Musically-minded but a musical drifter for most of my life, it was an incredible moment to walk out of my first beginners African drumming workshop, knowing that I was hooked. I felt the music more than I ‘got’ it, and I’d never had music effect me so profoundly, so it was probably no surprise that I embarked on a course of action fuelled by the desire to both ‘get’ and ‘feel’ it as much as I could. Spoiler alert: it worked, it’s awesome, and I still have so much to do with it!

The rhythms of West Africa (the ones I’ve learned are predominantly from Guinea), can at times sound simple, yet involve complex and very precise timings; or sound complex, but can be broken down into a simple form to be able to learn and play, and this makes it such a compelling form of music to learn and play: the separate parts weave and dance around each other; percussion layered over percussion; crafting something beautiful and rich in its entirety out of seemingly lesser pieces.

After travelling to Guinea, West Africa, playing music with Guineans, and experiencing the music culture that they grow up with, where it is in every part of their lives and the high level of discipline they play with is matched only by the joy you can see them experiencing as they play it, the desire to share that with Australians from all walks of life is what has brought me to this place. I’ve seen and experienced what it has to offer, it can give so much to our culture and our communities, it can enrich all of our lives if we let ourselves step into that space.

I’ve been very fortunate to work with teachers that have not only taught me the music but have taught me how to teach it, and my profound thanks go to my current teacher, Master drummer, Mohamed Bangoura (Bangourake, BK); my first (and still current) teacher Kate Gascoyne; and, in Guinea, Layeba Ramos Cisse, who taught me that music really is the universal language - as we shared so little of each others spoken languages but still achieved so much! What they have given to me, I feel so fortunate to be able to pass on to others: music, culture, joy, community.