London jazz festival 2012

The london jazz festival has only just begun But the event has dished out an amazing array of talent and entertainment on its first weekend. Hyperpotamus put on an awe inspiring show up at the arts depot. He wowed the audience with his captivating rhythms, melodies and unique dance moves in a thoroughly inspiring set. He finished off an incredible set with a cover of sweet dreams where he had the audience joining in this anthemic tune.

The barbican hosted SCENE FINLAND. I managed to catch 3 of the 4 acts: RAKKA + KUARA + ANNA-MARI KÄHÄRÄN ORKESTERI. The bands were incredible and each drummer left me feeling completely awestruck as each one had their own unique style and sound which was such a joy to behold. The final act of Anna-Mari and her accompanying band were so enthrawling on their first outing to London that I can hardly believe that they are not regulars on the scene. The drummer played most of the set with a stripped down kit with one crash cymbal, snare, floor Tom and kick drum. He played most of the set with his fingers tapping and manipulating the skins on the snare and floor Tom reminding me of the old footage of John Bonham slappingskins on his kit. I was utterly inspired to watch him produce such wonderous sounds on his set up and can't wait to sit back in the studio and try out some new tips! 

A a r o n

Team building with Boots

September saw slappingskins run a team building afternoon with Boots up near its uk HQ. in Nottingham. 350 delegates took part in my biggest ever drum circle. It was a real joy to work with such a big group of drummers and I'm happy to say that everyone took part in the beat as the whole event went off with a bang! A big thank you to Boots for the opportunity of working with such a fun team. I look forward to my next big event! Aaron.

A busy summer

It's been a very busy summer slappingskins. My intentions to keep up with my blog have sadly not been met but it's been a busy time. I've been to loads of events and festivals over the summer of 2012 including sunrise, womad, mannifest, greenman and other wonderful smaller events all over the uk and it's been one of the most inspirational years so far!
          The shows that I've been luckily enough to see this year will stick in my mind for some considerable time from the wonderful manganiyar seduction from Rajasthan to the sublime ballet nimba from Guinea. A few links below to these acts:

Aaron

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=vWhpOR39TO0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvWhpOR39TO0&gl=GB

 http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=YvKsrqCwyGQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYvKsrqCwyGQ&gl=GB

Djembe re-skinning and tuning

Slappingskins is pleased to offer a very reliable re-skinning and djembe tuning service although I do recommend that drummers do put time and effort into doing their own drums...however sometimes I realise that people may not have the inclination/time to do this. For you drummers out there looking for a few tips please check out Vieux' video on Youtube which gives some really handy tips on how to do a good job on your djembe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m4H5enCqnE&feature=related

Juju Nations gig @ gwdihw

Slappingskins played a gig the other night in a lovely venue (Gwdihw) in Cardiff with Juju Nations who have been putting on great music nights for over four years. Myself and three fellow drummers turned up at the gig with djun djuns, djembes, krins and all sorts of other percussive goodies that we used to help get the dancefloor kicking on a Saturday night. It was a great night and we had a blast with the Juju Nations djs and mcs who have created something really vibrant for the Cardiff music scene. Check them out: http://www.jujunations.com/

Gong Yoga

I'm really excited to announce a joint gong yoga session on July 7th.  Michele Lambert will be running the yoga class and we will be working together to weave sound through the day.  I will be using the mediums of  voice, magical gongs & sweet singing bowls, to transform the yoga postures to a deeper level.  The sound vibrations will not be continuous but used in synergy with appropriate postures, to encourage the energy to flow freely through the body.  Day not to be missed!  Same venue as usual, St Thomas Community School, Swansea. The session starts at 10 am and finishes at 3pm.

If you would like to book a place on the day the contact telephone number at present is 07793 544 956.

a a r o n x

A great weekend at Blackwood Summer Festival

Blackwood high street was alive and kicking this weekend with plenty of exciting activities and entertainment. Slappingskins set up a double gazeebo with the whole percussive works...djembes, djun djuns, krins, surdus and all manner of percussive jems for two days of drop-in workshops. hundreds of participants joined in over the two days and i was lucky enough to be right next door to Steve of @tropical_inc (twitter). He allowed me to handle parrots, eagle owls and snakes. I was fascinted to watch the bower constricter mesmorized by the vibrations of the djun djun drums. My second year at Blackwood was great fun but now...for bed. a a r o n

Drumming for Spinal Injuries

 Slappingskins is my business. Slappingskins is my passion! When I was booked to lead a day of drumming, percussion and sound relaxation at the UKs primary spinal injuries unit in Stoke Mandeville I was  excited yet daunted at the same time. Thoughts of uncertainty over my ability to engage every member of the group were present but outweighed by feelings of  excitement at being given the privilege to lead these music sessions for some of the bravest people in our land.

