The Handpan Meets Johann Sebastian Bach - with Laurent Sureau

For those unfamiliar, Johann Sebastian Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period (1600 to 1750). He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

A revival that continues with recent performances from Handpan-musician, Laurent Sureau.  Who in addition to boasting one of the most impressive Handpan set-ups we’ve yet stumbled across - has been busy bringing some of Bach's most beautiful compositions; into the steel-age. Such as the following classical arrangement for the Handpan, of Bach's, Prelude MWV 846 - the first prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer...

Laurent grew up in a musical family and his passion for music started early. He began learning piano at the age of 6, then expanded his range of skills by studying percussion: classic and contemporary first (timpani, vibraphone, etc.), then drums from various continents (congas, Cajon, West African balafon) and drums, chromatic balafon, and of course, the Hang/Handpan.

And in addition to a variety of other outfits, Laurent performs alongside fellow Handpan-composer, Jeremy Nattagh, as one-half of the also quite exceptional, TwinPan. And you can hear another of Laurent Sureau's Handpan renditions of a Johann Sebastian Bach classic, this time in the form of PRELUDE-SUITE for Cello N°1- G Maj" BWV 1007, below...



To hear more from Laurent Sureau, you can visit him over at his official website: HERE.  Or you can find him over at YouTube: HERE.

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Handpan - and the Panopticon Connection

Chances are if you watched Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie (the first one), you’ll have some idea of what a “Panopticon” is (see picture right). First imagined by English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, a Panopticon is a kind of prison, within which the cells are constructed in a circle, built around one central surveillance platform. The scheme of the design is to allow all (pan-) inmates of an institution to be observed (-opticon) by a single watchman without the inmates being able to tell whether or not they are being watched. Although it is physically impossible for the single watchman to observe all the inmates' cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched means that they are incentivized to act as though they are being watched at all times.  Effectively compelling the inmates to constantly control their own behavior.

And despite first being devised purely as a thought experiment, a number of Panopticon-style detention-centres were constructed based upon the concept, including the “Presidio Modelo”, in Cuba, a Panopticon famous for the fact that it once housed communist revolutionary, Fidel Castro.  And the name Panopticon itself, is in reference to “Panoptes” of Greek mythology, who was a giant with a hundred eyes.

And likely you've already spotted where we going with this, in terms of the similarities between the Handpan's architecture, and the Panopticons. With the Handpan's notes being positioned around the central note, or Ding, in a similar manner to the Panopticon's cells. Something presumably not lost on Saraz Handpan's Mark Garner, and E.W. Harris, who chose the name for the second track on their ReEntry album...

And additionally there is a Handpan-specific events-organising company based in London, UK - that also names itself Panopticon.

Top down view of a Panopticon.

So we have "Pan" in the name, and the visual imagery is also strong. But there are still further similarities between these two seemingly far-removed objects and entities that strengthen the connection between them. That can be found within the sonic qualities of both.

In the book, Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory. The authors explain that:

'...built with concrete or masonry, furnished with steel bunks and secured with steel cell fronts, the panopticon has extremely high normal, or ambient, noise levels because of reverberation and echoes within its hard walls. The circular plan shape, which generates the drum-shaped building, is a natural sound amplifier. Given the normal activity in a prison housing unit (e.g. talking, showering, closing doors, doing janitorial work), the ambient noise level in a panopticon at midday is so amplified by its shape that normal conversation sounds like shouting...'.

Operating in the same manner the Handpan's internal echo-chamber works to amplify its own sound.

Thus cementing the connection between the Handpan and the Panopticon forever - if only in some weird symbolic esoteric kind of way...

The Handpan Gets All Sexy - With OlyasDream

Cards on the table, here at HPM - we’re not big Instagram users, and still aren’t entirely sure of its purpose.  Television has led us to believe that it’s a place to post photographs of yourself looking all sexy and stuff - and we’re just not attractive enough for that ourselves. But when an Instagram Queen starts sharing somewhat unique Handpan videos over at YouTube, you can be sure that we’re going to sit-up, and start paying attention.  

In terms of the erotic or raunchy, the Handpan hasn’t had too much exposure to date.  The much-loved Yuki Koshimoto is frequently described as being the “sexy hang drum girl” (or titles to that effect) over at YouTube.  Porn Star CherryCrush, is known to play some singing-steel. And more recently, some of the videos of Gioli, have brought a pop-esque tantalising quality to the world of Handpan. But pushing the boat a little further still into the realms of the risqué, if you enjoy your Handpan videos with the occasional Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct moment - Olya's "Dreaming Baby", is a video that just might find favour with you...

