Bat Makumba

The brainchild of Brazilian natives Alex Koberle and Emiliano Benevides and Americano bassist Carl Remde, Bat Makumba is the crossroads between the equatorial beats of Brazil and the punk, rock and funk influences of the U.S. and Europe. Locals to San Francisco, Bat Makumba's show is a hip renegade carnaval party full of tropicalia tinged ska, punk influenced forro, and rock infused samba. Since their debut in 2000 Bat Makumba have garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base throughout the West Coast.

Since their debut in 2000 Bat Makumba have garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base throughout the West Coast. Winners of a California Music Award for Best Latin Alternative Album and a SF Weekly Music Award for Best World Music Band, Bat Makumba have been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of Five Latin Bands to Watch, and their debut album was named one of the Best Records of the Year by the East Bay Express.

The second CD from Bat Makumba, ?Boteco' is an artful mixture of neo-futuristic traditional Brazilian rhythms with the right quantity of the best North American spices. It is funk and rock boiling and baking with samba, maracatu, frevo and baiao.
Put Pele and Mohammed Ali in a fictional mix machine. Now add Frank Zappa, Sergio Mendes, Tom Jobim and Roger Waters and fuse into one. What a mix eh?
Bat Makumba is this fusion, multiplied by 2.

Incorporating the varied influences of horn player David Gibbs, keyboardist Jason Moen and drummer Noah Waldman, Bat Makumba's live show brings together an international palette of musicians and instrumentation (including accordion, zabumba, megaphone, clarinet and alfaia). Named after the 70s classic Tropicalia song by Caetano Veloso + Gilberto Gil (popularized by Os Mutantes), "Bat Makumba" loosely translates to mean the mixing of Brazilian traditionalism with international pop culture.