Thursday, December 3, 2009

Hilight Tribe - 'Natural Trance' Dance music

Natural Trance is a patchwork linking modern culture with ethnic sound. The Hilight Tribe, five musicians and one sound doctor at the mixing desk, play a live performance for the dancefloors of the 3rd millenium. Digeridoo, Djembe, Guitar, Congas, Drumset or Bass , among others, come in synchronization with the Drum kick. Travelling the world is part of the deal, that's how the band finds its happinness, inspirations and way of life!

The only 100% live performance in trance made his way from the hights of Ibiza to Hungaria, Japan (Vision Quest), USA, Brazil, Germany (Natraj Temple), Morocco, Spain, Mexico (etc.) and of course in France where they're based and sold already more than 40 000 albums. (6 released, 4 video-clips on the MTV and the French channels)

Discover Hilight Tribe and many other international artists on 3 fantastic Trance Dance music CDs at http://www.music-mosaic.com/ecom/Hilight-Tribe.php

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Drumming is healthy!

First your foot starts to tap, then your hands beat a staccato rhythm on your lap and, before you know it, you’re bopping along to the beat. We’ve all experienced the energy in a night club and felt our pulses quicken to the ‘doof doof doof’ of a bass drum. It’s undeniable: beating the drum is energising and exhilarating.

Drumming circles - corporate, school or community events where groups of people sit in a circle playing improvised beats on percussion instruments - are gaining popularity in social as well as business and therapeutic settings.

Drumming circles are by no means a modern invention. Many cultures have used drumming circles to strengthen communities. Because no musical experience is necessary drumming circles are accessible and are great team building exercises in any context.

Drums from Around the World

Drums come in all shapes and sizes. The instruments used in drumming circles are often of Middle Eastern or African origin.

The dumbek, for example, is of Middle Eastern origin. The player holds the drum under the left arm and taps out the beat with the fingers of both hands. Originally, dumbeks were carved of wood, but now you’ll find metal and ceramic drumbeks too.

Djembe drums are also a popular choice. Originating in Western Africa, the djembe was used in healing ceremonies.

The tambourine is probably the most well known small drum. Most of us have played a tambourine at some time - they’re small, fun, and virtually fool proof. The tambourine, in one form or another, shows up in the history of many different cultures and has as many names: Gaval, Tamburello, Riq and many more.

Drums such as the drumbek and djembe often feature in world and new age music. Frank Natale, aka Professor Trance and one of the most inspirational figures in the new age movement, promoted drumming and dance - and tribal music from many cultures - as a way to find your inner balance and place in the world. Frank Natale left us an inspiring legacy in his his work.

Drumming and Team Building
So why is drumming such a great team building exercise? There are several reasons, the most obvious being that drumming reduces stress. It puts people in a relaxed social circle and lets them pound out their frustrations on a drum. There is no one person is more important than anyone else.

Drumming is also great for creativity. It encourages use of the right side of the brain - the creative side - which, combined with the release of tension, frees up the mind and helps the ideas start to flow again. Because drumming also creates enthusiasm and, as the saying goes, “nothing great in life is achieved without enthusiasm.”

Another reason why drumming is so great for team building and team bonding is that it encourages cooperation and illustrates that every member in the team is equally important. When everybody plays their part the result is harmonious and cohesive.

So there you have it: drumming is healthy! It encourages team work; promotes creativity and gives inspiration; reduces stress and energises. If you aren’t so sure about the truth of that, grab an old plastic bucket and turn it on it’s head, then tap away for a while - it won’t take you long to find the beat!


And if you simply want to dance to great drum music check out Fire Drums by Music Mosaic.

One last admonishment: Kids, this is not an excuse for waking up the neighbours!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Didgeridoo - A Cacophony of Sounds

Didgeridoo Dreaming
Terra Incognita: golden sands, blue skies, rugged red deserts with the heat haze rising over the hard-packed earth, vast, beautiful, but unforgiving – Australia, the sunburnt country, ancestral home of the Australian Aborigines for over 50,000 years, and birthplace of the didgeridoo.

The didgeridoo is one of the world’s oldest musical instruments,originating in Australia tens of thousands of years ago.

Traditionally crafted from eucalyptus wood that’s been hollowed out by termites, the didgeridoo represents the Rainbow Serpent, a creature from Aboriginal mythology whose tracks are said to have created the riverbeds.

Legend then tells us that, during the Dreamtime, the Great Spirit Byame created man and woman, telling them to create all other life by singing it into form or sounding it into form with the didgeridoo.

A Rose by Any Other Name…

Didgeridoo, Didgeridu, Didjeridoo, Didjeridou, Didge Yidaki, Yirdaki, Ebroo, Bamboo, Dream Pipe, even Bullroarer – a didge by any other name still carries the same unique sound and nuances of musical expression.
No longer crafted solely from native Australian trees, didgeridoos are now also made from materials such as bamboo and Yucca plants.

The mouthpiece is fitted with bees wax and the didgeridoo is played by blowing and/or singing into the hollow tube. The sound is modulated by use of the tongue and mouth cavity, creating rhythms, animal noises - a whole medley of sounds.

Skilful players use a method of breathing known as ‘circular breathing’ (using the cheeks as a buffer during inhalation through the nose). Apart from creating a better sound, circular breathing brings the added benefits of reducing the heart rate, balancing the body and lessening the incidence of colds.

The Didgeridoo Conquers the Music World

Beginning in about 1983 the didgeridoo has become ever more popular in the music world.
The man probably most responsible for this is Charlie McMahon, whose band ‘Gondwanaland’ was the first didgeridoo band, and produced the first didgeridoo-based contemporary recordingsCDs.
Charlie always loved the didgeridoo and took up playing the instrument as a child. Over time, he learned how to tune didgeridoos and experimented with different sounds and pitches while jamming with local bands.
In 1983 Charlie collaborated with Peter Carolan on what they called the ‘Gondwanaland Project’, an instrumental album called ‘Terra Incognita’.

The project was a hit and Gondwanaland went on to release a further four albums. They toured the outback and hold the record for Australia’s largest live performance: The Sound Cloud performance to 120,000 people in 1988.

The didge was given international exposure when Charlie first toured the USA and Canada with Midnight Oil in 1984, and then again the USA, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in 1994. He performed and recorded on albums with Midnight Oil and other artists such as Snakefinger, Janes Addiction, Hisashi Shirahama and Def FX.

In 2000, Gondwana performed at the World Expo in Hannover, and in the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Paralympic Games.

Aboriginal elders in the Northern Territory complimented Charlie McMahon `for inventing interesting and complex new ways of playing didjeridu`. In particular the concepts of didj horns in 1996, pitch shift didjeribone in 1981 and face bass in 1997 are Charlie's inventions which have been widely adopted by didj players.

Thanks to Charlie’s efforts the wonderful rhythms and tones of the Australian didgeridoo can be enjoyed by people from around the globe.

The Didgeridoo and Multiculturalism

The didgeridoo melds effortlessly with instruments and music styles from the world over. Its been recorded on tracks alongside the Maui xaphoon, Mandolin keyboard drums, wooden flutes, the tabla (an Indian percussion instrument) and dun dun, to name just a few.

The variety of sounds and timbre that an accomplished player can bring forth from the didgeridoo is staggering. The didgeridoo can provide the bass lines for rock songs, can harmonise in classics, and can be a whole cacophony of sounds all by itself – truly a remarkable instrument!

The didgeridoo – and, by extension, world music – proves that all cultures and countries can work together harmoniously; can find similarities to bridge the differences. All people on this planet Earth can come together in music, no language needed! Listen to the pulse of global harmony!