Thanks to all those interested, and we look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!
TM
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Interview with Kleo Xirou of KLEODRUMS - by The Drum Dungeon
January 14th 2010
For interview requests with The Drum Dungeon, send your inquiries and requests to media@thedrumdungeon.com
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Athens Greece
KLEO XIROU is a truly fascinating person. Born originally in the U.S. she migrated back to her families homeland of Greece in 1999 to get even more in touch with one of her creative passions; the crafting of hand-made traditional Drums. Using contemporary and traditional means and mostly locally produced materials, she develops the characteristic acoustic and aesthetic style of her Kleodrums".
Besides being used by the fussiest and most demanding drummers in the percussion world, Kleodrums are being showcased in an ever-growing variety of museums and displays around the world, including the homes of high-end private collectors.
Kleo's Website: www.kleodrums.com
KLEO XIROU talks non-stop about quality, it is something that is very important to her and it is very much so reflected in her crafting of drums. The making of authentic regional traditional drums is a passion for her, staying small enough so petty business never interferes with this passion or her craftsmenship. She is diligently working with museums and schools, passing on the
The Framedrum: shallow wooden hand-drums in many varieties with many names and from many regions. [e.g. the common tambourine as we know it in the U.S. is a very shallow framedrum with cymbals attached].
The Daouli daouli (Greek: νταούλι), literally meaning "drum" is the two headed drum. The daouli player usually hangs the drum from a belt or strap over his left shoulder. The right side of the drum has a lower pitched skin, while the left side has a higher pitched skin. Goatskins are Usually used for the drumheads. In my family's village of Kandyla, the tradition in the old days was to use wolf skin for the heads of the daouli. A friend from Epiros told me they used to use wolf skins for the defi (hand drum similar to a large tuned tambourine), and today they still favor dog skin.
The right or lower side is struck with the "daouloxylo" or daouli stick, and the left or higher pitched side is struck with the "daouloverga" or daouli switch. The main dance beats are played with the heavier stick on the right side, while the decorative and "in between" beats are played with the light stick. Other names for the daouli, depending on the area, include toumpano, tymbano, or toumbi. This is from the ancient Greek word tympano which exists in English in the word "tympani" for the drum section in the modern classical orchestra, and the tympanic membrane for the ear drum.
These drums vary in size from the small 12 to 14 inch diameter toumbi, to the 3 to 4 foot diameter daouli in the north of Greece. The most common size in Peloponnisos and Roumeli tends to be about 20 to 30 inches in diameter.
The dumbek is a goblet shaped clay hand-drum. Dumbek rhythms are a collection of rhythms that are usually played with primarily the hands. These rhythms are various combinations of these three basic sounds:
- doum (D), produced with the dominant hand striking the sweet spot of the skin.
- tek (T), produced with the dominant hand striking the rim.
- ka (K), produced with the recessive hand striking the rim.
In a simple notation, these three sounds are represented by three letters: D, T, and K. When capitalized, the beat is emphasized, and when lower-case, it is played less emphatically. These basic sounds can be combined with other sounds:
- suk or slap (S), produced with the dominant hand. Similar to the doum except the fingers are cupped to capture the air, making a loud terminating sound. The hand remains on the drum head to prevent sustain.
- trill (l), produced by lightly tapping three fingers of one hand in rapid succession on the rim.
- roll, rushes (r), produced by a rapid alternating pattern of teks and kas.
Stamna: This clay idiophone, a variation on the African Udu, has gained world-wide popularity because of it's unique sound - a deep watery bass produced by covering the hole with one's palm, and dry staccato high notes played by striking the body with one's fingers.
Kleo's stamna is made with red Hakida clay, baked at 1000 degrees C and coated internally with an enamel glaze. This permits the player to actually tune the drum by partially filling it with varying levels of water.
The organic clay body is painted with organic pigments.
The toumbi is a very small drum made in a similar way to the daouli. It is mainly used on the Aegean islands like Kythnos. The toumbi is held usually under the left arm, and the head of the drum is struck with two drum sticks. It is often used to accompany the island tsabouna (bagpipe).
Click images to enlarge
DUMBEK
STAMNA or UDU
DAOULI
TOUMBI
A Little Background On Traditional Greek Drums
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importance of tradition to share for generations to come. The Drum Dungeon is inspired by people like this and to share their stories and their work is a privilege we do not take lightly. Our Skype interview from Greece got intermittently interrupted and much of the video was lost - what you will be viewing to the right is just a small clip of what could be saved from the call. But even in this small clip you will see that Kleo is very much someone who dances to her own drummer [pun intended] and stands by the quality of her hand-crafted products every step of the way.
To contact Kleo or place an order for one of her hand crafted insturments, click on the website link listed above or simply go to www.kleodrums.com. Read below for more details on the traditional drums Kleo has studied and creates.
