Sound that breaks all boundaries

Fresh Appeal

Australian percussionist Ben Walsh recently performed at the Hard Rock Cafe, displaying his talent at the drum set and percussions.

The show, which was called ‘Loop Zero’, was brought together by Ben and his Australian counterpart Makina, who is responsible for designing some of the astounding technology that Ben uses during his performances — such as a pair of shoes that trigger sound and visuals.

The night started off with a set of techno-percussion sounds played by Ben. His vocal coordination with the beats, stage presence and overall presentation of the show was remarkable.

Ben astounded the audience by playing a wide variety of drum beats, covering diverse contemporary genres of music.

He added even more relevance to the show by using a blue drum as one of his instruments — the kind that Bangaloreans use to store water.

 The blue drum was transformed into a musical instrument on which he played a variety of tunes. Ben also went head to head with the machine and challenged digitally-programmed beats by playing the drums in time with melodies that were born out of the algorithms of a computer. Zinni Ghosh, an investment banker, was amazed by what Ben had on display.

 “I loved the part of the show where he used the blue drum to create music. The way he interacted with the audience made us all feel connected, like we were all part of a loop. Bangalore has very few places where we get to see acts like this. I would love to see more people who are so passionate about their music,” she says.

“This is my fifth solo show. I’ve done a lot of work with technology in my life, so I’ve brought out its applications and limitations in this show. ‘Loop Zero’ is about technology that revolves around human beings and music.

It’s a very abstract concept, where we aren’t trying to have a main narrative. It’s an art-infused music event. I’m particularly pulled by any kind of music that is experimental or exploring in nature and although I’m not much of a religious person, I like devotional music because I feel deeply connected to the divinity of sound. I also love qawwali and Indian Classical music, which I find very open and personal,” says Ben Walsh.

“When you have no culture that is handed down to you, no guru and no boundaries, you have the freedom to experiment and explore. But there is also a negative — when you’re hungry for knowledge and have nothing, you need to make your own path, knock on a lot of doors, borrow, listen and learn.

My inspirations are Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, John Coltrane and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Bangalore was very open to who I am. The people here love music and I felt a great response and warmth from the people here. It’s good to see that they’re not working too hard to miss out on a chunk of life,” he adds.