With 2,155 (and counting) Instagram followers Olya describes herself as a creator of magic: art and design. Emotional dream traveller.  And sound of the future.  And while we suspect that her performances might entice mixed reactions from within the core Handpan-community - there is no denying that here is a woman who has taken the Handpan, and is very much walking her own path with it.

And if one video of a semi-clad gyrating Olya just wasn't enough for you - Olya's offering of "Sunrise Magic" - may go some way to placating your appetites...



If you’d like to hear more from OlyasDream (or perhaps have been struggling to find the right toner), you can subscribe to her YouTube channel: HERE.  Or if you are more interested in the pictures, you can follow Olya over at Instagram: HERE.

The Handpan Meets the Water Drums - With AKI-RA Sunrise

Custom-made water drum available for sale at ETSY

Flowing onward from our last post regarding the effects the sounds of the Handpan may have upon the water molecules that in part make up your being, we visit the work of AKI-RA, and the fortuitous meeting of the Handpan, and the water-drum...

Instruments of the “membranophone” family, water drums are usually constructed from wood, clay, or gourds - though water drum made of metals such as iron, brass, and copper, are also fairly common - and the chamber of the drum is filled with water, or some other kind of liquid, to create their unique resonant sound. As can be heard and seen in the particularly interesting water drum set-up of the Japanese percussionist, Aki-Ra Sunrise...

One interesting aspect of the water drums of Aki-Ra, in the video above, uploaded five years ago, back when Hang/Handpan were much newer, and hence far more difficult to acquire - is the way in which the metallic bowled water drums have been shaped DIY-style into a Handpan-esque form, in order to create different tones.

During those dark days of high-demand and extremely limited-supply, many creative types explored numerous ways of attempting to recreate the sounds, or playing-style of the Handpan, in a more budget-friendly manner. From the Hank drums of Dennis Havlena (and other interesting homemade instruments), and the homemade electronic Handpan substitutes of Al Martino. Through to the more recent addition of the soda-pop bottle Hang-drums, of Edward Black Rose. And while we can't say with certainty, perhaps the early water drum setup of Aki-Ra; was also a product of those times.

What we can say with absolute certainty however, is that five years later, Aki-Ra is still very much playing water drum, and in fact, his kit has even evolved to include even more mini-handpan type water drums. In addition to which, we can finally witness the water drums of Aki-Ra Sunrise, paired with a honest-and-kosher Handpan - with beautiful results...

And before moving on, you can listen to one final performance from Aki-Ra on one of his self-made Handpan-style-hybrid-water-drums, or "Hadouram", below...



To catch more from Aki-Ra Sunrise, you can find him over at his official website: HERE.

The sounds of the Handpan - And the way they may make you feel at a molecular level...

Water molecules purportedly affected by emotional states

If you caught our recent post on the best UFO movies ever, you might have gathered that here at HPM we’re big fans of the otherworldly. And within that context, one of our favourite YouTube channels is SecureTeam10.  And while we’re not going to go any further down the extraterrestrial-road here (at least not for now), they did recently share a video that we think might be of interest to our readers (which we’ll share below).  Titled: “Proof your thoughts can alter physical reality”.  

We’ve touched upon the science of “Cymantics” in a post before.  Documenting the effects that the sounds of the Handpan can have upon water molecules - with quite beautiful results...

However, with this post we wanted to take a look at this phenomenon in a more general way, by exploring the work of Dr. Masuru Emoto.  And his experiments that appear to prove that human consciousness could affect the molecular structure of water and that water could take on the “resonance” of the energy directed at it - as featured in his book "The Hidden Messages in Water".   And with the average human body being made up of roughly 55-60% water, if true, Dr. Emoto's work certainly goes some way to giving scientific credence to the belief held by some that Handpan have a certain "healing" quality to them. And in lieu of excessive and needless words from ourselves, here's Tyler from SecureTeam10; to explain further...



And to conclude this post, if you'd like to learn more about the visible effects of the sounds and vibrations of the Handpan upon water (and most likely you also), you can check out our older post: What does the sound of a Handpan look like?.  Or perhaps our post on: The moods and emotions of different musical keys. And on the off-chance that you might be having a rubbish kind of day, week, month, year, or life - and be in need of a little good-vibes injection yourself. To paraphrase the words of Evie Hammond:

"...even though we do not know you, and even though we may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, we love you. With all our heart - WE LOVE YOU!"

