Nacanoa: idealização, concepção e produção. 
Ramiro Galas: gravação, produção e mixagem.
Samuel Torres: criação e execução dos arranjos de guitarra e caixa acústica.

Guitarreira Forrozada

In Nation Beat’s latest musical odyssey, traditional Brazilian rhythms intertwine with the soulful grooves of New Orleans, funk, and jazz to create a dynamic tapestry that spans continents and centuries. Each track is a testament to the power of music to transcend boundaries, both geographical and temporal. Archaic Humans is a celebration of the timeless fusion of ancient roots and modern innovation.

As only could happen in today’s continuously shrinking world, Nation Beat singularly conjures up an elemental musical mojo, drawing on the wellsprings of rhythm that lit up jazz and got maracatu thundering. Archaic Humans takes off with bebop-via-Brazil drumming, propulsive bursts of New Orleans–flavored brass, and hair-on-fire jazz improvisation.  On Archaic Humans, the band lights up the afterburners to reach into fresh territory with a couple of new collaborators, too as GRAMMY-nominated progressive hip-hop/go-go artist Christylez Bacon from Washington, DC, and soulful South African voclist Melanie Scholtz braid radically new and uplifting strands into Nation Beat’s musical timeline.

 Replete with infectious beats, soul-stirring melodies, and a music-meld of the traditional and the cutting edge, Archaic Humans is an exploration of our collective heritage, inviting listeners to connect with the primal essence that unites us all right here in the present.  Dive in and let the music and history - past, present, and future - wash over you. Discover what it is to be an Archaic Human.

Recorded September 30 & October 1st, 2023.
Engineer: Sam Stauff
Recorded at Mercy University
Producer: Jason Olaine
Co-Producers: Scott Kettner & Paul Carlon
Mixed by: Alan Friedman
Mastered by Scott Anthony & Ben Davis, Storybook Sound
Additional Recordings: Pedro França, Fabrica Studios, Recife, Brazil
Management: Tom Frouge, Avokado Artists
Label: Ropeadope Records
Front Cover Collage Art: Melanie Scholtz
Front Cover Layout: Gina Graves
Album cover layout by Ropeadope
Cover photo by Krystal Pagán-De La Rosa. Photo assistant Janeivy Hilario (Neivy)

Nation Beat is:
Scott Kettner: drum set and percussion
Paul Carlon: tenor sax and horn arrangements
Mark Collins: trumpet
Tom McHugh: trombone
Heather Ewer: sousaphone

Special Guests:
Melanie Scholtz: vocals
Christylez Bacon: beatbox & rhymes
Luca Texeira: percussion
Michael Spiro: congas & percussion


Be The Change

[APWW PGM #663] [Originally aired in 2013]
"African Sounds of the Indian Subcontinent"
In this Hip Deep program, Afropop explores musical connections between Africa and India. First up is the story of the Afro-Indian Sidi community. In the 13th century, Africans arrived in India as soldiers in the armies of Muslim conquerors. Some were able to rise through the ranks to become military leaders and even rulers. Their descendants continue to live in India today, performing African-influenced Sufi trance music at shrines to the Black Muslim saint named Baba Gor. Next, we dive into the swinging jazz era of 1930s Bombay, when African-American jazz musicians arrived by the dozen to perform at the glitzy Taj Mahal Hotel. They trained a generation of Indian jazz musicians who would become instrumental in the rise of India’s Hindi film music industry. Then we head south to the island of Sri Lanka, where Africans have had a presence for almost 500 years. We explore their history through the groovy Afro-Indo-Portuguese pop music style known as baila, popularized by 1960s star Wally Bastiansz and still performed at parties in Sri Lanka today. Finally, we speak with Deepak Ram, an Indian jazz flutist who recounts his experiences growing up Indian in apartheid South Africa. Throughout, we hear from leading experts, and of course, introduce fantastic and often-unexpected music.


African Sounds Of The Indian Subcontinent

Irene Checler relates her unusual upbringing in the 1950s as the daughter of fervent civil rights activists, and how it led her to take a stand of her own at her graduation in 1958.

The Stand: Episode 1 - "Goodnight Irene"

FORRÓ - FUNK - BRASS!
The heartbeat of Nation Beat’s sound lies in a deliciously original 21st century fusion between thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms. It is also the vibrant force of their explosive live show, which is frequently known to burst into crowd-wide Carnival-style drumming and singing. Nation Beat’s audacious energy seamlessly bridges folkloric Brazilian maracatu with classic NOLA roots music attracting an ever-growing legion of fans from across a wide demographic. Nation Beat plays the best kind of fusion in the world, the kind that doesn't try to fuse anything.  An American/Brazilian collective, Nation Beat belongs to both sides of the equator.

Be The Change

Nation Beat

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