Prague has its share of bands led by foreigners and backed by Czech musicians. From reggae stalwarts Hypnotix and Švihadlo to Tonya Graves and the Rhythm Desperados and Yvonne Sanchez's Brazilian Mood, these acts bring a well-appreciated ethno-hybrid sound to the local music scene.

Zuco 103 is a similar type of band. Led by the young Brazilian singer Lilian Viera and backed by a core of Dutch musicians and electro-beats, this Amsterdam-based group created such an elegant swirl of samba, bossa nova and chorro on their 2001 debut album Otro Lado (The Other Side), they quickly became one of the most popular new "Latino" groups around.

The primary difference between Zuco 103 and most ethno-hybrid bands is that this one has managed to successfully redefine a genre of music. In fact, Zuco 103 has helped to redefine the contemporary Latin sound for both Europe and the Americas.

"The music we make is our own special melting pot with lots of influences," says keyboard player Stefan Schmid. "Lilian is the Brazilian contribution, but bedded in a European environment."

Understandably, Schmid doesn't consider the group Latin. "We have never pretended to make Brazilian music; we have never pretended to make any genre," he says. "It just comes out that way."

While their newest release WHAA! (2005) keeps the upbeat Latin tempo, the group has also added an Afro-beat and reggae influence along with a harder edge to some songs, as well as more politically and socially conscious lyrics.

Viera's warm, romantic sound and lyrics are still there, but she's made room for Dani Macaco from Barcelona on a danceable Afro-pop song. The important influence of African music on all Brazilian music is often overlooked. However, Zuco 103's African influence comes more from the Parisian dance club sound, electro Afro-beats and dancehall, than traditional, percussion-based African folk music.

The band also invited legendary Jamaican dub leader Lee "Scratch" Perry as a special guest vocalist for a couple of dancehall tracks. According to Schmid, the group had used a Perry sample in practice sessions. Then, while they were recording WHAA!, Perry happened to come through Amsterdam.

"He came to our studio and it was an amazing experience," Schmid says. "He is such a personality and magician; he just wrote some words down and the rest was instant rhyming. Afterward we did our thing with his contribution, and this is what came out."

Zuco 103 works with many different musicians for their recording sessions, including Ethiopian singer Minyeshu and percussionists Jos de Haas and Frank van Dok from the New Cool Collective. This diversity of talent has all naturally influenced the direction of the group.

For their show in Prague, Zuco 103 (Viera, Schmid and Stuv on drums) will be joined by the Zuco Live Crew, which includes Alan Lewis on guitar, Claus Tofft on percussion and Lesly Kuhn on bass.

The band first played Prague under a rainy sky as part of the Respect Summer Music Festival in 2002, the last year the festival was held at Prague Castle.