Some time ago I was turned on to an African drummer named DouDou N’diaya Rose. The first time I heard his ensemble I was floored. Particularly with the pocket his music creates. It’s such a wobbly, almost drunken groove that you simply can not avoid it.

The other characteristic of his music I enjoyed was the massive wall of sound. He often has a huge ensemble of 30 or 40 people. They seem to be split into a few different groups, each group playing a different part. This make the sound HUGE.

So, this is my first attempt at playing with multiple tracks of similar instruments (dun duns) playing the same or similar parts. I didn’t attempt the feel that DouDou gets because… let’s face it… I’m a white guy originally from the mid-west.

Since this is a diary entry and there’s not a lot of interesting arrangement, I elected to pipe in some recorded moments from speeches of the late, great civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis. The piece really has nothing to do with John Lewis, the Reverend King, or civil rights at all. I just figured if anyone did decide to listen to this, I might as well spread a little love in the world.

Thanks Rep. Lewis.