Marco Lobo was born in Bahia, the land of pulsating drums, on January 4th 1964. Extracting sound from the most unexpected objects was his favorite amusement as a child, but his career began properly at the age of 14, when music truly established itself as his vocation.



Marco Lobo began to appear on Salvador’s musical circuit, bringing his work to the people. He started playing together with other musicians – first with Abel Lobo and Jorge Zarath, then with Banda Beijo and Luis Caldas. It wouldn't stop there: later, he worked with Gerônimo, Margareth Menezes, Armandinho, Dodô and Osmar, with whom Marco played in many carnival events.



When Marco Lobo was twenty, he decided to move on to Rio de Janeiro, where he lives now. He took with him his Bahian roots, and he is always back to Salvador whenever he can. When he got Rio de Janeiro, he had the support of the singer/composer Carlos Ponta Negra, and set off on an exploration of instrumental music, taking part in projects of talented artists, such as Léo Gandelman, Marco Pereira and João Carlos Assis Brasil.



More fortunate meetings went on, and Marco Lobo began to accompany some of the great names of Brazilian popular music (MBP), such as Elba Ramalho, Marisa Monte, Ivan Lins, Maria Bethânia, Lenine, Ana Carolina, João Bosco, Gilberto Gil, Titãs, Milton Nascimento, Vanessa da Mata, and others.



Marco Lobo improved his experience in studio by recording with Djavan, Sérgio Mendes, and Marcio Montarroyos, among others. Each of these experiences means helps him to better understand the big secrets of musical arrangement and performance – Brazilian music in particular.



The great inspiration does not come only from renowned percussion gurus, such as Airton Moreira, Naná Vasconcelos e Trilok Gurtu (an Indian percussionist). His work is also influenced by many anonymous talents, e.g. the countless street musicians from Salvador, and native musicians from this lovely city.



Marco Lobo loves to explore new sounds and rhythms, it means that traditional percussion instruments aren't enough for him. He has the ability to surprise ourselves with the most unexpected objects that can produce exotic, vibrant, unheard sounds. He believes that there’s always a new acoustic experience waiting to be discovered, some beating that no one has dared to imagine before. Experimentalism is one of his trade-marks, and it is what he tries to get across to his audience, at stage or studio. This creative relationship with his own instruments contributes to enhance the work of top MPB musicians. According to Marco, there are 1001 possibilities for percussion job.



Recent works of Marco Lobo have included his participation in works of Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, Vander Lee, Vanessa da Mata, and Billy Cobham – one of the masters of instrumental music, according to him. The world tour with Billy Cobham (mainly in Russia and Asia), in 2006 and 2007, proved that the Brazilian beat is a worldwide success.



In 2007, Marco Lobo's instrumental CD 'Aláfia' was finally launched. With this album Marco Lobo had the chance to show us how creative and versatile his work can be, and how much he learnt about the rich varieties of Brazilian rhythms.