Around Town
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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT
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* Cooking with Truffles Elizabeth Luard demonstrates the ultimate gastronomic experience, using recipes from her new book, Truffles, a fascinating and occasionally eccentric account of the pungent fungus (pictured). Va/vona & Crolla, Edinburgh, Tue 7 Nov, £22.50.
# Edinburgh 8. Glasgow Fireworks Displays Come on, who doesn't love the cheap thrill of whizzing sparkly things? The pyrotechnics start at 7.30pm, with family-friendly entertainment beforehand. Glasgow's big bang is also promoting the city’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid. Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh 8. Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Sun 5 Nov.
* Oddblns Wine Fair Over 500 wines feature, so taste away and meet the people behind the bottles. Malt whisky. fortified wine and spirits are on show too. Visit www.tinyur|.com/yktcbn to book. Murrayfle/d Stadium, Edinburgh, Sat 4 & Sun 5 Nov. * Soil Association Organic Food Festival With talks and tastings, stalls and children's activities, the festival will showcase the best organic produce Scotland has to offer, plus more from around the UK and abroad. Various venues, Glasgow, Sat 4 8. Sun 5 Nov.
What sin
Make your own kind of music
In need of a stress-busting activity — but one that taps into your hearbeat and raises your energy levels? Kirsten lnnes discovers the joy of drumming.
I all starts with a bassline. Boom-ha boom-ba —
the beat working itself into your hips. making you
quicken your pace as you pass by: seeping through the sandstone of the Pleasance or the Annexe on certain evenings. lt pulses over the Meadows. hustles shoppers happily down thoroughfares and brings uncharacteristic rhythm to the Byres Road bustle every June. It‘s not (always) a boy racer with souped-up speakers weighing down his Nova. and it’s certainly not a pipe band. Group drumming (in public spaces. in classes) is an increasingly popular pastime for non-professional musicians.
Glasgow group Partick Beat — responsible for all that incongruous booty—shaking during the West End Festival Mardi Gras — use traditional African instruments like the djembc. a large goblet-shaped drum played with bare hands. Although the group put on concerts and public performances. their main focus is evening classes and community outreach projects. Michele Keenan. who organises the outreach
project. says. ‘We find that the heartbeat rhythm of
the bass encourages people to express themselves in a way no other medium does. It‘s calming. soothing or awakening — it works very well as a means of communication for those with sensory impairment.‘ Partick Beat isn‘t the only group to realise the therapeutic potential of hitting something repeatedly. liurope‘s only professional Japanese Taiko group. the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers. is based in Lanarkshire. Taiko drumming is as tnuch about spectacle as rhythm. as the musicians play barrel-shaped drutns in gracefully choreographed movements to create a
surprisingly rigid. insistent sound. ‘Taiko is music. energy. dance: it‘s spiritual. it's theatrical.‘ says co- founder Miyuki Williams. ‘A live Taiko concert is a very moving experience. The reverberation of the drums goes right through you — it‘s about feeling the music in a very physical way.‘
Mugenkyo are currently recruiting for Project Taiko. their annual winter performance scheme for l8—29- year-olds. Students will take weekly classes at Mugenkyo‘s Dojo centre over three months. building basic skills into a performance alongside the professional drummers. ‘Most of the participants won't have even picked up a pair of drumsticks before — the only requirements are a good sense of rhythm. good movement and lots of energy.’ reassures Williams.
All the participants and organisers are keen to emphasise their groups accessibility. Daniel Verdon. who helps run Edinburgh University‘s Drumming Society (open to non-students too) says. ‘I was sceptical when I started. because I thought I had absolutely no rhythm. It just takes practice — anyone can play djembe to a very good standard if they have enough desire to do so. liveryone adds their own element and personality.’ Badda boom.
Partick Beat, every Wed, Annexe, Glasgow. Edinburgh University Drumming Society, every Mon; contact s0341948©sms.ed.ac.uk for venue details. The deadline for Project Taiko applications is 14 Nov; contact 01357 522008 or mail©taikodojo.com to apply.
2--lt3 Nov 2006 THE LIST 25