"Rhythms of the City – you are amazing! Your style of music and your presentation enthralled and captivated our audiences at Bridgwater Carnival in 2012 – so much so that we could not wait to invite you to take part again in 2013. You didn’t disappoint on your return visit and we hope this will be the start of a long association with you."
- Chris Hocking - Director, Bridgwater Carnival
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"I would just like to put into words a real big thank you to all at ROTC , I knew after getting a small group of you down for the launch of the Plymouth Respect Festival that we had to get the full group down , no mean feet 25 people from London to Plymouth with a 10am start on a Saturday , I am glad to say i was right you really rocked in a samba stylee our audience it was a pleasure to work with you all, the enthusiasm of all involved was great and your originality was refreshing, cheers to all." 
- Dan Thompson - Director, Respect Festival
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"I have worked with Barak and his merry band of musicians 'Rhythms Of The City' for three years now booking them at least twice a month at Guanabara (largest Brazilian venue in Europe selling the largest volume of Brazilian rum Cachaca out of any bar in the world outside of Brazil) and now more recently at Grace Bar London for our new Brazilian Carnival themed Saturday night. Rhythms Of The City never fail to deliver a spell binding show of everything from truly authentic Brazilian Samba to current chart music with a Samba twist. There truly is nothing they can't do musically and they also come with the best dancers in London! This is a truly passionate and inspirational band of true musicians who you will want to book over and over. 
- Tristan Moffat - Manager, Novus Leisure
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"I had the pleasure of working with Rhythms of the City in my capacity as Producer of the London 2012 Festival for the Olympic and Paralympics Games. The band hosted and produced collaborations with various visiting Brazilian artists, whom they performed alongside and created a strong creative relationship which has lasted beyond 2012. Rhythms of the City musicians and dancers performed in a number of Olympic events including the Olympic Park, both at VIP and public areas as well as many sets at the various London 2012 Festival sites around the capital, including Somerset House and BT live in Victoria park. The band are professional, enthusiastic, and a pleasure to work with. I have no hesitation in recommending them for any event, their experience combined with their youthful energy makes them a real hit at any event."
- Laia Gasch - Producer, London 2012 Festival
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"Rhythms of the City came to perform and deliver a workshop for us here at the British School, Rio. The students have been asking 'when will they come back?' ever since! Their pride in sharing their first-hand experience of the African roots of the music was infectious. The even left behind the worksheets for us to have a go on our own!"
- Andy Casterton - Head of Music, British School, Rio de Janeiro
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"Perfect organisation of a band. Music quality very, very good. batucada style so good, song arrangement lovely. You taught us nice breaks. Song in Polish was a very nice suprise for Polish audience, thank you.​"
- Michał Szczepankiewicz - Director, Gdansk Samba Festival
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"Brazilian Fantasy has worked with Rhythms of the City on several high profile events including Lovebox Festival and entertainment for the Olympic Closing Ceremony. We have found them to be incredibly organised, helpful and professional, not to mention talented! I happily recommend Rhythms of the City to anyone needing an energetic, entertaining band that plays a variety
of music that can get the crowd on their feet." 
- Dahlia - Director, Brazilian Fantasy Ltd
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"Rhythms Of The City are highly professional, well drilled and bring the party each and every time. We've worked together on some of the biggest stages (Brixton Academy, Glastonbury Other Stage, Reading Festival, Big Chill, Wireless) and they've always been brilliant, and Barak brings a huge wealth of knowledge and ideas with him. I look forward to us all working together again in the future."
- Jack Savidge - Friendly Fires
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"Rhythms of the City took part in the Brazilica Festival here in Liverpool July 2013, they were a pleasure to work with and did several performances, supporting Sargento Pimenta at the Cavern and performing on the Brazilica main stage the following day.They did the carnival parade too and wowed the crowds. We'd love to have them back."

- Maeve Morris - Festival producer, Liverpool Carnival Company
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"RotC are an amazing collective of very passionate , talented musicians who I saw performing for the 1st time some years ago at the very popular festival the Big Chill. Later on I booked them to play at LSO St Luke's to perform at Inside Out in the outdoor grounds of the fabulous LSO St Luke's as a part of the diverse community orientated program promoted by the LSO during the summer. The eclectic approach of RotC fitted perfectly with the informal ethos of Inside Out therefore booking RotC was a complete success.
- Roberta Cutolo - Freelance booking agent & music consultant
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"Ver o Rhytms of the City em ação é se surpreender a cada momento. Supreender-se com a naturalidade com que os ótimos músicos dominam os ritmos de várias partes do mundo; surpreender-se com a variedade de estilos tocados; perceber as nuances variadas de arranjos ricos e bem trabalhados, que nunca deixam o público parado. Sob a batuta do Maestro Barak Schmool, o grupo ganha vida, ganha as ruas e, traz, literalmente, mais ritmo à cidade. Imperdível!"
- Leandro Donner - Direção Musical Bloco do Sargento Pimenta
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"Fiquei muito orgulhoso ao conhecer o ROTC, pois vi a batucada brasileira respeitada e muito bem tocada fora de nosso país! Sem dúvida, o pessoal defende a música brasileira com muito carinho."
- João Marcelo Oliveira, Diretor do bloco Fogo & Paixão
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"O ROTC recebeu o projeto Rio Lapa Londres durante o Festival London2012, atendendo a um grupo do Brasil formado por 40 músicos e produtores das bandas Monobloco e Bloco do Sargento Pimenta. Para nós, brasileiros em intercambio cultural na Inglaterra, foi fundamental contar com o apoio do ROTC e seu diretor Barak Schmool para fazer dar certo todo um planejamento de oficinas e shows. Através da colaboração deles, tivemos acesso a infraestrutura para ensaios, planejamento técnico de som para eventos na rua e contatos com profissionais da área musical, nos fazendo sentir muito bem recebidos em Londres e tornando a nossa estada no local muito mais saudável e agradável.

