Carnival in Maastricht, Culture, Leisure, Travel, Feature articles, Through the lens, posted July 1st, 2008

764 Views

They can’t be missed anymore during carnival. For the past few years Brazilian samba bands have become an increasingly popular feature of our Maastricht carnival and can no longer be dissociated from it.

But what exactly are samba bands? Where do they come from? And how did they reach our city?

To learn more about this phenomenon I speak with three members of Passatempo, my favourite samba band in Maastricht. Annemieke Brekelmans, Mark Teunisse and Ron Erkens are very enthusiastic in answering all my questions.

(from left to right) Annemieke, Mark, Ron and Marleen

Especially Mark, who joined Passatempo in 2001, impresses me with his tremendous knowledge of the various styles of samba music. Besides being a member of Passatempo, he is also one of the “ritmistas” of the Casa de Samba in Tilburg which plays authentic samba music from Rio de Janeiro. He is obviously addicted to it! He not only plays samba instruments like the caixa, tamborim and repinique, but also the piano and the guitar.

Ron Erkens has been a member of Passatempo since its founding in 1997. He is currently the leader of the band and plays the surdo and repinique.

As for Annemieke, she started her career in samba music in 2000 with another samba band called Entusiasta but she switched to Passatempo in 2004 where she plays instruments like the surdo, timba, tamborim and agogo.

The excitement of samba music
Samba music was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the beginning of the 20th century out of cultural influences and traditions brought over by former African slaves. It became the most important Brazilian rhythm, and it is played in many different forms such as Samba Batucada and Samba Reggae.

Brazilian children playing samba music

Mark eagerly starts explaining: “Samba Batucada has a fast tempo, it is more exciting and cannot be expressed in musical notes. You can learn it only when you already have a lot of experience and the “right feeling”. For this you must be willing to practice a lot. Only then you can “feel” what to play and when to play it.”

“Samba Reggae, on the other hand, is the slower variant of samba and can be written down on paper. Therefore it is easier to learn. That’s the reason why we mainly play Samba Reggae.”

Mark tells me that other modern music styles like funk, drum ‘n bass, dance etc. also influence the band’s repertoire, but as he embarks on a description of the different samba styles I have to stop him because it gets too complicated for a non-expert like me!

I do understand however that Passatempo tries to distinguish itself from other samba bands by developing its own sound. About five typical pieces were written by Eric Janssen and Michiel Westerhuis, and two others by George de Beer. Too bad they are not members of Passatempo anymore.

Samba instruments
Of course, I am curious to find out more about the instruments needed to create this exotic music.

The surdo

I learn that the basic instrument to play samba music is the surdo, the bass drum, which determines the rhythm or “heartbeat”. This instrument has three sizes: the bigger the instrument, the lower (“deeper” in musical terms) the sound. The result is that even when only surdos are being used, one still can hear differences in tone.

The caixa

The caixa (snare drum) and chocalho (shaker) form the “engine” of samba. They are the ones responsible for the constant swinging groove. The repinique (high pitched lead drum) and timba (conical formed drum) are instruments typically used for a type of samba music called Samba Reggae.

The repinique

 

 The timba

 

Interestingly enough, I’m told, samba music originally included lyrics as well. It is the tamborim (small, fierce percussion instrument) which now replaces these lyrics.

If you’ve ever heard a samba band you might have noticed that the band leader uses a whistle to give instructions to the band. This whistle is called apito and it is used at specific moments during the performance. “Every musical piece starts with a kind of basic rhythm - which gets me into a trance,” says Mark. “Then there is a change in the rhythm - and I wake up again. This change is called a “break” and the band leader announces it with the apito.”

When I ask the three musicians if playing samba music can be compared to a sport activity testing one’s physical strength, they all say “No”. “Strength isn’t necessary, but the right technique to play drums is absolutely a must”, Ron explains.

Considering that a single drummer can already produce a lot of noise, I don’t have to explain how loud 20 drummers playing together can be. In order to protect their ears members use earplugs while playing.

 

Time for passion!
It was in 1991 that the first samba band appeared in Maastricht. It was called Volle Petaj. Since then the number of samba bands has only been increasing.

Passatempo itself was established in 1997 by Eric Janssen and Maurice van den Heuvel. The name of the band, Passatempo, is the Portuguese word for pass time, but band members say that for them it means “time for passion”.

In the beginning the band consisted of about five members. Nowadays there are 19 members - 11 women and 8 men -, all Dutch and all very enthusiastic about the band and samba music.