The Thirteen Best UFO Movies Ever (Arguably)

In celebration of the Handpan's iconic flying-saucer-like shape, with this post - just for fun - we’ll be listing some of our favourite UFO-themed movies.  From classic family-favourites, to more recent additions to the genre, below, you’ll find HPM’s list of “must-see” UFO-movies.  Some you’ll likely have seen, and some you may not have…

Family Fun

Aliens were big in the 80's - and if you're looking to settle down with the family and a tub of popcorn (or alone with a reefer and a mega-gulp for that matter), you'll find no shortage of wholesome UFO-featuring movies to keep you entertained from that particular period in time. Flight of the Navigator, the story of 8-year old David's adventure with a wise-cracking alien-ship, was a firm favourite back in the day. Batteries Not Included - that tells the tale of the tenants of a Manhattan apartment block who befriend a family of miniature saucer-shaped mechanical beings, is another great movie of a similar ilk. And of course, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial - featuring he whom is arguably the most beloved alien to ever have graced the silver-screen, and his forever immortalised glowing-finger - in a movie that no life should be lived without seeing at least once.

Genre Classics

The second oldest entry to our list comes in the form of 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a movie that follows a group of individuals efforts to make contact with alien-intelligence, and that also features what is possibly the most renowned example of aliens exhibiting their own musical talents (in a way). While the oldest, and contender for personal favourite here at HPM, comes in the form of the 1953 version of War of the Worlds - which whether in book, radio, or movie format - remains arguably the best story of human/alien interaction (conflict) ever penned.

Blockbusters

In terms of scale, and appreciation of special-effects-infused alien invasions on a planetary-level, there are certain movies that cannot go unacknowledged. Primarily, Independence Day, the 1996 movie that enthralled viewers with an all-out ET invasion of the likes that had never previously been witnessed - with city-sized alien spaceships so vast, that they could literally block out the sun. But also both Skyline, another alien-invasion movie of epic-proportions, and Prometheus, the 2012 addition to the Alien-franchise, that explores the origins of man-kinds creation, are deserving of honourable mentions.

Five UFO Movies You Might Not Have Seen

Up until this point there's a fairly good chance that you'll have already watched many, if not all, of the movies mentioned above. So to finish this list off, we'll offer up five "a little less well-known" UFO-themed movies; that you might not yet have seen...

2014's Extraterrestrial might follow a fairly well-trodden formulaic path for a part, being reminiscent of every "a group of teenagers lost in the woods" type horror ever produced. But beyond that it's a surprisingly well-made and stylish movie that takes the ET element and makes it its own, and is far more entertaining than expected - making it well worth a gander.

Shaky "found-footage" camcorder-type movies aren't everybody's cup-of-tea - but if like us here at HPM you're a fan - the following are a few movies that you might enjoy watching also, if you haven't already. The McPherson Tape (also known as Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County) was a 1989 TV movie, and while it's about as low-budget as it comes, it does a pretty good job of capturing the kind of tensions a family finding themselves in the midst of an unexpected alien-intrusion; might endure - and in it's own way is another classic of the genre. While Hangar 10 makes for another interesting UFO-laden addition to our list from the mockumentary-school of film-making - and reminds us that some fences are in place for a reason.

Circle offers a particularly unique take on the alien-invasion concept, forcing human-abductees to face-off against each other in an unusual manner in a battle for survival. While our final offering, The Signal, makes for possibly the most bizarre, and existential movie on our list - within which three MIT graduates find themselves on the flip-side of a very different curtain.

Know of any more great UFO movies? - share them in the comments below...

The Flower of Life - And Steel Tongue Drum

Whether in its oldest known example, burned into the granite of the Temple of Osiris at Abydos, Egypt - circa 10,500 B.C. - or in a more contemporary setting adorning the steel of a KosmoskyDrum (see right), “The Flower of Life”, has a deep and rich history. From being of particular interest to Italian Renaissance polymath, Leonardo da Vinci.  To being found the world over, from China’s Forbidden City, to the ancient synagogues in the Galilee, Israel.

A geometric shape believed by some to be of sacred-geometry, the most common form of the Flower of Life is hexagonal pattern (where the center of each circle is on the circumference of six surrounding circles of the same diameter), made up of 19 complete circles and 36 partial circular arcs, enclosed by a large circle.  As can be seen decorating the top of the GUDA Drum featured in the video below...

The Flower of Life’s importance is gained primarily from the fact that within its form can be found almost all other geometric shapes considered sacred, from the Vesica Piscis, through to Metatron’s Cube.  Believed by some to depict the fundamental forms of all space and time.  With others going as far as to suggest that The Flower of Life is key to the opening of star-gates.

And with our third offering of another Flower of Life adorned steel tongue drum, this time made by SupernovaWorkshop (pictured above-right) - it should be clear that should sacred-geometry, and/or The Flower of Life hold particular interest, or beliefs, for you - you should find your preferences well catered-for - when searching for a musical vessel garnished with its likeness.

And should you like to learn more about the Flower of Life itself, you can of course find a wealth of information on the subject over at YouTube: HERE.

