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BLOCO ELECTRO reviews BBC MUSIC review by Kate Sharp 16 May 2008 After playing to an estimated worldwide audience of 55 million people opening Live Earth, you would assume that you would recognise the gentlemen and lady behind BlocoElectro. Forming part of the SOS All-Stars, the drumming super group of 40 members, led by Roger Taylor of Queen, the band are slowly making the transition between support slots to the main attraction. Global Beatbox Part 1 is a curious collection of electronic and hip hop-tinged dance, compromised of solely percussive based sounds. Largely influenced by the sound of Brazilian drumming groups (Bloco) and fusing the distinct rhythmic patterns with both Latin and other world beats, BlocoElectro have a sound that is like a thousand holidays rolled into one. The emphasis is very much on the 'Global' throughout this album, with inspiration gained from just about anywhere you care to mention. Echoes of India, Africa and the Middle East all feature but each influence never sits incongruent to another and each sound seems to meld seamlessly into each other in this international melting pot. While African Beat also retains a progressive feel with the use of more synthetic drum sound, it is tracks such as Afro Cuba which mesh together the international influences in perhaps the most organic way. By merely allowing these percussive sounds to meet without any electronic intervention, they combine to make the most interesting noises on the album. Whereas key