Aug 11

Aug 11 Epi 103 Gabriel Policarpo

Bio:
A reference in the samba world, the musician, arranger and educator, Gabriel Policarpo, stands out for his creative and virtuosic way of playing the repique. At the age of 13, he joined the school in his neighborhood in Niterói, G.R.E.S Unidos do Viradouro, and soon took the place of 1st repique and soloist of the school. In 2015 he composed the drum masters commission for the special group of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Together with Bernardo Aguiar, he created the Pandeiro Repique Duo (PRD), that has been together for more than 10 years, and puts these two typical instruments of the Carioca soul side by side. Their first album featured Yamandú Costa, Nicolas Krassik, Carlos Malta, Marcos Suzano, Mestre Ciça and the African singer Ashimba. Since then, as an educator, he has performed on different stages and universities around the world, including The Juilliard School of Music, The Philadelphia University of Arts, City University London and Copenhagen Rytmisk Konservatorium. In addition to having founded the Escola de Ritmos, Bloco e Orquestra Batuquebato, an active bloco known in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. He also participates alongside big names in Brazilian and international music, both in concerts and in recordings. Highlight for recording and participation in the tour of the album “De bem com a vida”, winner of the Latin Grammy as the best samba album of 2016, with Martinho da Vila. He has shared the stage alongside other icons such as Alcione, Marcelo D2, Chico César, Hamilton de Holanda, Marcos Suzano, Carlos Malta, Roberta Sá, Shanghai, Gabriel Moura, Cátia de França and Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio.

In 2019, Contemporânea, the most traditional musical instrument industry in Brazil, launched a line of repiques with its signature. The debut of the Gabriel Policarpo Signature instruments took place at the 1st Meeting of Repiques in Niterói, held in August 2019 at the Viradouro quadra.