Craig Blundell In Asia

Electronic drum specialist Craig Blundell refelcts on his recent trip to Shanghai for the Music China show and discusses why he believes it to be one of the best shows on the planet…

Hello again, and welcome from 36,000 feet up in the air and eight hours in to a 12 hour flight home from Shanghai.

I’ve just been performing at Music China which, for my mind, is one of the best music shows on the planet. The event is growing yearly (which is very rare) and quite frankly, it’s staggering just how big it is. In my four days there I played to over 2,000 people and met some old friends.

I couldn’t walk the whole show but I got a chance to see some traditional instruments being played in their raw state, which was stunning to see.

On the Saturday – the public day – me and Rick Latham were literally mobbed as westerners after our performance, so it was great to escape. I made a big point of looking around the drum hall and I was quite frankly staggered by the drum kits from Eastern manufacturers that I’d never heard of nor seen. I’m pretty knowledgeable with some of the factories in China that supply the brands I know and play, but some of these kits were stunning. It really begged the question for me ‘why aren’t they known on the global stage’? I guess the big guns have put SO much into their brand over the years with marketing and sound that the rest are simply playing catch up, even if they are out of the same factory.

I absolutely pay respect to the brands that are on our lips when we look through the pages of drumming magazines, but I give more respect to the unknowns that are pushing boundaries with a small audience.

Until next time.