Roaring 20
Hands Percussion celebrates its 20th anniversary with a stunning musical concert.
TWENTY years ago, a humble drum circle was formed, with one goal in mind – to create breathtaking beats with the power of percussion. Like a force of nature, the small group thundered forward, experimenting and daring to be different. And now, Hands Percussion is arguably the most-recognised drum troupe in the country. And Bernard Goh, its founder, could not be prouder.
“What sets us apart is how we challenge ourselves to bring the troupe to another level and ultimately push us out of the comfort zone,” says Goh, 46, who put the ensemble together with a bunch of others including Jimmy Ch’ng Lip Hann (now Hands’ principal percussionist), Chang Yih Feng (its team manager), Tan Xue Fen & Lee Chun Kiat (who are no longer with Hands) in 1997.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Hands Percussion is all set to present an electrifying work called Percussion Paradise, inspired by numerous percussionists, artists and audience members from all over the world. To sweeten the already awesome event, the performance will feature both students and instructors.
This 90-minute performance, which is part of the Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festival DiverseCity 2017, will also feature Scandinavia’s Sisu Percussion, marimba player Tan Su Yin and musician Mat Din.
Percussion Paradise is on at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre this Saturday at 3pm and 8.30pm. Ticket prices range from RM78 to RM428. For more info, contact 012-502 6883 or email handsticketing@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, enjoy these 20 interesting facts about the famously hardworking and fascinating troupe.
1 Chung Bernard and his six friends started in Hwa High School’s school hall in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur. Tan Soon Hock, the headmaster at the time, allowed them to use the hall (and drums) after school hours to practise!
2 Eighteen years ago, when they were composing Reincarnation, the group almost got arrested! The members were practising in an uncompleted shoplot area in Menjalara, Kuala Lumpur, when some plainclothes policemen questioned them for the noise they were making. Upon producing a newspaper cutting which proved that they were in fact a drum troupe, the policemen advised them to get a proper rehearsal space!
3 Hands specialises in the 24 Festive Drums – which is a combination of Lion Dance drums, shigu, and other South-East Asian musical instruments. The 24 Festive Drums is inspired by the lunar calendar’s agricultural seasons, celebrations and festivals. Students are taught a set of rhythmic drumming patterns and movements.
4 Hands’ movements include standing and sitting on the drums, twirling and rolling them. There were murmurings from quarters that such movements were disrespectful to the shigu (lion dance drum) but the naysayers were ignored and the team moved forward with their art form, to critical acclaim and a strong following.
5 The Miyake pattern (from Japanese taiko drumming) was incorporated into Hands’ repertoire in 1995 – the shigu is tilted to its side and the drummers stretch out one of their legs, bending it towards the right or left, striking the drum with a big arm rotation movement. It is a sight and sound to behold! 6 Hands’ performers not only have to practise their drumming, they also have to be agile and fit. The diverse training includes jogging, modern dance, yoga and theatre. Chinese literature studies have also been incorporated such as The Analects Of Confucius, a collection of sayings attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries.
7 The troupe continues to add instruments to his percussive stable, the latest being the djembe, marimba and vibraphone in 2014.
8 Hands had to learn to play from a classical Western music score when its members prepared for their concert, Tchaikovsky On Gamelan, in 2014. Before that, they always played without scores in front of them, relying purely on memory.
9 One of the first Malaysian designers who created costumes for Hands was Melinda Looi in 1999. Her costumes were androgynous and flowy, and allowed for maximum movement. Goh reminisces: “One thing I liked about Melinda’s work for us is that her designs were simple and yet elegant. The simplicity of the costumes made the movements for the drummers easy and the elegance added a charm to the performance.”
10 Hands owns nearly 300 drums and 95% of them are sourced from China.
11 You can find your true love at Hands. Yes for real! To date, six couples in the team have tied the knot. And there is always romance in the air!
12 Hands started off with only seven members. Now they are 38 strong, including full-time and part-time drummers, trainees and administrative staff.
13 The drummers are divided into two performing groups – the original core members and full-timers are affectionately known as Hands 1, while Hands 2 was formed in 2005 and comprises part-time drummers.
14 In 2007, a custom made gamelan set was acquired from Jogjakarta, Java and the Hands Gamelan Group was formed. 15 Hands is big on education. It has nurtured more than 8000 students since inception, and currently conducts classes in 26 schools around the country, in the Klang Valley, Taiping, Kuala Kemaman and Sandakan.
16 Hands did a workshop for Syrian refugee children in Nottingham, Britain, under Drum for Hope, a Maybank initiative to promote culture and the arts in May this year.
17 Since 2009, a double storey corner shoplot in the industrial area of Sungai Buloh, Selangor, has been Hands’ home for meetings and rehearsals. Here, they can make as much noise as they want!
18 This year, Hands embarked on its first nationwide tour of Malaysia. So far, the group has performed in Johor Baru, Ipoh, Penang and Kuantan. It intends to cover more cities when funding comes through.
19 At the International Folkloriada Competition in Dijon, France in 2009, Hands received a trophy. The troupe was not part of the competition as it was invited as special guest performers for the opening. However, the panel of judges liked its performance so much that they decided to give Hands a special award, which was a first of its kind in the 60 years of the festival’s existence! And it happened on Aug 31, 2009! What a proud moment for our country.
20 Hands started travelling overseas for gigs and festivals since 2004, and has travelled to Hanoi, Taipei, Adelaide and Hawaii and attended numerous festivals. Only Africa, Antarctica and South America are left to conquer.