Over two dramatic days, the Drum Festival is set to transform the city of Dandenong into a percussionist’s paradise.
Over two dramatic days, the Drum Festival is set to transform the city of Dandenong into a percussionist’s paradise. More than just a celebration of drums, the festival is also a celebration of different cultures and traditions, hosting a mix of groups, DJs, choirs and more, all to the beat of the drum. One of the highlights of the event is sure to be the performance of Grrilla Step, which combines the talents of DJ Dexter (formally of the Avalanches) percussionist and drummer Airi Ingram, as well as the intriguing art form known as krumping.
I must admit that I had no idea what krumping was, but luckily Airi was more than happy to give me an introductory guide to the art form that plays an integral role in the performance of Grrilla Step. "What krump is, it’s more of an aggressive street kind of dance," he explains. "It’s very different to break dance. Krump as an art form is much more internal and it’s much more expressive but it’s also, in the same way that Polynesian New Zealand Haka is aggressive, krump is aggressive."
Krump initially caught the attention of Airi after hearing US comedian Dave Chappelle’s comments on the art form. "What he said about it was krump was to hip-hop what Nirvana was to rock n’ roll," he says. It started in LA but it seems that krump has made its way across the globe to Australia and according to Airi, although still firmly planted in the underground, it’s an art form that’s certainly on the rise. "Outside of LA the place for krump is Melbourne. Basically out in Dandenong is where it all happens. A lot of young Polynesian people are getting into it and can relate to that emotion in dance."
Grrilla Step are completely tearing down the boundaries of every musical genre, but does this mish-mashing of genres ever cause problems for the group when it comes to actually creating the music? "Usually, if an idea takes too much work then it’s not a good idea," quips Airi. "But you know sometimes it’s in that first energy when two different people come together and there’s a bit of a vibe, an energy; to me that’s where the music’s at."
When it comes to their live show, the visual element is just as important as the music itself. With a large group of dancers incorporated into the show, it’s definitely not your typical DJ set. "It’s not dance as in choreographed dance. There’s drumming, there’s super fast Polynesian log drumming and DJ Dexter on turntables does some crazy sort of stuff. So it’s kinda like you’re mixing in traditional elements, then dropping in a hip hop beat over it," he explains.
For Airi and the rest of the group they’re pretty damn excited to be taking part in the Drum Festival and being able to perform in what is essentially ‘the capital of krumping’. "Well I reckon it’s going to be cool because there’s a huge community that are into it up there, a big Polynesian community so it’s kind of a bit of a home coming for Grilla step to go up there and perform in Dandenong."
As for the future, Airi admits that although there aren’t any other shows booked at the moment, the band are hard at work laying down tracks for an album. "Well we’re actually working on a record at the moment," he confirms. "We don’t have many gigs. This is actually our only gig for a while. We’re just focusing on finishing the record."
With a diverse array of percussion-based acts, the Drum Festival kicks off in various locations this Friday March 18 and continues on Saturday March 19. For more information and tickets, check out drumtheatre.com.au.
