STAMPING GROUND
This composition also debuted in Moondog's self-titled 1969 album (Columbia Records). It is an epic orchestral piece where, in his own words, “the melodic line works itself into a canon, or the melodic line is a canon, and revels itself as such as the piece progresses”.
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Although not often covered, this song has been sampled in some works and featured in the soundtrack of the movie The Big Lebowski (1998).
ON BRAZILIAN GROUND
This recording was produced with a select group of musicians from Toronto's growing Brazilian community, diving into Brazilian folk traditions from the country's northeast region.
The snare heavy beat from Moondog's original recording inspired me to think about street music from Brazil, drumming processions that blend African, Indigenous, and European traditions. Maracatu was born in the state of Pernambuco, and it is a staple of the region's carnival processions. The broad semi-arid region of the northeast Brazil also gave birth to Baião, a genre of rural origins made for dancing in couples, traditionally played with an accordion, zabumba (a type of bass drum), triangle, and often the fiddle.
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Stamping Ground starts as a heavy Maracatu procession that fuses into a vibrant Baião dance. It all comes together at the end for an epic journey.
CREDITS
MARACATU MAR ABERTO is:
Alex Bordokas conducting, alfaia, whistle
Kristyn Gelfand alfaia
Leilah alfaia
Jonathan alfaia
Sterling snare
Régis snare
Malê Carvalho xequerê
Prince gonguê
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JER zabumba, triangle, shaker, cowbell
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João Leão melodica, block, guiro
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Jessica Deutsch violin
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Matheus Coelho clarinet
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Alfredo Barros 7 string guitar
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Akim Bamboo shakuhachi flute
MARACATU MAR ABERTO
Maracatu Mar Aberto is an Afro-Brazilian percussion and song troupe playing Maracatu de Baque Virado and other rhythms derived from the same traditions. Translated to English as the Open Sea, our name represents the aggregated influences that have traveled from Africa to Brazil and onward to Toronto and beyond.​
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Mar Aberto plays all types of events. We are culture. Through our artistry and community, through who we are and how we interact with each other and our world. Join the movement and check us out!
JER
Fusing psychedelic rock, dub and afrobeat grooves with northeast Brazilian rhythms and Tropicalia influences from the classic 70s era, Brazilian Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jerusa Leão, aka JER, creates an eclectic sound that challenges preconceived notions of what constitutes traditional Brazilian music.
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Born in Conceição do Coité in Northeastern Brazil. JER has performed at the Lulaworld, MIxto and Calgary Folk festivals and is working on her first full length album, following-up on her single, ‘Broken' released on the Lulaworld label in December 2022.
