David GRACE has been making djembes and other drums since 1995 when he came back from France to New Zealand.
He set up the percussion ensemble Songbong and they take part in many events in and around Dunedin. Schools and consequently children from the area know him quite well as a performer and as a drum maker due to his involvment in school projects and performances.
He and Kate have their home in North East Valley. They have 3 children.

How did you get into drum-making? What did you do before this?

It was 1993 and I was living in France. I needed to
re-skin my djembé. I took it to the local djembé repair guy who said I should also put better rope on, add lots more rope, level off the very uneven rim, and have a look inside the head for leaks. I was inspired by what I saw. At first, I learned a lot from him. Later on, the drums I carved became my unforgiving teachers. It got me started on a new career path.

Making djembés in Dunedin, actually making them, not just assembling African carved ones, is a long process involving many different trades. I had to perfect my skills as a butcher, a welder, a carver, a weaver, and in many other areas.

Why don't you import African djembés?

It's a question of principle.

There is a certain irony surrounding African djembés in the West. The guilty silence by drum merchants concerning the non sustainable harvest of large trees (and goats) in West Africa, flies in the face of the self image of djembé buyers. They would be alarmed, once informed of the massive illegal deforestation of Senegal, Mali, Guinea and other countries in the region. The worsening drought, the advancing Sahara desert, the crop failures are current ecological problems, but no connection is made with the gorgeous "genuine African" drum in the corner of the room.

If the smuggled trees were able to be taxed, to fund reafforestation, and the carvers and goat breeders were paid a fair minimum wage, your "genuine" drums would be priced off the market. Drums as cash crops involving millions of djembés every year are unsustainable.

I don't want to be part of that trade, if I can avoid it.

How long does it take you to make a djembé from scratch?

That's difficult to say because I don't do everything at the same time for a single drum. New drums come through in small groups. It probably amounts to about three days work all up, but spread over a six-month period. I carve the wood green.The drying should be not too slow, but not too fast either as it increases the risk of cracking. In order to make close fitting hoops, the wood must be completely dry. I usually prepare materials for more than one drum. For example, goat skins can come to me in bunches, so I stretch, flesh and prepare them all together to have a stock of hides ready for unfinished drums and repairs.

Transforming the raw materials is the most demanding task: chainsawing and handling huge pieces of log; skinning, butchering and burying goats; forging and welding steel rods; stretching and fleshing hides.

The medium stage processing is more pleasant and less dangerous: carving the log into a drum shell; cutting and shaving hides; matching hoops and roping them up for assembly.

The final stages are almost fun: finishing and decorating the drum shell, naming it, assembling it, fitting a handle and harness, playing it.

It is not surprising that most drum traders limit themselves to this latter stage of the process.

Where does your wood come from, then?

That depends. Now and then, I find my own pieces doing my firewood. Sometimes, I buy nice logs from wood merchants. But people know me, and occasionally, I am lucky enough to come across beautiful pieces of macrocarpa, birch, elm or whatever is offered.

I like being able to say to the buyer where his drum comes from : " That birch was growing at the local primary school." or " That elm came down in that big storm in 2003."

It gives my drums identity. Each wood has a particular character, some are harder , denser, others more resonant. Wood grains vary, wood colour can go from light ocre to dark brown. Each drum is unique, distinct.

I have seen djembés with plastic skins, why don't you use synthetic heads?
It would be a lot easier, wouldn't it?

To skin my drums, I had three choices: using plastic heads, importing African hides, or using local goat hides.

Synthetic heads work well and would save me time. But I like the feel and the look of the goat skins. It makes each drum different. Plastic skins are an industrial product, it takes away the individual character of the drum. Goat skins give a more traditional sound, they react to atmospheric conditions, just like wood.

I don't see my work as simply assembling various parts produced by other people's hard work.
I am a drum-maker, processing skins is just another part of djembé-making.

I use plastic heads on Brazilian metal drums I make. This is the way to head these particular drums, that's what they do in Brazil.

Importing African goat skins would be a similar dilemna to the African drum shells. Grazing goat herds, then culling them, to supply the djembé trade is another factor in the deforestation of West africa.