Artist description Makak's music is a blend of contemporary American cosmopolitan influences and primal drum-beating. Weilding percussion instruments with origins from around the world, as well as some made by members of the band, Makak merges African tribal beats with middle eastern belly dance rhythms and straight-ahead pop backbeats in a confluence of sound that invokes images of far away (and not so far away) places and cultures. The urban-primal percussion ensemble Makak is a tour-de-force in the currently burgeoning field of world beat. Follow the drummers as they visit various locales in time and space, lifting sounds as they find them and uniquely blending them into a confluence of rhythmic ecstasy.

Music Style Urban Primal Percussion

Musical Influences Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, Stomp, Peter Gabriel, "Remain in Light"-era Talking Heads, Babatunde Olantunji, ethnic tribal trance cultures of any era...

Similar Artists Stomp, Planet Drum

Artist History The seeds of Makak were planted in October 1993, during a curanderismo festival in Espinazo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Willman and Rowley-Yugen started drumming on plastic buckets and tin cans one afternoon and soon the entire camp, as well as passing locals, had joined in. This led to their first gig, in June 1994, where Willman and Rowley-Yugen joined Keith Krause in a found object performance at the request of a local arts publication. Since then, Makak has performed at a variety of events, including art openings, benefits for local charities, a statewide leadership conference and, most recently, the Annual Bob Marley Festival. In the summer of 1995, Makak produced and recorded their first album on the wu-wei label entitled Visiting Dog. Visiting Dog is a tour-de-force in the currently burgeoning field of world beat. In addition to compositions written by the band, Makak draws influences from around the globe. African beats merge with middle eastern belly dance rhythms in a confluence of rhythmic ecstacy. Makak incorporates these influences by focussing on their essences and reinterpreting them in their own unique way. Makak’s music has always been immediately accessible to a wide audience. Wherever they play, audiences of diverse musical tastes find themselves inextricably drawn into the infectious primal sound of Makak’s live performances. Using an extensive array of percussion instruments with origins from around the world, as well as some made by the members of the band, Makak invokes images and sounds of far away places and cultures.

Group Members Gregg Willman, Keith Rowley-Yugen, Keith Krause

Instruments Boombas, Congas, Djembe, Dun-Dun, Dumbek, Bongos, Maracas, Gankogui, Gong-Gong, Cowbells, various Shakers & Noisemakers, Pan Pipes, Ocarinas, Synthesizer, Sampler, Tape, Effects, Voice, etc.

Albums Visiting Dog

Location corpus christi, tx - USA

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