Além da generosidade do grupo, posso ainda ressaltar a disciplina e dedicação musical do ROTC, que apresenta com sua bateria a música brasileira com ótima qualidade. Foi uma grande surpresa encontrar na Inglaterra um grupo musical inspirado na cultura brasileira que pudesse representar tão bem a nossa música e ritmos. Em visita ao Brasil, os shows do ROTC foram também grata surpresa ao público do Rio de Janeiro, fazendo vários shows com grande sucesso."

- Vanessa Damasco - Manager, Fundição Progresso, Rio de Janeiro
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"I had the pleasure of working with R0TC at Rich Mix in November 2013. Their playing was superb and I enjoyed the novel experience of being accompanied by a magnificent rhythm section whilst performing my calypsos. I look forward to repeating the experience."
- Alexander D Great (twice UK Calypso Monarch and Calypsonian-in-Residence for the BBC from February 2000 – July 2012)
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"ROTC is the most versatile samba percussion squad. Guaranteed to consistently deliver first class high energy entertainment and rock the house!"
- Frank Sweeney, Create London
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"I have worked with ROTC and Barak for over 15 years . He is the number one percussive artist and tireless organiser inside of this business. Few acts command such respect, their ability to entertain all peoples, in all places and ease to work with are second to none. Critically ROTC never remain still - exploring all genres and styles , in a completely professional way . I have no reservation’s to suggest anyone should book this fantastic act."
- Chris Macmeikan - Director, Continental Drifts (music agency)
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"For the last 15 years Rhythms of the City under the leadership of Barak Schmool have been the one constant delivering live music for Mandinga Arts. They represent the heartbeat of our group at festivals, carnivals and venues. The ability to work closely with Mandinga’s artistic direction gives RotC a clear edge over other street bands. The quality of the music arranged and played is of the highest quality both nationwide and abroad.Their passion for playing, willingness to put in the extra time to raise the standard of musicianship, to accommodate new performance approaches and to iniate new musical genres are all inspirational for our own artform: costume, puppet and float design, street theatre and dance.

Performance opportunities over the years have varied greatly in terms of location, budget or remit; RotC have never let us down, whether as a quartet or a 35 piece carnival band, quality over quantity is what is experienced.With well over a decade of creative innovation and experience uniting Mandinga Arts with Rhythms of the City, I can only look forward to 2014 pushing forward the boundaries once again. I applaud the professionalism and creative drive of this unique musical band."

- Charles Beauchamp - Director, Mandinga Arts
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“Rhythms of the City has performed for City University London’s Lord Mayors Show float for the past two years. We have been very impressed not only with how their music lifted the crowd surrounding the float, but also with their professionalism before, during and after the event. Last year they even managed to deliver exceptional and exciting live music in extremely adverse weather conditions. We look forward to working with them to develop ideas for the future.”
- Kayley Goff - Events Officer, City University
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"Rhythms of the City are an outstanding carnival band. Their feel good mix-up of world rhythms with soul, funk and pop has any audience dancing and singing. They have been a cornerstone in the Great British Carnival project. Their involvement has guaranteed the musical excellence of all the showcases we produced and put the great into Great British Carnival. We are planning to work with them extensively next year, and for many years to come."
- Teresa Askew - Artistic Director, Great British Carnival
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"I had the pleasure of hosting 2 shows by the Rhythms of the City collective at our annual music festival at the University of Hertfordshire. In those 2 shows the group displayed an amazing breadth of repertoire covering a vast area of musical possibilities – from a “carnaval” parade to a full show on stage setting. This latter included dance, theatre, music and narration (the history of Samba in 2 hours), striking an unusually exquisite balance between education and entertainment. Whatever the format, I rate their shows to be of the highest artistic quality and professionalism, and I would not hesitate to recommend these dedicated, passionate and highly talented artists to everyone."
- Dr Roberto Filoseta - Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire
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"We have worked, written and performed with Barak for several years now. He and Rhythms of the City have been instrumental in helping us record our samba inspired tracks, and in bringing them to life on stage in both Europe and Brazil. We had the pleasure of sharing a float with them at carnival (Notting Hill) and they have been the grand finale to many of our biggest festival and touring shows."
- Edward Gibson - Friendly Fires
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"Colaborando com professor Barak e o seu ROTC desde 2007, a cada ano que passa me impressiono com a evolução da sua batucada e espero que nossa parceria dure muitos verões Londrinos!"
- Fabio Allman(Fabão) - lead singer, Monobloco
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"Rhythms of The City brought a dash of colour, energy and atmosphere to what was a wet rainy day in Brecon. People danced and had a great time, despite the weather!"
- Pablo Janczur - director, Brecon Jazz Festival
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"You guys were fantastic and really brought the Carnival theme alive. Really enjoyed your talents and you were a massive hit at the event"
- Natasha Sharma - cirklepr
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