I’ve had the pleasure of working in several different hospitals during my 8 years of running ‘Slappingskins drumming and percussion’ but it was not until I began working with Chrys Blanchard of Abergavenny on her Soundscape project in 2009 that my eyes were fully opened to the possibility of using sound to assist in the healing process . Subsequent study under Simon Heather of the College of Sound Healing has given me the impetus to further my own study, develop my own sound and take my work out into the community.

Brave and resilient souls they are! The patients who attend the spinal injury unit are a mixed bag. Some old, some young, some severely handicapped by poor movement in their limbs and some so strong and confident that it would make the most sure of us wonder about our own competence.

My remit was to run a morning of workshops lasting one hour long to two groups of patients of between 8-12 participants followed by a lunchtime performance/showcase and an afternoon of textural percussion and softer, relaxing sounds that would be appropriate on the wards for patients that were bed bound.  The day was to finish off with an open drop-in session for anyone who had not had an opportunity to attend any of the days sessions.

More than half of the patients would make their own way to my morning workshop space. Others were assisted and wheeled into the makeshift drumming and percussion parlour for the length of the session. Most patients were able to play a djembe drum and so were encouraged to choose from a selection of West African hand drums and they were attached to the backs of their chairs. One or two patients had bells and shakers attached to their wrists so that they could join in the session and enjoy the light hearted fun and games along with some therapeutic drumming and grooving.

Tibetan singing bowls and a selection of my favourite gongs were also played during the session as too was my beloved balafon (west African wood and gourd xylophone) and a selection of percussion including the lovely pentatonic vibratones which produce a beautiful wah wah effect. Our lunchtime performance went down a treat as one young patient joined us, playing the balafon and djun djuns (west African base drums). He strapped on his favourite drum sticks and began playing some lovely melodies and rhythms which I played over backed up by some of the onlookers on shakers and other assorted percussion. A surgeon on his lunch break joined in as did another few members of staff and the sounds of the drums, gongs and other percussion was again drifting through the corridors and attracting curious onlookers and participants.

The morning sessions were really well attended and it was lovely to be able to facilitate the music sessions for those who were able to come. The hospital chaplin, David Elliott,  who was instrumental in booking Slappingskins was with me for the whole day and he really came into his own in the afternoon as the both of us moved from bed to bed playing sansulas (thumb piano) for patients who were bed bound and unable to leave their wards. David is a gifted musician in his own right and he played the sansula with a lovely touch as we drifted through the corridors from bed to bed and ward to ward. Some patients were able to join in with gongs and vibratones, especially on the childrens ward where we met with some enthusiastic participants.

                Our day drew to a close with a final drop-in session where people could come and go as they pleased. It was pretty quiet at that time on the Friday afternoon but we played a few improvised pieces and were able to draw an interested crowd for a good deal of the session. My experiences that day were truly humbling and I’m really looking forward to my next visit to Stoke Mandeville and my next opportunity to liven up a hospital ward!

                Later this year I’ll have the privilege to take part in my 4^th annual soundscape project will take place at Neville Hall hospital, Abergavenny. For more information please visit:

http://www.collegeofsoundhealing.co.uk/pages/hospitals.html

I've had an exciting week of drumming here in South Wales and beyond. I've finally, with the help of my good friend Alun, filmed the first in a series of drumming tutorials for Youtube. We've been talking about it for years and have finally made the first step into what is an exiting new project. We're going to show you some handy bits of percussion knowledge filmed in some of the most georgous settings in Wales and beyond.
           Our first destination for lesson #1 was a clifftop location not too far from Southerndown beach, near Ogmore on the South Wales coastline. The clouds parted to allow us to film in the last of the evenings light and the guls were in fine voice as the waved lapped at our feet over a hundred feet below. Sheep came and went voicing their (dis)approval at times. Alun and Haf positioned themselves perched on the rocks filming a slightly wentswept drummer. My djembe was strapped on and I was savouring the moment that I could play to the open sea.
            We filmed a few experiments and soundchecks then we went for a few takes. The light was glowing and the surfers on the beach miles away were pulsating on the wases. Pretty soon time caught up with us, though, so it was off home to put the veggie burgers on!
            The edit a few days later produced the first djembe tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XL7osan2rPs

              Enjoy. Let me know what you think. A a r o n x
             

DrumcampWales2012 was a lovely weekend of drumming, dancing, singing, gonging and frisbee! Plenty of gongoma could be heard across the campsite along with frequent hang drumming and the lovely playing of  bazouki, guitar and other wonderous sounds. The weekend was packed with workshops and performances from drumming groups from Bridgend, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Ammanford, Cardigan and Llanidloes.

