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Pasadena Pow Wow

By AmericasOne Comment
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The high pitched chant and the sound of the drum filled the arena, as tribes from California slowly filled the sacred circle (a space that had been blessed) in reverence to the Great Creator. Each dancer carries stories, woven into symbols and colours on their distinctive regalia (Native costume) and for some, as they dance, each individual dance step is offered up as a prayer. Read More

9. March 2015
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Drum Song

By DrumsNo Comments

A moment of spontaneous drum music during a gathering at the Santa Ynez reservation in California. The two voices are a male Pueblo Indian chant and a female voice singing in Hebrew.

28. February 2015
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Chumash percussion

By DrumsNo Comments

DSC02325The Chumash from Santa Barbara used different shakers as percussive instruments for keeping time – here’s a split-stick rattle (wansaq’), and they also used deer toe rattles and clam shell rattles (clam shells are filled with small pebbles and mounted on a stick). Listen.

22. February 2015
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Chumash reservation

By AmericasOne Comment
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It was an honour to be invited to a gathering of tribes on the Santa Ynez Chumash reservation. A people group that numbered tens of thousands  along the islands and coastline of Santa Barbara yet are now down to the last couple of hundred. Sadly, through missions and the European settlement, the Chumash started to speak Spanish and even took Spanish names trying to hide their Indian identity.  The last fluent Samala speaker died in 1965.  Read More

22. February 2015
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Beware the panic effect that accompanies the high cost of studio time: one becomes increasingly oriented toward results, and progressively less inclined to engage in experimental activities that might not lead anywhere. As a result of this, one focuses one’s attention on the safe bet, on the tried and tested techniques.

Brian Eno
9. February 2015
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Where words fail, music speaks.

Hans Christian Anderson
11. January 2015
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Latcho Drom

By My StoriesNo Comments

Enjoy this fantastic French documentary called Latcho Drom (“safe journey”) that brings a little insight into the journey of the Romany people through musicians and dancers (there is very little dialogue). I love how the musical sound and styles have evolved as the communities have wandered from India, to Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.

5. January 2015
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To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder.

Keith Moon (The Who)
29. October 2014
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Dholak drum

By DrumsNo Comments

A wonderful drum, I managed to pick up on my travels in India. Whereas the Tabla and Pakhavaj are used more in classically influenced situations the Dholak  is widely used in folk music in India.

30. August 2014
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