“It all started out of some madness. That’s my answer to all your questions,” smiles DJ and percussionist Kimo (Bejoy Joy) about his dream project – a drum circle in Kerala.
Every week, a handful of percussionists from different parts of Kochi come together, sit in a circle and play rhythms together. Instruments like the djembe, conga, hang drum, darbuka, didgeridoo and cajon rumble, thunder and reverberate in a rare synchronised rhythm.
You can never hear the same music twice, it’s never the same, neither are the musicians, the rhythms or the notes. If you can play a few notes, they’ll hand you an instrument and you too can be a part of this frenzied musical revolution. Because in this drum circle, it’s all about celebrating all kinds of beats and rhythms.
“There are actually no bad drummers. Everyone has an understanding of rhythm and music. Even if you don’t know music, you can still join in,” says Kimo, who lives in Kochi. If you learn the language of the drummers, you can dance to their tunes because whenever they jam, it’s like a celebration.
DJ Kimo | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
The drum circle is held twice every week in Fort Kochi. On Wednesdays, musicians gather at David Hall and on Thursdays at Fort Kochi Beach. It is organised by Kochi-based music company Art House Music Labs.
“Our idea is to develop a culture of street music,” says Kimo. He adds that it all started in 2014 when he first enjoyed being part of a drum circle in Rishikesh on the banks of the river Ganges. “That changed everything. And when I came back to Kerala, I wanted to start something similar. Street music is still a foreign concept here,” he says.
So he started a drum circle in Fort Kochi in 2016. He was joined by Hari Krishnan, Nekib Sha, Arun Kumar and Sajeer Khan, his Kochi-based Rhythm Circle band mates. “We would get together and play. Sometimes travelling musicians would join us,” he recalls.
What is a drum circle?
A drum circle involves a group of people coming together, playing percussion instruments, and creating improvised music.
However, life had other plans and his drumming career came to an end, although the dream of embracing this musical culture continued to grow in his mind.
Eight years later, in early 2024, he reunited with his former bandmate Hari Krishnan to restart the group. What was the inspiration for doing so? The dream was always there, he says. He adds that his time spent in Ukraine during the war made him realise that he should restart the drum troupe once he returned to Kerala.
Kimo moved to Ukraine during the war with his wife Natalia Terekhova, who is Ukrainian, and their child. “The street music scene was still active there during the war. During the weekends, musicians would come out and jam and it was something that offered a semblance of normality. When I came back I wanted to start a street music culture,” Kimo recalls.
Today a group of 31 people gather with their instruments: they have been meeting regularly for the past four months. “Half the musicians were strangers, but now we are all united by music,” says Kimo.
Avinash Kurungote, a Kozhikode native and lawyer, explains how he joined the group. “When I came to Kerala from Bengaluru, I was trying to connect with music circles here. That’s when I came across this drum circle. I liked the idea that percussionists could come and jam,” he says.
Currently people come from different districts to play drums. Kimo says, “I hope that one day there will be a tradition of drumming in all districts and this tradition will continue even when I am not here.”
If you want to experiment with drumming with rhythm, you just need to be there.
The drum circle is held twice every week from 6.30 pm to 8 pm at Fort Kochi. On Wednesdays, musicians gather at David Hall and on Thursdays at Fort Kochi Beach. For details, contact: 9895162838, 8137096664; Instagram: @rhythmcircleindia; Email: arthousemusiclabs@gmail.com
Published – September 08, 2024 03:05 PM IST