It was the biggest collection of drumming groups this year and it was absolutley lovely to see all of the different rhythms being played and performed infront of very enthusiastic audiences.

The weather wasn't too kind to us but we had plenty of cover to keep warm and dry and the tipis provided us with great spaces to keep our instruments dry!

Visiting tutors Roberto from www.gongomaplanet.com and Jackson Lapes from the Bristol samba scene provided great workshops and tasty melodies and rhythms throughout the weekend.

We had a beautiful day for the sound journey. The sun shone as Andy, Barry and myself set up our gongs and singing bowls and other textural percussion. Tim played didg. for us and we managed to create a beautiful sound journey for relaxation.

Sam led wonderful singing workshops every day followed by lovely yoga sessions. I must say that I wish I could be woken everyday by the singing of lovely folk. Some lovely guitar and bazouki too this dcw! So nice to hear beautiful music in beautiful settings!

Watch this space for news of DCW2013!

All set for Drum Camp Wales 2012

Drum Camp Wales 2012 starts tomorrow/Saturday out near Kidwelly. We've got a lovely 3 day event planned with lots of workshops and performances from quite a few of the drumming groups in Wales. Details of times etc can be found on the facebook page or you can contact me for more details.

Last night in Cardiff saw the launch of incA's debut EP. They're a brilliantly entertaining band based in cardiff and they really do put on a great show. The support acts made sure it was a thoroughly inspiring evening: Iron eye had everyone dancing their socks off with awesome drumming and horns. Quiet Marauder provided the percussive masterclass as they added all sorts of interesting percussion to a very entertaining set. Always nice to see/hear something you've never experienced before. The 3 piece really did the business with copper kettles and tenderizers along with an interesting selection of metal and tin 'cymbals'. Brilliant fun...as was the shed disco at the after party! ROCKING it was! a a r o n x

What a beautiful day at Chilworth House School, oxford. I arrived, because of traffic, a little later than the usual 8.30 start I like to get in order to get set up in time for morning assembly and a strong black coffee (and chocolate) if I'm lucky. The day started with the whole school in attendance as I introduced the instruments to the keen youngdrummers.

Our first three sessions were in the hall but the afternoon saw us take the drums out into the yard and beyond the hedge border into the back outdoor classroom which was like a sort of roundhouse made from wood and had beautiful accoustics. We drummed to our hearts content interupted only by curious students who has flown the nest...in a naughty rebellion.

Our day was a blast and I'll always remember the willow wigwam lunch of sandwiches and crisps under the watchful eyes of one particular student in oak ...or was it willow class?

drum on!
              a a r o n x

Slappingskins ready for 2012 festival season.

Slappingskins is all set for the Summer with its new tipi and small drumming marquee whose poles double up as log drums! I'm excited about setting up for next weeks Drum camp Wales 2012 and am really looking forward to catching up with some old drumming friends. 2012 promises to be a very exciting and rewarding year with new developments on the website such as an online shop and a youtube  drumming tutorial coming soon! Watch this space for more developments and news of up and coming workshops, festivals and other events. Aaron x

Very happy to announce the launch of the new Slappingskins website.

Thanks to Richard from Red Pencil Media for all of his hard work!

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Booking Slappingskins will ensure that your event goes off with a bang as Aaron is an enthusiastic and engaging drum facilitator who likes to get everyone involved in the rhythm. Bookings can be tailored to suit individual needs and group sizes.

Latest News:

The Van :)

Hello and welcome to the brand new 'News' blog.

Check out all the latest activities etc etc

Aaron Meli of Slappingskins has developed a unique African percussion workshop which has worked with PRU units, hospitals, special schools, nursery, primary and secondary schools all over the UK.

Slappingskins is available for all sorts of events including corporate team building, private party celebrations and now weddings!

Slappingskins usually works with up to 30 drummers at a time on a coherent music workshop which introduces different instruments from a range of different cultures, allowing participants to have fun learning the basics of playing these instruments. Each workshop guarantees a drum (djembe, darabuka, bougarabou) for each participant and plenty of time for everyone to enjoy playing the instruments. Larger groups can always be accommodated.

Please check back soon,

Aaron