Joseph – darbuka

Joseph’s musical influences stem from his upbringing in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne from his Italian/Lebanese background. From a young age he has been surrounded by the vibrant sounds of Melbourne’s rich ethnic communities including Lebanese, Greek, Macedonian and Serbian traditional music styles that could be heard from around his neighbourhood – from all night Engagement parties in suburban backyards to the live popup Balkan bands at local Soccer matches. His passion for Middle-Eastern percussion started at an early age from listening to old 45’s from his late grandmothers Lebanese album collection, later fusing this style into the Balkan/Oriental rhythms of Opa Bato! Joseph’s previous collaborations include touring with European festival favorite “The Magic Tombolinos”, and locally with Australian based band “Lothlorien”. He was also the co-founding member and keyboardist of Melbourne based jazz-funk group “Fernandez and the Catalog of the Universe”.