GOLDIN Ephraim (Canada/CR)

Ephraim GOLDIN (Canada/CR)

Yes there is a Spirit in the body of the drum carved out of the trunk of a tree; there is a Spirit in the skin of the drum itself. All this, plus the spirit of the person playing the drum, becomes an irresistible force against any immovable object. -Babatunde Olatunji

Lecteur about himself:

I felt the calling of the drum around the age of 5. I used to play drums in my mouth by rattling my teeth together just to feel the rhythm vibrate in my head. I remember the first time I saw a performance of african drumming; I was about 11 and was amazed at the power and grace of the players. I wanted also to participate in creating such wonderful music. The drummers sang a song with us. I remember it to this very day; in fact I encountered this song several times in my life during workshops and at performances. But I never had the opportunity to actual play a drum until my 23rd year. I was a singer actually, in a very loud rock band called 'Hungry Monkey', and being the singer I was often forced to wait while the instrumentalists worked out chord changes or keys signatures. There was an old conga drum in our rehearsal room which the bassist had rented from some music store and had never bothered to return. Feeling a rush of excitement I took hold of it and gave it a few slaps. The effect on my body and spirit was instantaneous. A steady beat just streamed out of me like water from a running tap. I didn't think, I didn't ask myself what I was doing, I didn't even imagine that this was something I could not do. I knew then and there that this was what I wanted to do.

When I decided to come to Prague in 1995, I had plans to stay for one year and then return to Canada and complete my Master's Degree in Cultural Anthropology. But as the date of my return came around I found it impossible to draw myself away from the music scene that I become a part of. I was drumming nearly four times week at Jam sessions all over town. It was so very anarchic in those days. Few people actually knew anything. We were mostly drumming intuitively, openly following whatever beat was pounding inside of us. Egos clashed, egos were bruised. I learned many things about myself. The drum penetrated deeper and deeper into my soul until eventually I needed more than just wild uncontrolled pounding of skins and began to search for meaning behind the drumming. I was lucky to meet the Pavlacký brothers, Tomáš and Jan, who were probably the only Czechs at that time who knew something about the djembe. They shared whatever knowledge they had with me and actually helped me to focus my abilities as a drummer. Finally! Real Rhythms to play! with actual names and orchestrations. I was no longer playing drums. I was playing Music. It was through Tomas and Jan that I met the man who would be my first master and teacher. Moussa Camara gave me my first introduction to Africa. I spent three months studying with him and his troupe FATALA in The Republic of The Gambia. It was hard. Several hours a day. But I returned to Prague in 2001 with a head full of rhythms and a desire to share them. I taught two to three times a week, in a tearoom in Letna, at a primary school in Prague 1, at a community center in Smíchov. I gave drumming workshops in Žižkov, in Stare Město and in Plzen. My wife and I started a group called 'TIDI TADE' which is still running today although we have since departed. I saw the djembe community grow and grow, and change and become firmly entrenched in the life of the city like a tree. Ever year, scores of drummers and dancers travel to The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso to acquire more knowledge and love for the Manding culture. I am proud to have been here from the beginning, jamming away in Kampa Park, Letna, The Charles Bridge, Petřin Hill, Střelecky Island, and countless bars and taverns where we would meet after hours and drum well into the morning.

Like my drumming, my teaching technique is not formal. I have no training in pedagogy and have no particular methodology except the one which was used on me; rhythms must be absorbed through repetition. African rhythms are polyphonic-different rhythms are played at the same time and overlap to create a rich and complex stew of melodies and counterpoints. It is like a group conversation with everyone talking at once. But the beautiful thing about it is that everyone is heard, every part fits in harmony with the others and there is a perfect balance to the music. The pieces fit together like a puzzle. To learn each piece in the puzzle one only has to repeat it in a cycle until it becomes fastened to the mind and body. Singing the rhythm is perhaps the best way to absorb it. If you can sing it, you can play it! I will be looking to give people the chance to use their voices to create rhythm; not by actually singing but by using certain sounds associated with the drum to make vocal drumming. Then we will transfer our voices to our bodies playing on our chests, stomachs and legs, clapping our hands and stomping our feet: body percussion. Then we will take up actual percussion instruments and breathe new life into the music. It isn't important to able to play drums. All that is required is an open mind, an open heart and a fearlessness in our actions.