In July Dubspot hosted a live streaming workshops with Brazil’s Percussivo Mundo Novo (which translates into “New World Percussion” in English). Led by the band’s songwriter and video game controller wiz Mikael Mutti, PMN truly embodies the vision their band name suggests.
In this video re-cap of PMN’s Dubspot workshop you’ll witness Mutti perform synth magic on his iPad-driven Guitar Hero controller before taking to the Nintendo Wii controller for a drum solo. In addition to demonstrating his 21st century production techniques, Mutti discusses how his roots in Afro-Bahia rhythms are an integral element in PMN’s sound. By capturing a vast array of sonic possibilities with new technology, PMN maintains the irreplaceable sound quality and energy that comes with live drum performance.
On their song “Shogun,” it may be virtually impossible to discern between PMN’s live percussionists and Mutti’s joystick drumming, but when his iPad synthesizer enters, you’ll know it’s from the future. The rest of the track hops and skips through infectious drum interludes while sauntering piano melodies introduce the repeating “shogun.”
Percussivo Mundo Novo – “Shogun”
In this video performance of “Iansa,” Mutti begins the performance faced away from the crowd, kneeling in front of a djembe drum. It appears that Mutti is actually playing the instrument, however as he rises from the drum, you notice the Wii controller in his hands. A voice comes over the speaker describing the drum’s ancient history, its ancestral roots to Africa, and a reminder that this past is what brought us to where we are now. The voice ends by saying, “Traditions and modernity, contradictions that make us who we are today.”
Percussivo Mundo Novo – “Iansa”
