Back to Basics - the sounds of Brazil with Leandro Vasquez

Auckland's impressive multi-ethnic make-up has the potential to virtually fill up every day of a week with some global-flavoured offering, indulgence or food for thought one way or the other. And, there's arguably a music event every night somewhere in the city featuring world class talent virtually from anywhere in the world.

In this series as part of the weekly podcast Here Now, Kadambari Raghukumar chats with some of those musicians about what sort of musical staple they grew up with in their home countries, and how they've brought some of that with them, to New Zealand's music scene.

The sound of Brazil is unmistakable. Even to the untrained ear it's an instant invitation into to the world of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia Salvador, carnival and caipirinha - but that's the good stuff. Some of these sounds come from places of struggle and solidarity after an era of slavery. In this episode, Leandro Vasquez talks about some of this historical context to different genres in Brazil, and what he grew up listening to as a staple.

Leandro is a capoeira instructor and a musician in Auckland where he's also known for his Sunday 'rodas' - Samba sessions with musicians around a table, where the bar's packed to the rafters while Brazilians sing lyric-to-lyric of each song, in almost an anthemic fashion.

But there's a wealth of depth and width beyond Samba and Bossa Nova when it comes to music from Brazil. Choro, as Leandro says, predates samba. Choro - or chorinho (which as a noun actually means a lament) is an instrumental genre from 19th century Rio; a blend of European sounds like polka and rhythms from Africa.

While musicians around the world have been influenced by Brazilian music like choro or bossa nova, many forms of rhythms and dances that came out of poorer communities in post-abolition Brazil faced suppression and stigma, including Samba, the most globally known of them all.

As slavery was abolished in 1888 the concept of "blanqueamento," or whitening, became a central aspect of Brazilian national policy to gradually increase the proportion of white Brazilians through immigration from Europe, interracial marriage and promoting European cultural values. All the while Afro-origin cultural practices including things like capoeira and samba felt the burn of persecution and stigmatization.

Leandro grew up in Rio and was surrounded by all genres, including Rio Funk, or Baile Funk born in the favelas of the city. With its suggestive dance moves and heavy bass, it faced it share of pushback in recent years.

Nonetheless, from baile funk to samba to forro, they are here to stay and have firmly made their mark even as far as Auckland.

While the carnival is one of Brazil's biggest drawcards and the culture of it, one of it's biggest exports, but living in Auckland Leandro feels the void of not having access to that infectious carnival fervour here in New Zealand.

But this means he's also faced with opportunities to be an ambassador for that vibe, through his gigs and events with the Brazilian community. He's at a point now where he wants to take it beyond the choir so to speak and get more Kiwis curious about the sound of Brazil here on these shores.