BGE, Lessons
“Fourth Lesson: The Drum”. Nilo Gallego*
by
Nilo Gallego is a musician and performer. He plays drums and electronics. His proposals, which have a playful side to them, take the idea of experimenting with sound as their starting point and seek participation from the audience.
After five days in Azala (Lasierra Álava), Nilo Gallego and other members of the workshop “De la tregua infinita a la guerra de almohadas” (“From the Infinite Truce to Pillow Warfare”) will be playing the drums at Bulegoa z/b.
The session will be organised as a course on the history of the instrument, ways of playing it, its derivations and multiple meanings. But more than a learning process on the instrument itself, it provides an approach to Nilo’s way of working and an understanding of his work through practice.
“The word “batería” (drums) traces back etymologically to the French word BATTERIE. Some definitions for it are:
Group of items of artillery ready to fire.
Accumulator or set of several electricity accumulators.
Set of percussion instruments mounted as a single kit, played by one person.”Sounds great, so let’s get playing.
*Bring a percussion instrument (drum, cymbal, bongo, whisk, frying pan, rubbish bin…) and two drumsticks or similar (wooden spoons, chopsticks…).
(5 pm – 9 pm)
Nilo Gallego has performed in all kinds of spaces, such as “Pigmeus do Mondego” (sound action at the Mondego river), “Amanecer desde Montolivet” and “Fuera de la fábrica Beta” (site-especific), “Felipe vuelve a casa con las ovejas sonando” (sheep concert with shepherd Felipe Quintana), “Canción de éxito mundial” (participatory sound action), “Te invito a un chino” (experimental performance with kanito and Oscar de Paz), “Concierto de megáfonos y sirenas” and “Concierto aspirador” (with Pablo Rega), “Homenaje Cage” (with Markus Breuss), etc. Group projects include “Yavestruz comoandamios parecementerio” (experimental music and action in public spaces), and “Taller espontáneo de pequeñas nadas” (street actions), the collective “Fora do tempo” (field actions) and musical performance groups “Ciegas con Pistola”, “Siempre por Detroit” and “Blinden mit Pistolen”. He has worked with the “La Danaus” street theatre company, choreographers Olga Mesa, Martine Pisani, Amalia Fernandez, Marisa Amor and Elena Alonso, contemporary theatre directors Rodrigo García, Carlos San Martín and Tomás Aragay, and documentary filmmaker Chus Domínguez. He has improvised music with musicians or dancers such as Patricia Lamas, Africa Navarro, Chefa Alonso, Gunter Heinz, Vanesa Mackness and Wade Matthews; and been a member of the bands Dadajazz (freejazz) and Los Nadie (rock). He teaches sound workshops for children and adults.
* This EGB lesson is to be carried out as a continuation of “De la tregua infinita a la guerra de almohadas”, a workshop directed by Nilo Gallego from 27 September to 1 October in Azala, space for creation (Lasierra, Álava), www.azala.es, in collaboration with Krea (Gorputz Egoerak programme).
