Sri Lanka's musical traditions are virtually unknown in world music circles today, losing out for attention to the island's northern neighbor, India. Our guest this month, Jim Sykes, has been conducting research on Sinhala Buddhist ritual drumming in Sri Lanka since 2004, with the highly secretive caste of musicians who are the only ones who know how to play this music. These rituals go on all night, and they involve upwards of ten drummers playing mind-blowing rhythms that are not fit into any kind of beat cycle or time signature. Jim will explain how this music works, show footage he shot of the rituals in rural Sri Lankan locations, and then explain how he borrowed ideas from this music for his band (with U.S. Maple's Mark Shippy), Invisible Things
Beats, Brews, & Banter is a free monthly event that gives local drummers, musicians, and wannabes a chance to network, share ideas, and learn from some of the best drummers in the area. Our guest this month, Jim Sykes, will present a lecture, videos, and a live demonstration that applies Sinhala concepts to the Western drum set, showing how Sinhala drumming is a form of sacred speech that sounds radically different from other kinds of drumming in the world.
Jim Sykes is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, and a drummer who has played with a number of noise and experimental rock bands over the past fifteen years (Marnie Stern, Parts & Labor, Grooms, Tyondai Braxton, Boredoms' 77 Boadrum, Mark Shippy of U.S. Maple, Martin Bisi). In this talk he will present his research on Sinhala Buddhist ritual drumming from Sri Lanka, which he has been conducting since 2004.
Philly Drum Project is a percussive collective dedicated to making drumming more accessible by helping drummers in the Philadelphia area share gear, lessons, and beats. Beats, Brews, & Banter is held once a month and has featured such drummers as Eric Slick (Dr. Dog), Spanky McCurdy (Jill Scott, Lady Gaga), and Fred Berman (Amos Lee). For more information, visit www.phillydrumproject.com.
The Fire
412 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123
FREE and open to the public
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