Samba Afro and Samba Reggae music were born in the city of Salvador, Bahia, in the 1970s, when the Bloco Afro ILÊ AIYÊ first appeared. This instrumental idiom expresses the national identity and pride of the Afro Brazilians of Bahia. The Afro Brazilians played an important role in the early development of samba music, whose first form had a “Bahian” tone in dance and music, called “samba de roda”. The development of samba music in its contemporary fast form took place later in Rio de Janeiro.

The “sacred” rhythms and dances of the animistic religion Candomblé radically affect the birth of samba afro and samba reggae music, while since 1974 the drums are manufactured with metal instead of wood in order to facilitate the parade of a bloco afro.

The blending of African rhythms with Candomblé, samba, reggae, merengue, ijexa and funk music lead to an “explosive” and modern blend of rhythms, dances, civilizations and cultures.

The greatest representatives of this kind of music, that constitute our source of inspiration, are bands such as: Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, Muzenza, Malê Debalê, Timbalada etc.

Samba reggae is nowadays an international musical “language” with percussion bands spreading worldwide.

In Greece, the first “bloco” was created in 2003 by Angelos Polychronou, after a 3day workshop with Giba Gonçalves, while at the same time another “bloco” was formed in Thessaloniki by Eddie Spaapen.

Since then, many similar bands have appeared in Greece, in several cities such as Volos, Edessa, Drama, Chios, Andros, and there is a systematic cooperation among them on a live sessions and workshops level.