AKSamba is a percussion group based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. While predominantly inspired by Brazilian rhythms, the group's music also incorporates global rhythms such as

drum'n'bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bas ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. Formed at the end of 2002, the group has around 50 members covering a wide age range and from many different nationalities. Its mestres are Darren Cottingham and Jo Odds. Band affairs are coordinated by several committees. AKSamba regularly works with visiting percussionists from around the world such as Mohamed Bangoura, Cabello,

Monobloco Monobloco is a Brazilian bloco, or street band, that plays during Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and is also a professional touring show. Unlike most of Rio's blocos, which tend play one type of music (typically samba), Monobloco has become e ...

and Ricardo Ó Rosinha. AKSamba performs in a variety of settings including festivals, parades, and community and corporate events around New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It also runs workshops and introductory percussion courses aimed at the public. AKSamba is one of eight large samba groups in New Zealand, the others being Unidos de Aotearoa (Auckland), Wellington Batucada, Tauranga Samba, Samba De Sol (Nelson), Sambatron (Hamilton), Samba ao Vento (Palmerston North) and Bay Batucada (Napier). There are also smaller, informal

pagode Pagode () is a Brazilian style of music that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a subgenre of Samba. Pagode originally meant a celebration with food, music, dance, and party. In 1978, singer Beth Carvalho was introduced to this music, liked ...

groups and Brazilian-influenced groups around New Zealand that incorporate the instruments of the larger Rio-style

bateria The term ''bateria'' means “drum kit” in Portuguese and Spanish. In Brazil, the word is also used for a form of Brazilian samba band, the percussion band or rhythm section of a Samba School. It might also mean ''battery''. ''Baterias'' are ...

External links

AKSamba's official home pageAKSamba on FacebookAKSamba's photo library on FlickrWellington Batucada
Musical groups from Auckland {{NewZealand-band-stub