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Manos was blessed with a rhythmical spirit and has been a great lover of all types of music & beats ever since he built his own drum kit at the tender age of 12. Deeply influenced by the likes of James Brown, Light of the World, Incognito, Average White Band and more recently Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Robin Jones (King Salsa) and Snowboy, Manos draws from many corners of the music spectrum. Manos currently plays & produces percussive beats across a selection of his favourite styles ...Funk / Latin Jazz / Jazzfunk / House / Soul / Reggae / Pop / Chillout & Fusion ...
"I love to combine traditional techniques & styles within my own expression of the music, freeing myself from any limitation or conventional format. Expect the unexpected!!
Performing live he uses a vast array of percussion instruments; from Cuban Bongos & Congas to eastern Doumbek & Darbuka drums and African hypnotic Djembe to cracking Latin House Timbales. Manos has developed a unique style that stems from a wide range of percussion influences such as Giovanni Hildago, undisputedly the most influential and inspiring conguero of today, Miguel 'Anga' Diaz, Airto Moreira, Tito Puente and more recently such greats as Robin Jones (whom he also studies with), Gee Bello and Pete Lockett. He is a great lover of many styles of percussion including Afro-Cuban, Latin, African, Brazilian and Middle Eastern.
With a long history in the clubbing scene, since 1987, Manos turned his love of funky music & beats into a profession in 2000. Since becoming a professional musician Manos has clocked up a vast amount of gigs all over the UK and abroad across a variety of entertainment platforms: dance scene - CREAM, PACHA, MINISTRY OF SOUND, SERIOUS, INDIGO - ISTANBUL & MISS MONEYPENNY'S to GOD'S KITCHEN, TWICE AS NICE and GATECRASHER @ SPACE in IBIZA to name but a few : Live circuit – BARCELONA, CROATIA, ITALY, HAMBURG, CAFE DE PARIS, GUILFEST & a stack of London venues : Corporate – WEDDINGS, FUNCTION BANDS, PERCUSSION WORKSHOPS, TROUPES & DRUM CIRCLES.
Please see BLOG section above for more comprehensive list of places that I've played including most of the major clubs in London.
Each year Manos enjoys rising popularity throughout many arenas of the entertainment industry : on the club scene he has held numerous residencies; such as Carwash, Rize, Hey Gorgeous, Tutti Frutti, Dusk Bar & Room Control Records : on the Live Circuit he enjoys working with an expanding repertoire of Live bands; KI, Portugirl Beat Co & The Jazz on Vinyl Project. His guest appearances continue to increase all over the UK & abroad with performances in Zagreb (Croatia), Barcelona, Italy and Germany. Manos has also performed with Repercussion, a troupe of Junk percussionists headed by Jeremy from Stomp and regularly performs with Drum Jam a Rhythmic Entertainments company bringing the rhythms and beats of Africa to clients the world over. See www.drumjam.co.uk
He has performed Live on Internet & Underground Radio Stations and along side many of the worlds best known DJ’s : Judge Jules, Sister Bliss, Tall Paul, Brandon Block, Jeremy Healy, Alex P, Spoony, Warren Clarke, Lisa Lashes, Soul Avengerz, Hoxton Whores … … the list goes on!
(Please see BLOG for full list)
On the LIVE scene Manos performs with favourite band 'KI' comprising of Kelli Leigh the multi-talented vocalist and Izzy B the creative producer, musician and vocalist. Izzy B is also the official tour DJ for Daniel Bedingfield. Their love for world music brings together an eclectic mix of influences and sounds expressing life.
During 2006 KI & Manos embarked upon a mini tour of Croatia ... they were so well received that invitations to return twice have already taken place. KI will also be touring throughout the UK showcasing their debut Album, which is OUT NOW via CD Baby, Amazon or better still direct from KI's website. The album offers an eclectic mix of 14 tracks covering a wide range of influences & tastes including Jazz, Funk, Soul, Dance, Chillout and Latin ....
