The Magic Tombolinos

OUR NEXT (VERY SPECIAL) SHOW IN LONDON – GREEN NOTE CAFE IN CAMDEN:
(Click image to buy tickets)

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[February 15th, 2012]:

With a cold winter here in London, we remember the tropical moments we had at the Boom Festival. We hope to come back again to Portugal this year!

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[February 10th, 2012]:

We’ve recently toured the UK for two weeks in a motorhome. We traveled all the way up to Scotland, and various places in between, playing at venues where we haven’t performed before. Another aspect that I enjoyed during these gigs were the after-parties. I haven’t been much of an after-party person in the last year or so perhaps due to my studies, but this tour has brought it back in me. Before we settle on this for the next while, need to shape up for the very important performance coming up on February 27th at the Green Note – perhaps my most important gig to date. Below I’ve assembled a few ramdon scenes from the tour. Doesn’t really do justice to everything that happened, but videos never do:

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[January 17th, 2012]:

So we’ve started 2012 by being nominated for the Songlines Music Awards 2012. Link is below to vote for us, we’re listed as ‘The Magic Tombolinos’ (under ‘T’) – and we’re listed in the Best Group and Best Newcomer categories! Please vote, we love that magazine and it’d be great to win! Tell your friends!

Also, we are about to start our first tour of the year (flyer with dates above). This tour will be visiting selected venues throughout the UK. We have booked a motorhome to travel to make our trip for these next two weeks. I’ve always wanted to travel in a motorhome. We’ll be playing almost everyday for two weeks, living in this motorhome. I’ll try to post up some videos of our moments. In the meantime, here is an interview for our gig in Bristol by Laura Williams:

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[January 4th, 2012]:

Today is January 4th, and it’s my birthday. In this 2012, modern science allows me to receive messages from people all over the world. I like to read them – this makes me happy


This year I’m spending my birthday in London. It’s still a bit early, but probably will begin to celebrate soon with some hard alcohol and sweets; then probably hit the theatre or the concert hall: elements that make a happy birthday to Alejandro.


We’ve recently released our new single, ’2012.’ Below the music video for this track created by a brilliant group of people:

Directed by: Tom Allan & Nic Watkins
Produced by: Michael ‘Elvis’ Scanlon
Cinematography by: Maja Zamojda
Steadicam Operator: James Elias
Art Director: Lucy Yates
1st Assistant Director: Louis Barron
Edit & Grading: Tim Greenfield
The Governor: Andreas Williamson

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[December 19th, 2011]:

Having being raised in Argentina, Decembers are generally different down south than what they are like here in the UK. For starters, December in Argentina is summer. For Christmas, somehow I never questioned Santa’s heavy clothing, that it might be inappropriate for the tropical whether we were having. My favorite parts were the evenings, that lasted into the mornings, and ended in the afternoon with an asado and wine in someone’s backyard. In retrospect, one thing I can say about my life is that it has constantly been changing; for best or for worst, things change fast on this side of the river. Anyhow, our gig at the Rob Brydon Show Christmas special, on of the highlights of this past year:

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[November 23rd, 2011]

When the music is over, we turn on Microsoft Word and write a blog. It has been a while since my last confession, but I promise that I will write more often from now on, 2012 resolution. Speaking of, what is this about the world ending in 2012? Our drummer, Nuno, has already pointed out the fact on several occasions that we live on an island after all, and if the shit hits the fan there is a long and cold swim to main-land Europe. If this is the last year of humanity as we know it, then so be it, I’m ready to go – I’ve lived a good life and have debts. It also wouldn’t be bad to cleanse some of the human parasites around too – looking at current global events there seems there is a small outbreak of that. Bring on the new World – with new outlooks, trends and trains of thought: A renaissance before a renaissance, like the Greeks, the Egyptians (but not the Romans!). Change! – how exiting that sounds. I look forward to 2012, whatever this may bring.




(in my room with my friends Victor to my right and Cesar to my left when I was 18 years old)

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[October 18th, 2011]

We are currently working on our new album, that is all we are doing.
Maurizio and Davide brought back to life a song that we were not going to include in the album, here are the lyrics, though still have to think of a title:

Back in the time,
When all was fine,
Of Broken glass, and movies for pleasure

You never know, how much you know,
I’ve put a bell, in its golden silence

And I have changed, a thousand lives, in my sensible traditional ways,
As I design you in beautiful patters,
But don’t know what I’m doing, don’t know what I’m doing

I am self taught,
And keen to share,
I bare no walls in this modern science

I interact, with every sign,
I’ve cracked the codes and meanings of nature

And I have saved, a thousand lives, in my sensible traditional ways,
As I design you in beautiful patterns,
but don’t know what I’m doing, don’t know what I’m doing

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[October 1st]

The rerelease of our new album.

As is now a small-type tradition, I’m writing a blog about the end of summer.
Today did not feel like the end of summer, today was a beautiful Indian summer day, I think they call it, in full bloom. We spent it most of the day rehearsing in a very hot and airless studio near my house. We took breaks every so often to get a bit of vitamin D and show off our hot bodies, and thought of prospects of making a Tombolinos calendar: Michele = Mr. January, Maurizio = Mr. March, etc.

We’ve recently taken on a new manager, Chris Walsh. He drinks more than any of us, so we respect him. He is re-releasing a new remastered version of our 2009 CD, ‘Full Attack with Sudden Defenses,’ which, if you don’t have it, now you should get it as there are many photos of us on the new album:

Tomorrow night (Saturday Oct. 1st) we play two gigs on the same night. The first is at Balkan Beats London (11:30pm) @ the New Empowering Church, and the other at the SOAS Party (1:30am) @ the Brixton Jam. Both will be brilliant.

So now, about the summer: one really shouldn’t write about such things, just enjoy them.


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WOMAD, 2011:
[AUGUST 3, 2011]
There have been many good times during my life as a performer; playing at Womad this past week-end, however, was extraordinary. We arrived on site Friday afternoon, and were greeted by friendly staff and a few Magic Tombolinos fans we bumped into at the entrance gate. It was exiting to be there. I had heard a lot about this festival, and had high expectation. We were the first band to open the festival on Saturday midday. It was a lovely sunny morning and we were to play under the shade of the Siam tent. I did not know what to expect as many people then were still waking up. As we started to play, however, the Siam tent began to fill up. It took me personally a few minutes to relax and into the rhythm of what was happening. At a certain point everything just clicked and I felt I was flying on stage. This was mainly to do with interaction with the band as well as with the audience. There was a massive crowd there, and I was loving every second of it. By the time we finished I had an overwhelming feeling of happiness and exhaustion.

Later that day I ran into Eugene Hutz backstage. I asked him about a few articles I have been reading about concerning ‘gypsyness,’ where a few academics argue that there is a current movements of promoting false ‘gypsy stereotypes’ in music and festivals. Since his band, Gogol Bordello, is really at the heart of this, I wanted to get his opinion. He said: ‘Fuck them. Musics have always been hybrids.’ Then he told me how Flamenco had come to be a style; how North African musicians, Roma musicians, and Spanish music fused in Southern Spain to give birth to Flamenco. He then said that the name ‘Flamenco’ had been an invented term by these musicians who purposely promoted it as Flemish music from Belgium, although it was not. They did this so they wouldn’t have to go into the hassle of explaining and justifying their music. ‘I invented “gypsy punk,” it’s just a name, and it has nothing to do with these academics.’

THE MAGIC TOMBOLINOS AT WOMAD 2011


EUGENE HUTZ AND ALEJANDRO TOLEDO