Although samba drumming was born in Brazil, it has its roots in the music and dance of west Africa. The 19th century Portugese colonisers of Brazil took people from their homes in the west of Africa to Bahia in the north-east of Brazil to work in the sugar plantations as part of the slave trade. These people, dislocated from their homeland and often separated from their families, held onto their traditions as best as they could and a new spiritual practice called candomble emerged that combined singing, drumming, dancing and costume. Candomble formed the basis of what would eventually become samba. The Worldwise Samba Drummers acknowledge these roots by playing some candomble pieces - Ogun and Xango, for example - arranged for the samba bateria.
Candomble endured and is still practised today but secular versions of the music and dance arose for the purpose of providing entertainment and bringing together the community. These secular adaptations of candomble music and dance formed the first samba styles. An example of this can be heard in the Worldwise Samba Drummers afoxe piece led by the agogo bells.

As the Afro-Brazilian population spread across Brazil, samba diversified, sometimes taking on characteristics of the indigenous Brazilian folk music or even the military music of the Portuguese colonisers (the use of snare drums in particular). One of the samba styles that arose in Rio de Janeiro is called batucada, this being the music and dance style known to many people through its use in the huge Rio de Janeiro carnivals.

Meanwhile, in Bahia, samba took on elements of reggae to form the style known as samba reggae.

Samba was originally looked down upon as music of the poor. It was even criminalised for a time for its potent ability to bring together in large numbers the members of the Afro-Brazilian community living in the favelas and for its use in protests against the Brazilian government. Eventually, however, samba became a part of Brazil’s national identity and found support across all demographics of the country.
Samba styles continue to diversify and samba’s popularity has since spread around the world. Whilst samba performances often incorporate singing and pitched instruments, the concept of a performing bateria, a group comprising only percussionists as in the case of the Worldwise Samba Drummers, has become widespread and very popular as both a form of entertainment for audiences and as a community practice for participants. Our community group, rather than working exclusively in one samba style, has always tried to play a diverse set of pieces that includes examples of several different subgenres.
If you would like to find out more about joining the Worldwise Samba Drummers or booking us for a performance, please use the Join Us and Contact Us links on the website.
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