See www.worldofki.com
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In 2006 Manos also joined 'Portugirl Beat Company', an eight-piece band playing Latin/house/dance music fully live - no backing tracks. Stealing infectious rhythms and melodies from Brazil, with roots in UK dance music; Portugirl Beat Company delivers live Latin dance music into the heart of clubland. They mostly perform original material as well as a few classic house covers of such artists as MAW, Kathy Brown & Gadjo. In the last year their unique LIVE performance has been greatly received both on the Live music circuit, such as Clapham Grand and The Orange, and within Clubland at venues like Turnmills and Pacha. Portugirl Beat Company are currently re-recording new Live demo versions for distribution so expect to hear a lot more from them over the coming months.
See www.myspace.com/portugirlbeatcompany
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In 2006 Manos began performing with Illusive, former lead singer of 90's group 'Troi', who were at the forefront of the nineties UK SOUL/R&B explosion together with the likes of Beverly Knight, Damage, Truce, Mark Marrison etc. Illusive now writes and produces with "Alan 2Darc Laporte" which in trun formed 2Darc Productions and signed with "Big Life" Publishing, owned by the well known Ivan Novello. "This Artist is a great lyricist and Live performer" 2Darc says. Illusive's amazing debut album is entitled "UrbanNeoLysticSoul", produced and co-written by 2Darc, who has also many writing and remix credits UK and Stateside. Recording both in London & Berlin Illusive has created a fantastic new sound bridging the gap between the much missed classic Soul and the current Urban flavours ... the sound of (Urban NeoLystic Soul) the fresh but classic approach has already set tongues wagging in the industry.
See www.myspace.com/illusive
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Also in 2007 Manos started recording and performing with David Elliot (a.k.a The Vinyl Gibbon). David has recently embarked upon a fresh venture with Sarai Jazz called "The Jazz on Vinyl" project. This exciting Project includes:
David Elliott (TVG) - keys, beats, bass, synths, percussion, production, inspiration & motivation, Sarai Jazz - Vocals & lyrics, Vince Dunn - Drums, Eustace Williams - Bass, Charlie Mount - saxophone, Florian Guilbert - Flute, Manos - Cuban Congas & Bongos, Nofro - Percussion.
The Vinyl Gibbon (aka David Elliott) is a Brighton based musician who creates jazz with a twist. He has been producing music for over 10 years using a mix of real piano and synthesizers blended with world instruments and percussion. Influenced by Jazz and World Music he creates a smooth down-tempo sound with a diverse experimental approach. Inspired by his many journeys around the world, he brings a subtle ambience into the music, such as the sounds of Bali and jungle noises from the Costa Rican rainforest.
See www.myspace.com/thevinylgibbon
Over the last year Manos teamed up with 2 of London's finest club percussionists, namely Jay On Drums and Dean Oram, to form an exciting new venture called 3 SPIRIT PERCUSSION. Primarily focusing on sharing our love for percussion throughout the world we can now provide innovative teambuilding and musical education through rhythmical entertainment for all ... plus expect some dramatic performances!! We strongly believe in the therapeutic & exhilarating aspects of sharing rhythm which can create spiritual and magical moments for those involved. We regularly perform LIVE as 3 Spirit so keep watch for some exciting news, videos and events.
See www.3spiritpercussion.co.uk................................. .....................................................
Manos also collaborates with numerous DJs & Producers in the studio, creating various styles of music. Some of his latest collaborations have been with Dante from Push FM Radio, Izzy B of IBP Music (www.ibpmusic.co.uk) , Knights of The Round Tables, DJ Romain, Dave Jones and Mickey Richards (Room Control Records).
See www.roomcontrol.com
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In 2007 The Knights of the Round Tables, Manos & Adeama ("Turn The Beat Around") showcased live P.A.'s of their latest track ... "Reach High"(released on Room Control Records), which offers a delightful serving of Disco driven Funky House music. Many more in the pipeline and where the Knights of The Round Tables are concerned expect a continual explosion of remixes gracing the digital airwaves. The Knights have just set up there own Record Label - 'Cooljerkin Records'which will serve up what it says on the Tin .... Cool Grooves!!
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Beats de vyne collaborations & releases to date can all be viewed via the website, along with samples, downloads, full biography, event listings and photos.
www.beatsdevyne.com