Rhodes University's afri-drum soc

Drum society had a gig at the Botanical Gardens that began on Friday, the 19th of March, at 4pm in the afternoon. Drum Society is exactly that, just drumming. It consists primarily of instruments, namely, the djembe’s and other sorts of African drums. The ensemble was very small, only four djembes being played by five different people. The one would sit out and take a breather, and so it rotates.
The Location was ideal. The Botanical Gardens has wonderful grass patches, which is exactly where the performances take place. The audience literally sat alongside, in front of them stood behind them, wherever they felt comfortable, they were. It is not only the most ideal venue because of its natural setting, but also because the Botanical Gardens are easily and readily accessible from campus, which seemed to have reached its target audiences, the students.
Ironically enough, with the use of the African drums one would think that it would have attracted a whole lot more black audiences. But that does not seem to be the case. Its seemed to have attracted the biggest and widest variety of cultures, religions and races across national borders and language barriers, something I have not seen before. There were two white performers, one being Hippie and the other Christian. There were two black female performers too; whom one was a Hippie and other Atheist, the other an Indian girl. The audience presented itself with a whole host of races and intertwined cultures E.g. White, Black, Coloured, Asian, Catholics, Atheists, Hippies, Gothic Girls as well as international exchange students.
The first thing that came to mind when hearing the beats from the drums was that there was no clear-cut leader or chorus. The rhythm seems to consist of primarily free Rhythm, but there are many cyclic moments of specific pieces being repeated. One would often start a beat, and the others would listen and improvise to what the current leader is doing. The leader is anyone who changes a beat or freestyles a rhythm, then the rest improvise around that new beat and leader. The beats and performers seemed to play more tribal and local cultural music from the Zulu and Xhosa cultures. They all just rely on improvisation, sort of allowing the music to flow and find its way naturally. None of the performers are formally trained, but each of the performers’ collaboration and personal style and rhythm allows for an interesting and fresh experience every time.
The beats are very tribal and quite fast. The collaboration of these artists, each with their own style, tunes and volumes emits a very heart-pumping performance whilst the audience looks on. The grass being used as seating allows the audiences to relax and unwind whilst listening and enjoying the cultural experience. Some moments the beats and pulses seem to be quite bold and defines when all the performers join together in harmony, others are quite staggered and polyphonic. So in a broader sense, it can be seen as a large work, but made up of different individual songs and styles in a form of mash-up. These forms are mostly improvised, with some cyclic arrangements. Fast, light-hearted and upbeat paces are the only predominant musical feature throughout the performance.
The audience enjoyed the relaxing setting of nature whilst “zen’ing” on the grass. The culturally diverse audience seemed to connect in unison clapping and some free styles, unstructured dancing. The audiences were allowed to interact with the musicians, and occasionally join in the festivities by trying their hand at drumming. The audience had a big role to play in the drive of the musicians to keep the continuity of the performance and creative improvisation.
The audience trotted in drips and drabs towards the performance space, many making themselves comfortable before the festivities. The musicians all entered together, greeting the audience and sharing some mild chit-chat before slowly transitioning into the drumming. Near half-way, the musicians moved with audience to the monument, and completed their second half there. The last half at the Monument was the prelude to a ‘Revolution’ drum and bass party.
Was it effective? Yes and no. In the context of a concert, it will have to be a no. The lack of structure in the performance, the location as well as the informal setting would and clearly could exclude older generations. But I liked the setting and the fresh sounds of the drumming in nature, the informal musical ensemble and ‘chilled’ relaxing atmosphere allowed for quite an experience, that is Drum Society.