membrana

Membrana was created in 1999 by percussionist Pedro Mendonça in Sergipe, Brazil. Originating from percussion workshops for the quilombola community of Caixa D'Água, the group began as an experimental percussion collective. In 2006, Julio Rego and Dudu Prudente joined the project, developing a form of music-making that emphasises collective interaction and improvisation, breaking away from traditional paradigms.

Inspired by the soundscape of Northeast Brazil, the musicians transform their performances into creative laboratories, where each sound or gesture inspires the next, valuing collective action and the present moment. In 2018, the group began exploring unusual spaces with unique acoustic characteristics, creating specific performances for each location. 

The first of these explorations was in a decommissioned coal factory in Charleroi, Belgium, where the space's peculiar acoustics allowed for creative exploration with percussion, wind instruments, textures, and vocals.