07 September 2010

July 9^th - 12^th 2009, Hulver Farm, Suffolk

It was Thursday July the 12^th and the weather in London was fine and sunny. I left my flat in with blue skies overhead and headed for Peckham where I was meeting my friends who were taking me to my first ever Drum Camp near Bungay in Suffolk. I was heading South of the river in order to then go north again, but they had the car, the camping gear and loads of enthusiasm for this event - so much so that they go every year. It features percussion artists and tutors from around the world, all united by their love of and knowledge of drumming. Also on offer were workshops in dance and singing taking place in a field at Hulver farm, as it has done for the past 14 years.

Camping is not exactly in my blood but I was keen to attend as many of the 35 workshops as possible and listen to the evening performances. And maybe get a bit of healing in the Therapy Zone as well, while I was at it. A few nights under canvas was a small price to pay for the chance to be tutored in the skills of drumming of various styles, which I had fancied learning for a long time but never done much about. My friends already had some drums of their own and quite a bit of experience of dance such as salsa and samba. I was very much a Drum Camp virgin but it was meant to provide for all levels and skills. It is a relatively small, self-selective event with only around 300 tickets being sold to those 'in the know', so a far cry from the mega, over-commercialised festivals such as Glastonbury and Tea in the Park. I should have realised that the event would be, on the one hand, small and manageable, but on the other hand possibly rather cliquey, with many 'old hands' who know their drums and each other. Words: Ruth Cherrington
Pics: By Mr Will, supplied by kind
permission of the Drum Camp


The clouds started to gather when we were driving through Essex and the rain started to pour down. We stocked up with supplies at supermarket in the small town of Diss and I used the loo twice knowing that after this point, it would be only the lovely portaloos. My worst fear was of pitching a tent (something I have zero experience of!) in the rain in a damp field, and of course this is exactly what happened. So my Drum Camp didn't get off to an auspicious start, but once the tents were up and rain gear put on, we headed for the Café which was very nicely set out with hot dinners available. I cheered up loads as I tucked into my lentil bake and then we headed to the main tent for the evening's performances, armed with a nice bottle of red and some plastic cups. First up was the Zambra Flamenco ensemble. I love flamenco and this group didn't disappoint. The singer really tugged on your emotions but unfortunately some out-of-control children kept running around making a lot of noise, which somehow broke the spell for me and my companions. Oh yes, Drum Camp is very child-friendly, perhaps a bit too much, but as a child-free person maybe I'm biased. There is a case though for perhaps keeping the evening performances for the adults only, without children running and jumping around and their parents oblivious to the fact that this might be spoiling the enjoyment for other people. Oh well.

Next up that night was Mpsasm who were an enjoyable band and then came the extremely lively Anna Mudeka Band who really roused us all with their mix of African/Latino sounds. They were very popular and finished the evening off nicely. Those with the energy and enthusiasm carried on dancing till the early hours in the Café tent listening to the sounds of DJ Dubious, who at one point seemed to get involved in a Michael Jackson tribute phase. Not exactly what I expected from Drum Camp, but there you go. The poor man had only recently died and Jacko fever had already gripped the nation.

All around the camp, circles of drummers had formed and this sound, mostly of djembe, was the predominant one to be heard throughout the weekend. It was like the soundtrack to the event. As I lay in my tent trying to get some sleep, I reminded myself that you don't come to Drum Camp to sleep, but I couldn't join in with the drumming as I hadn't learnt any up to that point. Tomorrow! I intended to set off down the drumming road with some workshops.

I began the day, however, with many others in the White Dome tent, enjoying a lovely calm workout led by Stefan and then a nice lie down as we drifted off to his playing of the gong. It was sublime. I could have stayed there all day but the first workshop was at ten, so I had to rouse myself and get going. Unfortunately I didn't get going quickly enough, for when I arrived at the Samba beginners' workshop, there were already too many people in there. This was a recurring problem with Drum Camp workshops. If you stayed at one workshop till it finished, you would end up being slightly late for the next and as a result, not be able to find a seat or an instrument or any space. Being a lecturer, I thought of timetabling management and how perhaps the workshops could have a five minute gap in between sessions, to allow for folk to get from one tent to another in time. But of course some people will still get there early to claim spaces and you still might miss out on what you want to do, as I did a couple of times. There is a fifteen minute break mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but maybe a case could be made for space in between the other sessions. Sorry to gripe!

There were usually eight or nine workshops on offer but some were aimed at intermediate or advanced learners, so not always something suitable for me as a beginner. Although only around 300 adults are attending, there are the children as well who also attend, so some workshops are quite full. The tutor was enthusiastic but clearly had his hands full and some people in there already knew what they were doing. I didn't feel I would be able to cope with that overcrowded session, so I left to pick up the flamenco beginners' class instead. This was taught by Dixey from the Zambra Ensemble I had seen the previous evening.

I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow account of all the workshops, but on the whole I got a good taster for different types of drums such as the darbouka during sessions run by the very capable Chas Whitaker, and also really enjoyed the cajon session run by John Halls who very quickly got us all playing and singing. I also enjoyed the native American flute session run by Cliff Knight, who let us play on the flutes he makes himself, which are beautiful. For some reason, I took to this flute and played melancholic sounds without even really trying. When I have saved some money I am going to buy one! It's odd how I went to learn the drums but now I feel perhaps that it might be the native American flute for me, instead. I also really enjoyed the dhol drumming and bhangra dancing sessions run by the Dhol Blasters from Birmingham. The latter was extremely energetic and great fun, once again the guy got us up and running in a matter of minutes without too much talking or the overly long introductions that some tutors tended towards. The Dhol Blasters were also on the list of performers on the Saturday evening and did a very lively set. The rest of the Saturday performances left a lot to be desired though, with no big names at all and this was disappointing. Friday night included the Capoeira Arts Brasil who hailed all the way from Stoke on Trent and put on a good show with music, dance and lots of jumping around, capoeira-style.

The final evening's performances were, according to my friends, the best of the lot though I have to take their word for that as I had to return to London that afternoon. Maybe the organisers saved the best for last! But I do think some of the evening performers were pretty good with a diverse line up, apart from the Saturday evening.

I also managed to fit in a healing session. I went to get an Indian head massage but instead had some spiritual healing with Ray Cooke, which sounds very new-agey but actually felt very powerful and strong. Lying there in a tent in a field in Suffolk, having my blockages unblocked, felt like the right thing to do at that point in time.

I came back from Suffolk with my head full of drum sounds and ideas about workshops in dance and drumming, plus with the desire to keep trying different instruments and dance styles. It was a good event. The weather did somewhat mar it for me as I couldn't quite take to sleeping in a damp field under canvas, but for hardy campers,
More info:
www.musicworldwide.orgthat wouldn't be a problem. The children were, at times, too many and too noisy, but for those with kids, this would be great event to go. There is plenty for them to do aside from the workshops.

Would I go back? Perhaps not. I enjoyed it but probably will find some lessons and workshops where I can sleep in my own bed afterwards!