We hear about recent innovators applying tricky Indian rhythms to American drumset. Britisher Pete Lockett owns shoes older than some of these guys! Peter has been incorporating the Indian talk and walk on drumset and percussion for years. In fact, he wrote the book on that one—literally speaking—and it's called Indian Rhythms for Drumset (Hudson). Similarly, Steve Smith has been performing and recording in the Indian realm as long as we can remember. This is no walk in the park. The vocabulary of Indian music is alphabet soup, a phonetic nightmare, compared to the American “one-e-and-e”.

 




Smith and Lockett will present mysterious and exciting sounds and rhythms when they appear as a duo at the Montréal Drum Fest. They're not skimming the surface, adding some Indian flavor like curry to rice. They're into the belly of the beast. For Drum Fest they'll go beyond customary southern rhythms to the lesser-known northern Indian system, melding it with western drumset and percussion traditions. Not only will they strike with bare hands and wooden sticks; they'll be uttering odd inflections—“scatting” Indo-style according to the rarefied Konnakol vocal percussion language.

Smith knows his stuff. If he utters “re te tak”, he can play it on the drums or your money refunded. Similarly Peter Lockett is no pitter-patterer on tablas. His knowledge is thorough, his execution refined. Welcome experts Smith and Lockett, who come to play and have their say on a fascinating hybrid genre.
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