Disruption! ACF campaign

I’m currently running an Australian Cultural Fund campaign to support the creation of a mini documentary and complete a recording for my latest large scale project, Disruption! The Voice of Drums. I hope you can get behind this exciting project!

The recording of an album and creation of a mini-documentary for 'DISRUPTION! THE VOICE OF DRUMS', performed by the Earshift Orchestra featuring drummers Simon Barker and Chloe Kim.

I’m a saxophonist-composer, bandleader and artistic director of the Earshift Orchestra. I’m looking for project supporters to complete a project called Disruption! The Voice of Drums. Disruption! premiered at Sydney Festival in January, 2021, to critical acclaim and I’m looking to move the project to the next stage – the recording and release of an album and mini documentary.

The project explores the power of the drums to be a force for disruption and protest in the world, a force for ecstatic experiences, and a force for healing. The project showcases a three-way, cross-generational collaboration between myself and two virtuoso drummers: Simon Barker and Chloe Kim. Simon is a world acclaimed jazz drummer that has investigated Korean traditional drumming for the past 20 years. He was the subject of the acclaimed documentary Intangible Asset #82 and has inspired a generation of improvising musicians in Australia. Chloe is a 24 year old drummer on the brink of an exciting career, at the forefront of an exciting new generation of Sydney creative music. Chloe is developing a distinctive voice on her instrument, channelling influences from jazz and rock with her Korean heritage.

I have composed a suite of music for an eight-piece Earshift Orchestra to frame their solo drumming music. These drummers are innovators in their own right – this project is the first to explore their ideas in a large ensemble. I’m really excited about how the show turned out at Sydney Festival, with the audience and critical feedback particularly inspiring. It’s an epic show, with drumming that you have never seen before. It explores the dynamic between two generations of some of Australia's finest drummers, as Simon and Chloe battle it out in an amazing musical interplay. I can’t wait to record this amazing work and bring it to a wider audience.

The project has received support from Australia Council for the Arts, Sydney Festival and Sydney Improvised Music Association. Now through the Match Lab program and Creative Partnerships Australia, we are giving you the opportunity to contribute towards this groundbreaking work and reach its potential for future performances. Your rewards are tax deductible and will be matched dollar for dollar by Match Lab. Funds will be used to assist the recording of the project and the creation of a mini-documentary to be used for promotional purposes.. The world needs to hear this project – be part of its next steps.