Mauro Refosco

Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist born on October 16, 1966, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. He earned a bachelor's degree in Percussion from the São Paulo State University in 1990 and relocated to New York City in 1992 to continue his studies. In 1994 he completed a Master's degree in Percussion at the Manhattan School of Music, after which he began recording and performing with a range of American artists.

Refosco is widely recognized for his long association with musician David Byrne, with whom he has toured since 1994, most recently on Byrne's 2025 tour in support of the album Who Is the Sky?. That collaboration extends across several studio albums, including Look into the Eyeball (2001), Grown Backwards (2004), Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008), Love This Giant (2012), and American Utopia (2018). Beginning in 2019, Refosco appeared as one of the principal musicians in the Broadway production of American Utopia, a show built around Byrne and his music, with his involvement continuing through 2021.

On October 16, 2002 — his birthday — Refosco organized a forró-style jam session at Nublu, a nightclub in Manhattan's East Village, which led to the formation of Forro in the Dark, a New York City-based ensemble of Brazilian musicians performing a contemporary take on forró, a traditional genre from northeastern Brazil. The group established a weekly residency at Nublu, and their profile grew when David Byrne collaborated with them on their 2006 album Bonfires of São João. The band subsequently released the Dia de Roda EP in 2008 and the album Light a Candle in 2009. Refosco also co-wrote the song "Forrowest" with Forro in the Dark for the 2007 animated film Surf's Up, with the track appearing on the film's soundtrack.

In 2009, Refosco joined Atoms for Peace, a supergroup assembled by Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke to perform material from Yorke's 2006 solo debut, The Eraser, recreating its electronic compositions using live instrumentation. The group toured the United States in 2010 and released the album Amok in 2013, followed by tours across Europe, the United States, and Japan.

Refosco's association with the Red Hot Chili Peppers began in 2011, when he contributed percussion to several tracks on their album I'm with You and subsequently joined the band's touring lineup for the I'm with You World Tour. During encores, he and drummer Chad Smith regularly performed extended percussion and drum duets. He appeared on all of the band's live releases from that tour, which concluded in April 2013, and then rejoined them for a further run of worldwide dates from May 2013 through June 2014. He contributed percussion to two tracks on the band's 2016 album The Getaway and made a guest appearance at the band's July 20, 2017 concert in Rome, performing on "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie." The b-sides compilation I'm Beside You, released in 2013, also features his work.

Beyond these primary collaborations, Refosco recorded with Dirty Projectors on their 2017 self-titled album and on Lamp Lit Prose (2018). He appears on Flea's 2026 solo debut album Honora. His work in film and television includes percussion contributions to Side Streets (1998), Earthly Possessions (1999), The Backyardigans (2004), Ira & Abby (2006), Be Kind Rewind (2008), and This Must Be the Place (2011). He has also written and produced music for Off-Broadway productions throughout his career.