Written by @Loud, on Monday, 5 June 2006

Published in : Culture, Music

Ever felt that the CCAs in school were trite and boring? You can do what one Singapore Management University (SMU) student did... and create a whole new exciting CCA of your own.

The fruit of his labour is Samba Masala, a percussion group that mixes Brazilian samba beats and Asian influences into one loud, energy-driven musical group.
left: rehearsals are loud and raucous

Samba Masala, which means "Samba Fusion", was started off by Edison, an SMU student, two years ago. It began as a small group of students playing only Indian dhols, but has evolved and blossomed rapidly into a percussion group of nearly 30 active members today, boasting Brazilian instruments such as the repinique, surdos and caixa, as well as Asian instruments such as the Indian dhol and Chinese drum.

Chris, who plays the caixa (say "kai-sha") or the snare drum, opted for Samba Masala over the more conventional choice of the symphonic band. "It's a challenge for me", he said. "It's a steep learning curve, no matter how much experience you've had before".

right: Chris drums up a storm on his caixa

Chris also introduced me to their instructors Budi and Hardy of Wicked Aura fame - you might know them better as "the Brazilian percussion band that played outside Taka". These guys were brought in by Margaret Chan ("crrrrush you like a cockcroach"), then the Arts Director of SMU. According to Samba Masala, she put in immense efforts to see that the group has progressed to what they are today. Budi and Hardy never fail to bring life to the rehearsal, thanks to their exuberant energy, and it was easy to see where the rest of the band got their inspiration from.