Dr Das of the Asian Dub Foundation summed up their trip to Brazil by saying:

"The vibe we felt in Brazil was that many people there understand the motivational and life changing potential of music, and art in general. The cynicism in this country (the UK) that 'music will never change anything' is based on a very narrow view of what constitutes 'change.' The Brazilian trip reaffirmed our reasons for having got involved with music in the first place and why we remain engaged- it is the ultimate form of communication."

During their tour, the Asian Dub Foundation played to over 15,000 people, played with many Brazilian musicians and spoke to people from all sorts of social background. In Recife they played at the Abril Pro Rock Festival, in São Paulo they played at SESC Belenzinho while in Rio they performed at the Canecão. They finished the tour in Belo Horizonte at the Electronika Festival. They shared their shows with the Brazilian bands O Rappa, Nação Zumbi and Marcelo D2. They launched the MPB-BPM project with tremendous style and made all sorts of musical connections - which is what the project is all about. Amongst the highlights were:

A Visit to Vigário Geral

For a group concerned with civil rights, social justice and the combating of racism, Vigário Geral's local group, Afro-Reggae, proved to be a perfect interchange. For six years now, Afro-Reggae has been in the front line of offering teenagers an alternative to drug trafficking by combining the attraction of Afro-Brazilian cultural forms of expression with educational and job creation initiatives.

The initial idea was that the ADF's education wing - ADFED -- would stage a workshop to introduce the youth of the favela to cutting-edge forms of music technology, inspiring them to mix this into their local rhythms. However, upon witnessing an amazing impromptu performance by Afro-Reggae, ADF bass player, Dr. Das declared: "Let's cancel the workshop! We have nothing to teach you. I have never witnessed anything as powerful as the rhythms these kids are turning out […] This music is a powerful source for change."

So what was originally a workshop transformed into a jam session, where ADF and AfroReggae played together, resulting in an inspired blend of samba, reggae and electronic beats- with the British band trying out AfroReggae's striking percussion instruments and the Brazilians taking on ADF's digital paraphernalia. The next day, ADF invited AfroReggae to play with them at The Bunker, as well as Nação Zumbi, with whom ADF has been trading tracks since they returned to the UK.

In São Paulo, the ADF vibrated to the more traditional samba beat of the Meninos de Morumbi, a social and educational project that uses music to enrich the lives of over 1000 disadvantaged boys and girls in the city. After a blood - stirring presentation by the Meninos, a jam session developed with the ADF and the Meninos reaching for a fusion of styles that demolished all barriers of language and cultures between the musicians. Unforgettable for all those that heard it.

For more about the tour, read the Brazil diary that the ADF posted on their website: http://www.asiandubfoundation.com/brazil.html - English only).