“The strength of Passatempo lies in the fact that we really feel like a family, all with the same passion, dedication and eagerness to learn more,” says Ron.

Annemieke agrees: “If someone is having problems in learning a new technique, for example the technique of tamborim virado (the fast turning of the tamborim while playing) there is always at least one person encouraging him or her as many times as necessary”.

The technique of the tamborim virado

 

The careful selection of new members is another special characteristic of Passatempo. Ron explains: “New candidates first receive a letter with information about our band. Then we invite them for an interview. One should not forget we are looking for energetic and dedicated people. If a candidate doesn’t have any percussion experience, the first condition is that he or she goes to the Drumschool in Maastricht to learn some basic techniques like rhythm, stick control and music reading. The candidate, who is not yet a member, needs to pay for the course himself. After the course, the candidate receives a music sheet of one of the numbers to practice. Then he or she will be ready to rehearse with the band. This way there is quality check and our rehearsals are not “disturbed” by the coming and going of candidates.”

It is worth adding that Passatempo members regularly go to the Drumschool too, to improve their drumming and rhythm techniques. This helps them bring the quality of their music to a higher level. They pay for half of the course and the other half is funded by the band.

It is also important to know that candidates or members, who need to be 16 to join the group, are not required to buy any of the instruments. These are all provided for.

Unfortunately new members are hard to come by. “It is tough to find someone with percussion experience. And in most cases, when you do find such a person, he/she is used to playing a pair of drums and therefore prefers to play in a rock band rather than in a samba band”, Ron regrets.

For Annemieke, Mark and Ron however samba music has become a real addiction: as soon as they discovered it, they were conquered by its exciting rhythm. This is easy to believe, especially looking at Mark who is having difficulties not to drum with his hands or feet while we speak.

 

In Maastricht there are about eight other samba groups. How does Passatempo distinguish itself?

According to Ron there are three big differences. The most obvious one is the band’s bright colours: red, orange and yellow. Then there is the way they perform: dynamic and inspiring, with many show elements. And the third difference, according to Ron, might be the intense feeling among members that they form one big family.

Ron immediately adds that this does not mean that other samba bands in Maastricht are seen as rivals. To the contrary! “One of the highlights during carnival is when we spontaneously play together with other bands or when we have the pleasure to listen to them.”

Passatempo in Maastricht during carnival

 

Aside from carnival, Passatempo performs on various occasions such as openings of shops or cultural events, or at wedding and birthday parties.

Passatempo at the Parcours festival in Maastricht, September 2006 (photos: Stuart Woodburn)

 

 

 

It has become a custom for the percussion group to play on Queen’s day, sometimes in Amsterdam, sometimes in Maastricht. Passatempo also takes part in several samba festivals across the Netherlands. In 2006 they won to their own surprise the first prize at a samba festival in Nijmegen!

When Theme park Six Flags Holland discovered them, they were asked to play there for two weekends. Passatempo has also performed abroad, in France, Belgium and Germany.

During a recent show in Brugge (Belgium), the samba band from Maastricht was such a success that it was invited to participate in a samba festival in Paris next year. “Hopefully our funds and agendas will allow us to be there!”

But the band players’ biggest dream would be to go to Brazil: “As soon as we get the opportunity we’ll make a trip to Brazil where samba is a lifestyle and samba schools are central meeting points. But we would need sponsors to make it financially possible.”

Samba on Ipanema

Now Mark cannot withhold himself anymore and starts drumming on the table, immediately followed by Ron.

According to Annemieke, Ron and Mark samba bands are becoming increasingly popular among the public. The driving rhythm of the music attracts crowds and the amount of requests to perform is also rising. Moreover, they say, the level of the bands is audibly improving.

I have had the pleasure to see Passatempo perform several times during carnival as well as on other occasions. I’m convinced that I will never get tired of their music, nor of their huge enthusiasm. If future plans didn’t take me away from Maastricht, I would grab any possibility to join the group with both hands!

Passatempo is looking for new members. Interested? Simply go to the band’s rehearsals on Friday evenings from 8 to 10 pm in Café De Keizer (address: Ambyerstraat Noord 3, 6225 EA Maastricht). Everyone is welcome.

For more information about Passatempo, or for bookings, please visit the band’s website at www.passatempo.nl.

 

By Marleen Vara

Marleen Vara, born and raised in Maastricht, is a real carnival enthusiast and likes to share the Maastricht culture with everyone.

Share This

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 9:49 pm and is filed under Carnival in Maastricht, Culture, Leisure, Travel, Feature articles, Through the lens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.