Almost Rust-Proof - Stainless Steel Handpan Explored

With nitrided-steel shells being the most commonly used blank canvases from which Handpan are formed (to date) - due at least in part to the work of the inventors of the Handpan instrument-type, PANArt, who championed the nitriding-process with their use of a specially-formulated type of steel known as “Pang”. Recent videos demonstrating Handpan made from stainless-steel, a material once widely spoken of as being unfit-for-use, are beginning to suggest that this rust-resistant steel alloy, with all of the benefits to Handpan owners that that particular quality brings, may have been somewhat overlooked - as can be heard in the following stainless steel creation from Nirvana Handpans...

Arguably, second only to those people who ask to have a go on your Handpan, and then proceed to beat on it far more heavily-handed than you would like, curse-wise for Handpan owners, comes rust.  Something that without regular maintenance, and oiling, can begin to eat away at a Handpan fairly quickly, even with the inherent rust-resistance gained from the nitriding process itself.  So the benefits of a Handpan made from a material renowned for its corrosion-resistance, should require no further explanation.  Something that has likely led the likes of Nirvana, Aciel, Meridian, Axiom, and numerous other makers, to increasingly experiment with it.   

In addition to its rust-resistant qualities, the base material from which a Handpan is formed can also impact the voice of the finished instrument.  As can be heard in this final video from Nirvana Handpans, in which four of their pans are showcased, one made from Raw Steel - Hydroformed, another from Raw Steel - Handsunk, a third from Stainless Steel - Handsunk, and the final offering of Nitrided Steel - Deep Drawn - demonstrating the different tonal characteristics of four Handpan, all tuned to the same scale, by the same maker, but made from different base materials. Leaving you the listener free to decide, where your own preferences lie...

Handpan Art and Evatek Cases - by ANAPAZ

In a recent post here at HPM we highlighted the custom-designed Evatek service that Hardcase Technologies have been offering via a network of artists - who are able to take what is one of the most respected travel-cases in the world of Handpan, and turn them into true one-of-a-kind works of art.

And while that post featured primarily the work of fellow Evatek artist, Pam Gogh - this post, aims to showcase the art of another Handpan-centric creative, ANAPAZ.  Who has not only been producing some stunning custom-made Evateks, but has also been experimenting with engraving Handpan shells themselves - as can be seen below - which while not tuned yet, is perhaps something that we might see, a little further down the road...

And the cases themselves, in addition to being fully-functional back-worn Handpan-protecting shells - are sights to behold.  If the Ninja Turtles were to get all dressed-up pretty, in their very finest prom pomp, and regalia - likely, that particular spectacle; would look something like these...  

 

' I paint with my hands but my feelings, emotions and my intuition are in charge; the hand is just a tool. I never know how a painting is going to look like in the end. It is always a surprise to me. ' - ANAPAZ

For more information on Romania-born artist ANAPAZ, and her Handpan-themed artwork (and more), you can visit her over at her official website: HERE.

Symphonic Steel Iskra - That First Generation Hang Sound Revisited?

While the trend in recent years has seemingly been to refine the sound of the Handpan into its most “perfect” form.  U.S. Handpan makers, Symphonic Steel, with their recent “Iskra” model - have set their sights upon revisiting the classic sound of the first generation PANArt-made Swiss Hang.  And "using material and tuning techniques that are very similar to those of the originators in Bern" - attempt to replicate its sound.

In the march towards perfection and refinement, the sounds of original Hang have come under some criticism in recent times - particularly earlier Hanghang - now that there are many other, newer, instruments to choose from.  But it’s certainly worth remembering that many veterans of the Handpan scene today were first enchanted by the sounds of PANArt’s earlier instruments.  And that arguably, no Handpan since, has come close to creating the near-rabid frenzy of passion, love, and need, that those early Hang did, when people first began to stumble upon them.

And returning to the newly introduced Iskra model of Handpan by Symhonic Steel, if that early Hang sound is something that you’ve been searching for, without the likely heftier price-tag of an original, Symphonic’s Iskra Handpan, do a good job (in our opinion) of capturing a similar mood, and emotive-edge...

Iskra, means “Spark”, in Slovak.  And these pans are named in reverence of the original creations of PANArt that inspired them - with even the Iskra logo having a similar roughly-etched quality to it - reminiscent in tribute of earlier Hang brandings.  

And before moving on to listen to more videos of Iskra Handpan in different tunings over at the Symphonic Steel YouTube channel (should you choose to do so) - having heard an Iskra in Pygmy tuning above, below you can listen to an original first generation Pygmy Hang for comparison...



You can find Iskra Handpan for sale over at Symphonic Steel's ETSY store HERE.  Or find their official website: HERE.