Life is rhyme for Lone Hill drummer
LONEHILL – "The objective is to feel comfortable with exploring all forms of expression like playing the drums, dancing and singing," said Paul Boyter of the Harmonics.
Paul Boyter, who started using the power of drumming as a tool for therapy and meditation, has been an active therapeutic drummer for 24 years.
He now engages with communities around Sandton to help participants express themselves through drumming and dancing.
The journey began when Boyter started drumming in 1996 with the djembe drum which originates from West Africa. The instrument is often strapped to the shoulders of the drummer when used standing and performed slightly tilted when the drummer is seated in order to project the sound of the base.
The birth of trance drumming was created by Paul Boyter in 2014 under the name ‘Harmonics’, which happens to be the name of his drumming team made up of three individuals: Paul Boyter, Kojo Dodo and Tore Gune.
Boyter said, “When I first started trance drumming it had a strong emphasis on mindfulness. I shared our first couple of drumming circles with Dr David Wepener who was my mentor at the time. Half of the experience ended up with us guiding the groups through mindfulness practices of meditation and periods of stillness. These first experiences spoke to many people living in Sandton and Fourways but it lacked something and that something was wisdom.”
Each trance drumming session with the Harmonics happens once a month and the reason behind that is to make participants look forward to every minute of it.
“The main goal is to be an outlet for people interested in expression and music. This does not mean everyone has to be all expressive and musically competent. The objective is to feel comfortable with exploring all forms of expression like playing the drums, dancing and singing,” concluded Boyter.
