 Although he was already a legend with legions of fans across Europe,
LP artist Hakim Ludin knew how to win the audience over at the Montreal
Drum Fest. Though some may have had little exporsure to Hakim’s acclaimed CDs or his work as an independent artist, Ludin’s blinding chops were so well presented that it won him many new fans at the prestigious Montreal Festival.
Long before he took the stage, Hakim
Ludin was behind the scenes adjusting,
tweaking and then tuning his LP
congas. No mere tuning was this, either.
Hakim paused atop each drum, deftly flicking it with the pad of a finger,
striking the sweet spot that yielded the exact, fundamental pitch. At the
eleventh hour, still not quite in the zone, he replaced a troublesome synthetic
quinto head and instantly found his unique pitch. Once more he tapped lightly
around the drums and where once there were pitches, there was a choir.
Hakim had given a private demonstration of his relentless pursuit of percussive
musicality, already, taken for granted at European festivals such as Rhythm
Sticks and European PAS.
Moments later, Hakim
Ludin took the stage to full applause. And he proceeded
to wow them with finesse, delivering arguably the most dynamic performance
of the festival so dynamic it was, at times, daring. In other words, he
could have delivered a solid stream of theatrics, mega-technique, and dizzying
speed. But he took his time and conducted a thorough musical exploration
of his many congas, singly and as a group. He did the same with his toys
and with his cymbals. Okay, he dazzled them with lightning chops, too!
Montreal Drum Fest’s Creative Director, Ralph Angelillo, responded, “Hakim Ludin proved himself a world-class musician at the fest, combining all of his best attributes in his forty-minute festival spot. He brought to the crowd his distinctive blend of world music, while concentrating particularly on Latin and South Indian. He literally floored the audience!”
LP was once again proud to support the sixteenth annual Montreal Drum
Fest. Its spirit of education, entertainment, and exposing audiences to “dark horse” musicians has paid off with full houses. And it ensures that Hakim
Ludin, an LP artist who is a legend in Europe, will now enjoy the same status “across the pond”.
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