Bonde Do Rolê is light, refreshing, exotic, and laced with plenty of humor and fun. This band manages to successfully fuse together funk, punk, African hip-hop, Brazilian percussion, electro-pop and rock.They’ve even been featured on everything from Ugly Betty to FIFA video games to Nokia commercials.

Bonde do Rolê was formed in 2005 in Curitiba, Brazil. The music scene, as they described it themselves was “boring” and they were tired of the same stuff. They set about creating a new sound themselves. Bonde do Rolê started as a “joke”, something fun to pass the time. They were inspired by the Brazilian funk, “carioca”, or “baile”, and the party scene where they found it. In short, Bonde wanted to bring the party to the music; with all the energy, fun, and carefree attitude that came with it.

In 2007, when frontworman Marina Ribatski left the band, Bonde do Rolê turned to MTV Brazil and launched a week-long reality TV show to find a new singer. They pushed contestants through events such as mud-jumping, eating at strange restaurants and camping in garages. After all that, they found their star in Laura Taylor.

Since then Bonde do Rolê has kept trucking. They received a 2008 nomination for Band of the Year and Song of the Year from MTV Brazil, and they are scheduled to release their sophomore album, Tropical Bacanal on June 31st, featuring Diplo, Poolside, and Das Racist along with and singles “Bang”, “Kilo” and “Brazilian Boys.”

Interview:

Older, Wiser, Still Unrepentant Perverts

- Ronan Daly