DATE: 7 MAR
TIME: 20H
PRICE: Free for jammers | 5€ general entrance
LOCATION: Pavillion, Treehouse NDSM

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AN EVENING OF INCLUSIVITY
Witches Brew returns for a another Jam Session evening with a solo opening drum set from Francesca Remigi.

After the opening act - a group consisting of/led by non-male musicians - the stage is open to everyone. The goal is to create a safe space for people to express their musical identity on stage, regardless of their gender; whilst opening a much needed discussion on the male-oriented tendencies of the music scene. Bring your instruments, voices, and friends!

About Empowered Drums
The Empowered Drums is an augmented drum kit designed to expand the sonic
and performative possibilities of contemporary drumming. By attaching transducers
to the resonant heads of each drum, the instrument becomes both the generator
and the amplifier of its own sound. This setup allows the acoustic vibrations of the
drums to be fed back into the instrument, creating a hybrid system where
resonance, amplification, and electronic processing merge into a single evolving
sound source.
Beyond amplification, the use of exciters enables the controlled creation of
acoustic–electronic feedback, transforming the drum kit into an instrument capable
of sustaining tones, drones, and complex textures. These sounds are further shaped
in real time through Max/MSP and Super, allowing the performer to sculpt long-form
sonic environments that challenge the traditional percussive identity of the drum set.
The result is a dynamic interplay between performer, instrument, and system, where
improvisation arises not only from striking surfaces but from listening, modulating,
and negotiating with feedback.
Developed as part of Francesca Remigi’s PhD research project, The Empowered
Drums also proposes a new conceptual framework for drumming practice. It
positions the augmented drum kit as an emancipated instrument—one freed from
the anthropological and gendered expectations historically tied to jazz drumming
culture. Through this project, the solo drummer becomes an empowered performer
whose identity evolves through experimentation, self-generated sound worlds, and
an expanded relationship with the instrument. The work ultimately invites a
rethinking of what a drum kit can be and how a drummer can inhabit their sonic and
artistic agency

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