Drum Travel

Forthcoming Album

Drum Travel is a project that seeks to celebrate the extensive power and diverse vocabulary of drums, and their ability to transport you on transformative journeys of various kinds. Whether they are supporting states of trance and meditation or propelling the heights of ecstatic dance, drums have always held the key to one of music’s most essential framework components – rhythm. Early in the project they were lucky to happen on extraordinary singer songwriter, charango player and artist Carolina Maggio who performs on five of the tracks.

Drums enjoy a pivotal relationship with many kinds of music, and the role of a drummer is one that takes one naturally into a range of communities and brotherhoods, linked by the all pervasive unifying force of the groove in its varying forms and expressions.

Drum Travel is the brainchild of multi-percussionist and world music specialist Sandeep Raval and producer and worldbeat recording artist James Asher. Using drums as the point of departure has led to the evolution of the tracks in the album which openly embrace the stylistic musical elements with which they have both enjoyed interaction: -worldbeat, Latin, ecstatic dance, Shamanic, jazz, blues, Indian folk, meditative, Native American and others that defy simplistic categorisation.

It’s important to remember that the idea of defining different musical styles was designed to help people identify and find music they liked – not prevent and alienate interesting hybrids from evolving and growing. Crossing cultural divides is familiar territory to Asher and Raval, and Drum Travel provides a vibrant and animated expression of their love of the broad galaxy that is drums. They are joined by the highly accomplished writer/guitarist and bass player Simon Brewin whose phenomenal and imaginative versatility, lyricism and funk potently enriches the mix.