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Send us your review:
Describe the atmosphere and live music at a local pub, restaurant, festival, church or temple, club night.... inspire other people to check it out!
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Musician: Paul Marshall
Location: Belfast
Instruments: percussion
Music: World fusion / Irish folk
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 听听Listen (6'10) to 'Blue Pedal', performed by Paul with Stuart Wyatt on violin
'Percussion's my passion and I play instruments from all round the world'
How I came to this music:
I've been a drummer all my life, starting on pots and pans as soon as I was old enough to grasp a wooden spoon, through my first 'Chad Valley' drumkit at age 5, up to my current collection of hundreds of percussion and other instruments from around the world.
Separation, divorce and the acquisition of the unusual title 'single dad' with 3 kids meant that it became financially unfeasible to remain in full-time work so I took a leap of faith, resigned from my Civil Service post and now I'm a professional musician and sound artist.
Percussion is my passion and I play instruments from Africa to South America, from Turkey to Tokyo, Australia to India and beyond. As an habitual learner I never stop seeking new challenges, techniques and instruments and I seek fusion wherever it may be found.
There's nothing more powerful than to play in front of thousands of people on a huge drum like the Pelodrum, a drum which I've designed and built myself, using home-made sticks and playing a composition that comes from the heart. When you finish, the audience let you know if you've made the right decisions. It's a sweat every time I do it, but a thrill and a touchstone.
Where I play:
I've formed my own group, The Powerhaus Project. We play infrequently but when we do, it's to rapt audiences in theatres. Recently we've turned the dressing rooms into a recording studio as well as letting cameras loose on the stage. We play in all the major arenas in Northern Ireland as well as the smaller pubs and clubs.
I've played in different bands over the years, everything from Rock & pop, country, Cajun, West African drumming and most recently with Different Drums of Ireland who fuse the two traditional celtic war drums of the Bodhr谩n and the Lambeg with all manner of world percussion. We've played everywhere from St Patrick's Day in the Whitehouse for President Clinton through to primary schools.
Through this work, I give talks and demonstrations on my instruments, hire unusual percussion for visiting artistes and I'm available as a session musician and percussion technician. As a junk artist I can be found kicking and knocking lamp posts and waste bins and embarrassing my family in kitchen-ware stores.
A favourite song:
My current favourite is 'Blue Pedal' which is an internet collaboration with Paris-based violinist Stuart Wyatt. We've never met or spoken in person. The track is intended for a documentary about rock climbing. I'd been hunting around online and came across this beautiful violin piece by Stuart who's an English busker based in Paris. He'd actually recorded it on the street. We exchanged emails and I took the music in by mp3 and used it as the base for the final piece. Apart from the beauty of the actual music, it's indicative of working practices among musicians these days and the extent to which the internet has enabled us to share material and ideas.
Visit Paul's Powerhaus website where you can watch video of the group in action:
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