than slaving away at a master plan. When your band has got 13 members and a cast of past and present guest stars that could fill the Love Boat, concrete plans make way for cat-herding.
It seemed so much easier when founder James Hughes took those first tentative steps. In 2003, he had returned from a three-year stint in Argentina, lapping up as much music as his ears could take. He was teaching the techniques and rhythms he'd learned to a community group, AK Samba, while quietly gagging for a chance to do his own thing.
First off, he assembled a small crew to jam out Latin riffs at a night at Galatos.
"I really wanted to push forward with musicians who could catch on quickly. I brought in [BSM drummer] Rota Barrington and a couple of guys to see what we could come up with. Then a few MCs, people like King Kapisi, started dropping in and the jams just kept growing. It was all very improvised, very dynamic. Then we grew a horn section and got a guitarist. Bass player? Why not. Another singer? Sure. We kept on growing for about a year and eventually started doing a few gigs around the country before we got an invitation to play an urban Latin festival in Sydney."
His recruits were dead keen, but given a mixed bag of backgrounds - jazz, ska, hip-hop and funk - it was time for some true Latino guidance.
"That's very important to us," says Hughes. "When we play stuff with Latin roots we want it to be authentic. But getting that right is really hard in a community like New Zealand, there aren't many people around who can help."
So they headed to Wellington and Dunedin where they recruited local percussive whizzes Darryn Sigley and Peruvian Alfonso Rios.
The result has been a drastic tightening of their sound. Vague notions made way for proper arrangements, although there is plenty of latitude for freewheeling.
Their efforts were impressive enough to earn the group an invitation to appear at WOMAD UK where they were introduced by Neil Sparkes, the man behind the 90s Afro/ sci-fi outfit Transglobal Underground. Afterwards there was much mutual appreciation and swapping of cards, then six months later Hughes was asking Sparkes if he'd like to produce their new album Rhythm and Rhyme.
"Hell yes, I'd love to come," was the reply and not long afterwards a small army of musicians was assembled to knock out 13 songs in three weeks of 12-hour days.
The result is being launched at Galatos tonight.
"I describe it as groove-based music," says Hughes. "We are very cautious about pigeon-holing. Instead we concentrate on providing that groove that anyone who's into funk, Afrobeat or reggae can get off on. We've never had a problem attracting an audience for that."
"Live, that's our best setting," says BSM vocalist/guitarist Ritchie Setford who is also part of One Million Dollars. "I'm not sure if we're a radio band, but as soon as people hear us out and about, there's an instant response. It's awesomely positive, and for me there's nothing like it."
Performance
* Who: Batucada Sound Machine
* When: Galatos, tonight
* Also: The band will also be appearing at the Jambalaya Festival of Music, Dance and Carnival in Rotorua on January 4-6, 2008, along with international acts Son Veneno and Watussi, and locals Katchafire and Ladi 6
