The powers of percussion

After years of producing some of Thailand’s best guitarists, Prart Music Group is turning to the poor percussionist with a contest that is setting out to find the best drummer in the country. 

“There are more guitarists in our music circle than drummers,” says Prart Aroonrangsi, the group’s managing director. “I know there are good drummers out there. I’ve seen and heard them on YouTube.

“There hasn’t been any kind of drum contest for more than 10 years so the time is ripe to start searching for new talent. Today’s new percussionists have many more opportunities to become proficient in their art thanks to the number of channels on the Internet. We calling our competition “Overdrive Drum Fact” with the Fact part standing for ‘founder, artificer, creator, and Thailand’.”

Prart’s been thinking about the contest for a while but decided to wait so he could time the announcement to coincide with the release of the movie “Whiplash” this Thursday. Directed by Damien Chazelle, the American jazz music drama tells the story of a young jazz drummer who gets into one of the USA’s best music schools but has to face up to the often cruel tutelage of the school’s fearsome maestro.

“The movie will be an inspiration for new drummers,” says Prart. “Many, of course, haven’t faced up to the kind of abusive teaching that’s seen in the film but a lot of them do feel discouraged by harsh words from their instructors.

“The drummer is an artist in his own right. He or she isn’t just the back up for the lead guitarist or singer. There are several new types of drums on the market these days and they help make the sound more colourful.”

The competition is open to all drummers regardless of age, style, gender or education. To enter, upload a five-minute video clip to Facebook.com/pmgthai.com anytime between December 1 and January 31. Applicants will be pared down to 14 qualifiers on February 7 then further shortlisted to seven on February 15 at Major Cineplex Ratchayothin. 

The winner will be announced after a live show by the seven finalists at Aksara Theatre King Power on February 28.

  “Entrants can play alone, to a backing track or with a guitarist as backup. Judging will be based on the criteria of groove and timing, individuality and imagination,” says Prart.

“I believe that the champion will find plenty of opportunities for work. In fact, I can see all seven finalists being in demand. And the winner also gets to take home Bt100,000 in cash, which is a healthy sum.”

 

On the beat

_ For more information, call Prart Music Group at (02) 203 0423-5 or visit www.PrartMusic.com and Facebook.com/pmgthai.