On the 31st of May, in Pjazza La Vallette in Valletta, a group of people were centred together creating a cacophony of sounds that, if listened closely to, were revealed to be none other than percussion instruments jamming together. On closer inspection however, it was soon seen that the instruments being used were nothing more than previously used materials, recycled into the perfect eco-friendly instruments.
Peter Paul Galea, the organizer of the event, told us that he had come up with the idea last year and gave it a shot. This is the second year he’s tried it out.
“The concept came to mind as I had always thought of connecting with people through rhythm. I loved the idea of jamming with people who never played a musical instrument, but who always felt the beat inside.”
He said that, though his idea was feasible, he needed a lot of money to actually get together all the instruments needed. Hence, the idea of recycled materials used. He says that ultimately, the aim is to make people feel the vibration of sound — it doesn’t have to come from a good drum set to be a good vibration!
“If, together, a create a pattern, then a groove is born, and the rest will follow.”
He said that the hardest part is controlling beginners, and they may start to get over excited and beat the instrument beyond control. “The idea is to teach them new grooves; keeping it simple is the secret to a good jam.”
Mr Galea also gave his thanks and support to the organizers of Earth Garden and V.18, who worked in conjunction with him to make the event possible.
Also alongside the Recycled Percussion Jam was an Ethnic Market, with hand-made items being sold at fair prices, as well as various healthy food grown in far off lands that boasted a fair income for the producers of the food, and a healthy alternative to store bought items (my personal favourite were sun dried apricots, which were definitely one hundred times better than the store bought ones!). Also present was a stand with information about world literacy, with some interesting facts about literature, statistics, and also people’s input on their favourite authors and why they loved them — J R R Tolkien was, unsurprisingly, frequently mentioned in the list left for people to fill in.
The Third Eye would like to congratulate the organizers of both attractions in Pjazza la Vallette congratulations on their hard work and crowd-attracting success, as well as a good luck for the upcoming Earth Garden event.
Earth Garden takes place from the 6th to the 8th of June at the National Park in Ta Qali.