Soul Tonic: Brazilian Music, Workshops and Events
A London music company built around the Brazilian sound.
Percussion workshops for schools, teams and events. Live music nights. A record label with artists in the UK, Brazil and Japan, and a studio for anyone with a song, a podcast or a film that needs sound.
Enriching lives through arts, culture and entertainment
Soul Tonic is a UK registered company based in London, working through arts, culture and entertainment. Projects have included music shows, workshops and tuition, record releases and pop-up galleries.
Everything runs through one person. Dave Holmes is a musician, composer and producer who's spent over 25 years inside Brazilian music, with more than twenty trips to Brazil, family ties to the country and fluent in Brazilian Portuguese. He's collaborated with bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal, singer Andrea Amorim and past members of the Rio samba collective Monobloco.
Samba Drum Workshops
Brazilian carnival drums brought to your room, for education or team building, at schools, companies or events across London and beyond. Insights into Brazilian culture, and everyone playing inside twenty minutes, no matter the age or ability.
Live Events
Bossa jams, the Born To Bossa band, guest artist nights, plus Dave's own sets in London venues. Classic bossa nova, samba and original material, solo or with a full band.
Record Label
Releasing artists from the UK, Brazil and Japan. Dave Holmes, Damon Breakz, Andrea Amorim, Ynara Alice and Eiji Osaka.
Audio Services
Get that song out of your head and onto the streaming platforms. Voiceovers and sound effects for your poems and stories, original music for film and animation, or the podcast series you've been meaning to start.
Artists on the Soul Tonic Label
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
JAPAN
What's On: Soul Tonic Events
The Midyeci, Dalston
Date: 17/07/2026
Time: 7:30pm
Dave Holmes playing classic bossa nova, samba percussion and originals. Free for bar and restaurant customers.
Guitar Tuition
An experienced tutor covering everything from rock and pop through to bossa nova and other Brazilian styles. Your first few chords, or the bossa nova comping that takes most players years to get right. No grades, no exams, just the sound you're after.
Brazilian Portuguese for singers
If you sing the bossa nova songbook, pronunciation is where most singers come unstuck. I'll work through it with you properly, from someone who's fluent, has the Brazilian government's own proficiency certificate, and has released with a Bossa Nova artist who was part of the movement of people that wrote this repertoire.
Conversational Portuguese too, built around common phrases and song lyrics rather than grammar drills.
International Arts, Entertainment & Culture
Soul Tonic has always worked across borders. The label releases artists in the UK, Brazil and Japan. The music comes from Rio. The workshops happen in school halls and offices around London.
Dave has made more than twenty trips to Brazil, has family ties to the country and speaks the language, which is why what you get here is the real thing rather than an impression of it.
Professional Tuition
Our tutors are punctual, straight-talking, DBS checked & public liability insured. Every workshop session is delivered by a professional-level percussionist agreed at the booking so you get the person you booked.
All Abilities Welcome
Nobody reads music and nobody auditions. There's a part for every ability, from a year three class holding a drum for the first time to a room of adults who haven't played anything since school. Samba is built for groups, which is why it works so well in specialist settings too.
Bringing Brazilian Percussion to You
Real samba school instruments, not classroom percussion. Surdos, caixas, repiniques, tamborims, agogôs and chocalhos, all supplied. You find a room and somewhere to unload, and the sound of Rio does the rest.
Soul Tonic Reviews
A few words from the musicians and creators we've worked with over the years.
Whatever you're after, start here
A workshop, a booking, a release, or a recording. Tell us what you've got in mind!
(Nós falamos português. Fala com a gente em português a qualquer momento.)