Lucas Werthein explains how he helped create the awesome EletroAxé Drum Pad Body Suit for percussionist Carlinhos Brown:

In January 2011 I spent new years in Bahia and was introduced to Carlinhos Brown by a close friend. Knowing that Brown is one of the most talented percussionists and musician we have in Brazil, we talked about creating a full body suit with ten sensors, which were activated each time they were hit, acting as percussion instruments on Brown’s body. The project, called EletroAxé, consisted in 10 drum pads developed with laser cutting and CNC techniques, piezo sensors, electronics, Arduino, and Processing. It was a collaboration with myself and Kyle McDonald and it was managed/ produced by Acere F.C. It involved transmitting wireless midi data, a great amount of work in production design, code, and infinite testing.

We presented the project during Carnaval in Salvador, which occurred between March 4th through March 10th. Carnaval in Salvador is one of the biggest festivals/ parties in the world. Brown played for more than 50 thousand people while commanding percussionists, musicians, and his innovative experiments for Caranval 2011.

The experiment ended up working very well. We were all extremely happy with the results, he got great feedback, and people were stunned by what he was bringing into one of the greatest festivities on earth.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a drum pad body suit, but it’s nicely executed and clearly a hit for Brown.