Drumhand

Borrowing from the percussive parade traditions of Brazil, New Orleans and West Africa, Drumhand whip bamboo sticks, Ghanaian flutes, drums and trumpets into six original compositions. Make no mistake: The Travelling Scheme isn't merely marching music for carnal, lascivious festivities, nor is it intended for passive admiration. Although brimming with joy, it has nobler intentions: inciting people from very different experiences and ideologies to join in a common musical journey, where time spent together is as important as distance travelled. Contrasting the spirited percussion carpeting every track, jazzy wails of brass instruments lend a slightly melancholic tone to the quintet's compositions. It's as if you were being stirred, not to some irreverent frenzy, but to a level of joy where you're given the space to contemplate the moment, leaving room for other emotions to enrich your experience. The Travelling Scheme's multicultural, Zen-like orchestration makes you wish that people's international ideologies could blend as seamlessly and harmoniously as musical cultures do, when in the right hands.