When he was 12 years old he fell in love with percussion.

A couple of years prior to that he had gone through a bassoon phase. So we were not sure how serious this fascination was. One weekend we went to the local music shop to look at a few drum kits and we found a beautiful pink and black one. He liked it enough for us to bring it home. He enjoyed it for 4 years while getting really good at it. He then graduated to an electronic kit in order to keep friendly relations with our neighbours.

As soon as he got home from school, he would put his bag down and go straight to the drums, get his head phones on, tinker with the settings on the ‘brain’ and get going. He would be lost in a world of rhythm, completely oblivious of time or anything else.

He spent hours watching youtube clips of great drummers and shared them with us sometimes. He was extremely fond of the double peddle and went to great lengths to acquire just the right one. He played the djembe and darbakka. He often had a practice pad strapped to his thigh on which he would play anywhere and everywhere. If nothing else, he percussed with his fingers on any given surface with full concentration, his eyes focused on a spot somewhere in the mid-distance. He wrote music and created new beats for himself. He had designed the new tattoo he was going to get. It would be a bird’s eye view of his ideal drum kit.

At 16 he performed his first public gig with his friends at a fund raising concert. I think it was the happiest day of his life.

Today I gave his electronic drum kit away.
I hope it finds much love in its new home.