This week, Malta welcomes critically-acclaimed percussionist Pete Lockett to its shores for a performance and masterclass on Saturday night, organised by Benji Cachia, aka Banjo Rancho of Maltese band The Ranch. Drawing on his vast musical understanding, big-name collaborations, touring experience and film music work, Lockett will perform and share his knowledge in a session entitled ‘Pete Lockett – Expanding Your Rhythmic Vocabulary’.
Aside from his considerable experience as a touring musician and in commercial recordings for artists such as Björk, Peter Gabriel, Suga Babes and Amy Winehouse, as well as for films such as The Insider (Al Pacino), The Quiet American (Michael Caine) and five Bond films to date, Pete Lockett is also considered a world authority on world percussion, having lectured at prestigious institutions such as The Royal College of Music in London, Shanghai Conservatory and Berklee School of Music in Boston.
Lockett was voted ‘Percussionist of the Year’ in 2015 and ‘Best World Percussionist’ three years consecutively (2013-15) by DRUM Magazine (US). In addition to his numerous other projects, he also recently launched DrumJam, an app designed for use in both recording studios and rehearsal rooms.
Featuring a performance and informative discussion, the session on Saturday night will showcase a range of percussion from around the world and focus on increasing rhythmic understanding and familiarity with musical genres from different cultures.
Though educationally aimed at musicians, the evening should prove interesting and impressive to a range of audiences, as Lockett will demonstrate his musicality and the technical skills developed throughout his varied and successful career.
When asked about bringing Lockett to Malta, the organiser of the event, Benji Cachia, explained: “For the last couple of years I’ve been contacting musicians I listen to or have seen perform, to see if there might be an opportunity to learn from them in some way. Pete was one of the people who got back to me and we started communicating over e-mail. I sent him the music of The Ranch and he liked it, which was great, and in fact he very kindly started sharing it on social media.
“We’ve kept in touch, and over the last couple of years I became very interested in South Indian music, so when The Ranch were on tour in the UK, I contacted Pete. We weren’t able to meet unfortunately, but from that conversation came the idea to bring Pete to Malta. I knew it would be a challenge because obviously you want to make sure you do it right when you’re organising something like this for someone at Pete’s level.”
Thankfully it’s all come together and people are really excited about it, particularly Malta’s musicians. His CV is amazing and I’m sure he’ll have lots to share. Intrigued, I caught up with Lockett to learn more about his varied musical experiences and current projects.
Welcome to Malta, Pete. Have you performed or taught here before?
This will be a first for me. I feel so blessed to be able to visit places all over the world and to perform and share music and rhythms and meet new friends. The drum and percussion world is such a tight-knit and positive community. It’s always great to add a new place to my list of musical connections.
London is very multicultural. Was this one of the main factors that propelled you into exploring non-Western music?
Not with any preconceived intention, more by accident. It came about by being exposed to different cultures and different music from around the world. It was impossible for me to not be intrigued and beguiled by the rhythms and flavours of the different music I came across. It was all such a mystery. When I first came across Indian music, for example, I had absolutely no idea what was happening. It was so deeply developed and intellectually considered that it was initially impossible to understand the nuances of the music. With time, and as you get educated on how extremely complex it is, you realise how completely mind-blowing it is. And really this is no surprise when you look at the long and rich cultural history of India, spanning back to the ancient Indus valley civilisation and its organised city plans that appeared thousands of years before Europe developed in that way.
A truly global mix of percussive brilliance. Something memorable guaranteed- Time Out London
What would you say is one of the main challenges when first approaching this music?
As someone from a different culture there are a huge number of hurdles to overcome, even when trying to understand the varying components of the music; the way the drums are played, the way overtones are created by muting parts of the instruments, the rhythmic complexity and the extreme virtuosity that is ‘normal’ in the music. Then there are the musical structures, the mathematics and harmonic modulations. There is honestly just so much.
Equally important is the big question, ‘how do I remain creatively free and explorative within a musical setting that has so many rules and regulations?’ This is a really important point and one that can even outweigh learning the mechanics of the music. I have always been an explorer at heart, and therefore a significant challenge is how to gain the skills required for that environment but be able to represent it in a different creative landscape while leaving the integrity of that music intact. That is my musical journey right there.
You’ve contributed to many musical projects; can you describe a personal highlight?
I had a project in Rajasthan where I spent a few days deep in the desert in small villages. No electricity or running water. Each village put together a small performance for me in a space of their choosing; under a banyan tree, in a house, anywhere really.
I then put together an ensemble comprised of 30 hand-picked musicians from the various villages. We first performed on top of Jodhpur Fort at midnight with a full moon, and later to a sold-out audience at the Jodhpur Riff music festival. That was something else!
I understand you’ve also recently launched an app; can you tell me a little more about this?
This relates to what I was saying earlier about retaining a personal artistic vision with everything. I’m always looking for connections between all the various elements in play. This includes technology as well as acoustic percussion. DrumJam is a multi-percussion app for iPad and iPhone that allows you to layer different percussion parts played on different instruments across a massive range of tempos. It will be great for singer-songwriters playing live, producers and songwriters in studios and for drummers and percussionists both as a production and performance tool but also as an educational aid. I’ve been very lucky to develop the app in partnership with Jesse Chappell of Sonosaurus Ltd.
How does it feel to be voted Best World Percussionist 2013-15 and Percussionist of the Year 2015?
It doesn’t reflect reality. That’s not to belittle it or put myself down; it’s amazing to get acknowledgement for your hard work and endeavours. However, there is so much amazing talent in the world that it would be ridiculous to think that anyone could be ‘the best’. Besides, music is about community and not achievement. Even look closer to home, look at Benji and his band. They are super-talented, great players and inspired musicians with loads of positive energy. There is so much artistic talent all over the world. We often get confused by the standards that are imposed upon us by mass media and marketing. There’s a lot more to it than that.
What do you hope people take away from the session on Saturday?
For me, live performance is about making that connection. It is not about ‘display’, but more about a genuine unveiling of musical thoughts and actions. If some people feel welcomed into that world, then I am satisfied.
‘Pete Lockett ‒ Expanding Your Rhythmic Vocabulary’ will take place at St George Preca College Secondary School, Ħamrun, on Saturday at 7pm. For tickets, e-mail Benji Cachia at banjorancho@gmail.com.