Ogans

The music and dance of Bahia

ogansforpageonnewwebsite There is nothing like them! They electrify the stage – and the audience – with their presence, sending forth their energy and passion for the music of Bahia, cradle of Afro-Brazilian culture. Drums . . . chants . . . songs . . . from the heaviest traditional to the hottest pop. Ogans is Bahia, past and present. Their stage performance is intensified by the dance moves of the players, and the show can be booked with additional dancers performing a variety of Afro-Brazilian dances including the popular martial arts dances like capoeira and maculele. Their sound includes the mysterious and moving melodies of candomble, the African religion of Brazil (Ogans is a Yoruba word meaning “drummers of candomble”) — to a new sound they call “divine syncronous funk.”

About Ogans

Ogans was founded by Davi Vieira and Marivaldo dos Santos, two young but well-seasoned performers who have traveled the world with several Brazilian companies, dancing, playing percussion, and performing the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. Their previous band, Iyakekere, played diverse venues in New York City including S.O.B.’s, Lincoln Center, The Museum of Natural History, Symphony Space, The Club Tania Maria, The Village Gate, Indigo Blues, the New Yorican Poet Cafe. The band was also popular on the festival circuit of international music, appearing in the Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Boom Shot Festival in Seattle.

Davi and Marivaldo have toured and recorded with Steve Coleman in “The Sign and the Seal” album. They have released a Brazilian hip-hop CD and music video under the name MD MCs (EMI), and appear on the Tommy Boy compilation CD Planet Rap.

They can also be seen performing in the hit off-Broadway percussion sensation STOMP.

Rounding out the band are a group of talented performers including Paulinho Cayre, Mario Pereira and Gustvo Remor who also contributed to the founding of the band, along with Zé Mauricio, Gustavo Dantas, Leco Reis and Kevin Nathaniel, among others.