A Clap, a slap, a stomp (with Aluá Nascimento)

Episode 37 – Pulse, pocket, and berimbau (with Aluá Nascimento)

What actually is musical time? In this episode, Steve kicks off 2026 with the first four days of his “12 Days of Listening” mini-series — all about pulse, groove, and how our brains latch onto patterns (sometimes to our advantage, sometimes not).

Then we jump to Wilton’s Music Hall (January 2025) for a live guest spot from Aluá Nascimento — Brazilian percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and former STOMP cast member — starting with a trumpet + pandeiro duet on “Brazil” and expanding into body percussion, Afro-Brazilian rhythm traditions, and the wonderfully low-tech joy of making music out of whatever’s around.

Along the way, Aluá talks about growing up around capoeira, how culture and history shaped these sounds, and demonstrates instruments including berimbau (musical bow), caxixi (shaker), and pandeiro — with a bit of audience participation thrown in too.

In this episode

• A practical listening upgrade: pulse vs rhythm (try it while walking)
• “The pocket”: groove as micro-timing, not just the pattern
• Why your brain is basically a pattern-hunting drummer
• Shared time / entrainment: why humans sync up (and why it matters in music)
• Live at Wilton’s: trumpet + pandeiro on “Brazil”
• Aluá’s story: capoeira roots, Afro-Brazilian traditions, and the STOMP years
• Instruments you’ll hear: body percussion, pandeiro, berimbau, caxixi (and more)

Find Aluá

• Instagram
• Beat Goes On (bio + workshops)
• Watch: Aluá Nascimento & Helene Jank – Body Music (YouTube)

Also in this episode

• Steve mentions Episode 36 (breaking down how the My Friend Maisy theme was made)
• Wilton’s Music Hall shows: 24th January — kids/family show at 2pm, evening show at 7pm

Support the show

• Explore episodes, transcripts, and more: originofthepieces.com
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Stay musically curious!

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