I've been listening to a lot of mixtapes in the last year and a half - meaning podcast mixes…. None has quite inspired me as much as the recent Hidden Orchestra Flight mixtape. So much so that for the first time in over a year I took the time to lay down with no other distractions to listen to the mix through headphones. And once I had done that, I had to write about it. It's that amazing...

[Thanks to Joaoclima for the photo, rollover for credits.]

I was frustrated with my pandeiro practice a few months ago, because I felt like I had enough practice to keep up with and play along with some slower sambas / pagoda tunes - but my playing didn't sound right, it didn't "fit" the music.

My pandeiro teacher had always stressed the active use of the left hand - in particular to bring the pandeiro to meet the right hand when playing. To be clear - this is true, and is not the problem.

I've recently been laying a lot of Maracatu (in Paris, with Studio Olinda) at the same time I'm watching Treme on HBO.

And I keep seeing similarities. A most recent episode featured a cajun party, and the plaintif wailing sound sounded straight out of a northeastern Brazilian song forro tune.

As it turns out, I'm not the only who sees the connection between northeast Brazil and the US south :

Every time I sit down to practice drumming - which is not nearly often enough, I admit - I discover something new. I'm not trying to be a pollyana; I'm a little overwhlemed that there is so much to discover. But it's also great that these insights and lessons are accessible to me without needing an expert to point them out - its all right there, just beneath the surface. To be fair, since I tend to play alone alot (snif) I focus more on what I'm playing and how, much more so than if I was jamming with others.