rhythms of the city blog

it was a long, hot summer…. well ok it wasn’t hot, more wet… it was a long, wet summer…. mmm, not long either…. it was an average length wet summer… did that stop us? and had we had enough of carnival… hkny carnival (tick), olympics-still in progress (tick), merchant city festival (tick), twickenham carnival (twick)… and despite being full on (25 shows in 8 weeks) there was still energy to have fun on stage at our regular home guanabara. elisangela and orquídea danced, gabrielle, amy and brian sang. picture gallery here.

rotc @ guanabara 11 aug 2012

once again rotc visits (sunny) glasgow; as ever our bff’s roddy & samba ya bamba help out with guest players and logistics, and big brother luigi (bottom r with hat) takes care of us italian style. the job? 2 days playing before olympic women’s football at hampden park (inlcuding n korea flag disaster), then merchant city festival parade accompanied by a BIG blue man that walks, and 2 steamy nights @ boteco do brasil, scotlands number 1 (and only) brazilian club/bar/restaurant/hang. whilst a team of 10 took care of most of the gigs, we had 27 for festival parade and stage, a good turnout thanks to mega-bus sleeper who delivered weary sambistas overnight from london. a good time was had by all + a few deep-fried mars bars.

rotc @ merchant city festival 27 jul 2012

ooh baby. a sweaty night at guanabara club. we will be back with more players the following night, but for now 8 of us have to rock the crowd. friday night is soul night, and we play r’n’b + motown etc which is why we are called soulbloco, brazilian drums, songs in english. we pity the fools that try english instruments and brazilian songs. pictures here, videos: tightrope | mountain | it must be love.

soulbloco @ guanabara 22 jn 2012

remember last year? the rain, the absence of crowds, the atmosphere? well we are back, same time, same place, same crowds, same parade (no rain) + same 7 children (without anoraks). are we glum? no. rio it is not, but we are big news out here and make the local paper.

rotc @ twickenham carnival 17 jun 2012

cultural co-operation have for a long while put on yearly festivals of multiculture. finally, we are deemed ethnic (efnic) enough to be placed alongside their more obviously immigrant acts. through sodden grass we played/trod to the stage, and then entertained the brave but thin crowd in their wellies. one month after this date clissold park was so waterlogged that hackney festival was cancelled/relocated. looking back over the years this was often the most packed, most local, most friendly of park-gigs. we hope it recovers for next year.

rotc @ world city music village, clissold park 16 june 2012

there are some situations in which it is difficult to be a parading percussion band. underwater, flying in mid-air, and deep mud. and yes at lovebox festival we find ourselves once more, in the third of these aforementioned scenarios. it can be seen in the photo that our footwear choice was not made from an educated perspective. but the walkabout element of today’s show, though it included having to fend off attacks from the inebriated festival goers and wild animals (tony the tiger), was only the prelude to talking the stage with our ace friends from brazilian fantasy to accompany their colourful samba dance presentation.

lovebox 15 jun 2012

indeed, sometimes it rains on your parade, and today in the suburban tranquility-until-we-banged-our-loud-ass-drums it rained on twickenham council’s yearly attempt at recreating a rio atmosphere.  we are not in this game to be glum, we enjoyed ouselves regardless of lack of screaming crowds lining the route.  later, following parade through leafy backstreets, we took to the stage of orleans house watched by 7 children in anoraks. further evidence is here.

rotc @ twickenham carnival 2011