Drummage
Simon Reynolds has called for examples of drummage here.[1]
This is about the human body possessed by rhythm, but more than that, about musicians who are physically close, sharing the same space, joining together in the moment to build that mundane miracle, a groove.

Every decade or so, some westerners re-discover what happens out in the desert in the northern Sahara of Morocco and especially up around the Atlas mountains. People like William Burroughs, Brian Jones, Ginger Baker and in this recording, Rebop Kwaku Baah, the percussionist from Traffic. This record has haunted me since I first heard it. I foolishly lent my vinyl copy to a friend that I lost touch with before I could get it back. 30 years later or so, I found an MP3 rip. Occasionally, some of the musicians get persuaded to go on the road and turn up in London or Paris for a few concerts before disappearing again.

So close your eyes, and imagine yourself by the camp fire in the middle of the desert. There's a bunch of desert people of all ages from apprentice kids to wizened old holy fools. The drum circle has been going for a few hours and it'll keep going for another few hours. People wander in, play for a bit and then wander out when they get tired.

Every one knows the way the rhythms develop but it's an exercise in group think and improvisation. Nothing's written down or pre-determined. There's no sign of 4-4 or even western style bars but there's a groove and it can take you to the stars.

REEBOP KWAKU BAAH & GANOUA . TRACK : RIF ZEF ZEF

[1]http://blissout.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/all-talk-of-10th-anniversaries-and-40th_11.html


[from: Google+ Posts]



And the first contributions are in from the drummage cru.
http://blissout.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Drummage, part the second:- http://blissout.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/drummige-cru-2.html. This contains a somewhat bizarre comment about me. Julian Bond at Voidstar with a really unusual pick that momentarily makes me understand why Can invited him to join the band. Err, what? Have I got an evil twin or alter-ego that was invited by Can to join them? Is this a joke that I simply don't get?


[ << From the "Truth is stranger than fiction" desk. ] [ I'm seeing more and more of these around London and the SE of the UK. Bins made of clear plastic bin ... >> ]
[ 13-Dec-12 7:47pm ] [ ]