On April 13, 2024, the 15th edition of the DrumFest Slovakia festival was held in the tiny Slovak town of Pezinok (not far from the country’s capital Bratislava). Courtesy of the GEWA company, we were able to participate in this event, which was organized by Petter Bittner, concert agency owner (https://feelme.sk/) and an active drummer (FEELME band).
The festival is excellently organized and can easily compete with other European events of this type. It is held at the local Dom Kultúry venue, which offers all the infrastructure necessary to arrange such a show. The audience has at its disposal two halls, each with a professional sound system and a stage with lights. Such an arrangement allows for the smooth running of drum performances in the large hall in tandem with smaller events, such as workshops or presentations. A large foyer was an ideal place for numerous exhibitors of drum and percussion equipment. The presence of a large restaurant offering traditional Slovak food and drink just behind the wall was an additional advantage and made it possible for the attendees to grab a bite to eat and relax during the breaks.
According to our observation, about 300 drummers attended the event this year. Considering the number of people living in Slovakia and the fact that the festival is held in a small town, it is a very good result. The list of performers included mainly drummers of the younger generation – two Slovaks and two international guests. All the artists showed their best side while the audience gave each performance big, long and well-deserved rounds of applause.
The first performance was by Mattia Müller, a drummer whose performance proved that playing jazz/fusion can still be interesting and energetic. Mattia is a young Slovak-Italian musician, composer and drummer who started playing at the age of 8. In 2021, he was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship, where he is currently studying under the tutelage of the world-exceptional Francisco Mel (who has worked and collaborated with McCoy Tyner, Ray Brown, Chucho Valdés, Roy Haynes, John Scofield, John Patitucci, George Garzone and others…).
Mattia has collaborated and performed with musicians representing various genres, such as: Darren Barrett, Alain Mallet, Michael Patches Stewart (Marcus Miller), Jacques Schwarz-Bart (D’Angelo), Liam Garcia, Jackson Powell, Paul Reinhold, Oskar Rózsa, Ľuboš Šrámek, Juraj Griglák, Ondrej Krajňák, Juraj Bartoš, Eugen Vizváry, Peter Lipa, Nikolaj Nikitin, Vec, Taomi, Tamara Kramar, The Curly Simon and many more.
He is currently working on his debut album for his latest project, “Laser Sights,” which he founded at Berklee and with which he has toured Slovakia twice. The album is set for release in 2024. This drummer is worth remembering. There is certainly a great career ahead of him, and we recommend Mattia to organizers of similar events in all good conscience.
The second artist on the DrumFest Slovakia stage was Swedish drummer Adam Janzi. Adam served the large audience juicy grooves from the verge of prog and metal. Janzi plays in the Danish metal band Viola and, as a touring drummer, in the Swedish pop-rock band Dotter. Adam Janzi also produces, records and arranges drum parts on commission.
Let’s now move on to the wide range of exhibitors who presented their instruments in the lobby of the Pezinok Community Center. It should be noted that each participant was free to test each instrument during the ample time provided by the organizers, who offered long breaks between the artists’ performances.
GEWA – the company presented Gewa G3 and G5 electronic drum kits. The German distribution company displayed Gretsch snare drums, which could be tested during the event. Ten different instruments, each with an individual character. These snare drums will undergo an in-depth test in our studio very soon, which we will film and describe for you. In addition, GEWA invited participants to demonstrate their drumming skills on a Gewa kit in the smaller hall of the community center, naturally, in front of an audience. Each participant played to a backing track or demonstrated their skills by playing an open solo. Props the company and the organizer! This type of event often lacks interaction with the audiences and their active participation, so hats off to them!
Meinl – traditionally, the company exhibited a wide array of its cymbals as well as Tama drum kits. In addition, each attendee could test a wide range of Meinl Stick & Brush sticks.
Evans – the D’Addario company presented the DB ONE head system for quiet playing.
Dixon and their Slovak distributor presented one of the brand’s drum kits and various accessories.
Aisen – Chinese drum cymbal manufacturer.
30K – vinyl record manufacturer.
Dabadum – Czech manufacturer of custom drum kits and snare drums.
Blue Drum Heads – Italian manufacturer of drum heads.
Going back to the performances, the next artist was Dušan Černák, who held a very interesting percussion workshop in the smaller hall. The never-ending topics, such as paradiddles, dynamics, accentuation, were presented by this young drummer with panache and full interest from the audience, which filled the room to the max.
Dušan Černák is a distinctive and expressive player, active on the jazz and alternative music scenes. During his musical career, he has substituted for drummers or been a member of the following groups: Eduardo Borsuci in Optima Forma, Quattro Formaggi, Limbo, Rene Trossman Blues Band, CCTV Allstars, Wunderbar Band, Hugo Čáves Orchestra, Yo Soy Indigo, Jaroslav Šimíček Quartet , Jan Steinsdorfer Trio, Tomáš Bouda & Co. and many others.
Dušan has also collaborated with notable international musicians, such as Tony Lakatosh, Oran Etkin, Sabir Mateen, Vitor Campos, Martha Gallaraga, Gilad Atzmon, Joel Frahm and Mark Aanderud.
Dušan Černák has won many awards, including Best International Instrumentalist at the 2013 Czech Jazz Contest, thanks to his multi-genre musical activities, his experiences gained in New York, and his participation in master classes with leading musicians.
The headliner of this year’s festival was Gero Borlai, an acclaimed Hungarian virtuoso of the drum kit. This performance will go down in the history of the Slovak festival due to the adventurous interpretations of well-known track as well as his own compositions. Each time we see and hear Gergo, his playing seems to be the pinnacle of his abilities, and each time the bar is raised yet again. The audience gave the artist a well-deserved round of applause which lasted for a considerable amount of time.
The artistic part was followed by a moment to pay tribute to the drummers who have passed away in the recent years. The audience paid tribute to Aaron Spears, Nick Menza, Vinnie Paul, Taylor Hawkins and others with one-minute silence and with specially prepared portraits of the deceased artists printed on bass drum reso heads.
At the end, the organizer and the sponsors held a prize drawing, and the grand prize was a Gretsch Catalina kit.
To sum up, in Central Europe there is a fully professional drum festival with a fifteen-year history, which is very popular among Slovak drum maniacs. Great organization, interesting lineup, competitions, accompanying instrument exhibition and drum workshops, all this makes us wholeheartedly recommend this event to every drummer.
We hope to return to Pezinok in the future. Perhaps we will be able to establish cooperation with Petter as far as marketing activities in the drums and percussion instrument market is concerned.
Take a look at our video report below:
