Zuco 103

Zuco 103 founding members (Dutch drummer) Stefan Kruger and (German keyboarder) Stefan Schmid were excellent jazz musicians (studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory in 1989) before plunging head-first into electronics. Realizing they needed a gifted female vocalist to give soul to their electronic beats, they came across Lilian Vieira. Her immersion in Brazilian song and rhythm (Lilian is a native of Brazil) gave the band a strong foundation from which to venture. Kruger and Schmid combine the use of live jams, traditional composing/arranging skills, programming and sampling. Lilian brings to the band her gorgeous vocals and improvisational skills.

Their debut album, Outro Lado put the familiar, accessible sounds of Brazilian samba, bossa nova, and tropicalismo music into a whole new context. But the music doesn't stop there. "The music we make is a mix of jazz, funk, bossa nova, drum and bass ... or at least an interpretation of that. We are continuing and discovering new sounds and new grooves," says Stefan Kruger. —Courtesy Calabash Music