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TTMSG is a branch of the world’s first international school of traditional West African drumming. Founded by Djembe Grandmaster Mamady Keita, Tam Tam Mandingue is dedicated to preserve and transmit Mandingue musical tradition as a tool to promote tolerance, understanding, equality and international peace. Besides Singapore, the school also has branches in France, Germany, Portugal, Israel, Japan and various states in the US. All the schools are manage by a circle of teachers who are authorized by Mamady Keita to pass on the tradition of djembe music as conveyed and embodied by him.
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 A Tam Tam Mandingue certified teacher, Kelvin Kew belongs to an international circle of elite djembe performers/teachers who have studied African drumming with Mamady Keita in West Africa.
In 2004 Kelvin founded Lîla Drums, the 1st ever djembe school in the South East Asia region, which now sees about 50 students every week for djembe classes from beginner to advance level. Under Kelvin’s leadership, the Lîla Drums team further promote African drumming through incorporating djembe in school programs/organizational team building events and drumming performances. Besides choreographing and arranging music for Lîla Drums Ensemble (the djembe performance group of Lîla Drums), Kelvin also leads his own group Fanka Fellas, the premier djembe group in South East Asia. Together with his team from Lîla Drums, Kelvin now manages TTMSG and Lîla Drums as part of their effort in the Singapore Djembe Movement, which is an initiative by Kelvin to promote the joy of djembe drumming and its goodness for human mental and physical benefit. |
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The Drums We Play |
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 DJEMBE: a goblet-shaped drum with a single skin that is played with bare hands, and which generates a wide range of rich, resonant sounds.
DUNUN: the Dunun, or bass drums, from the highest to lowest are: kenkeni; sangban; and dunumba. These two-headed, barrel-shaped drums are played horizontally with a stick. The drummer uses the other hand to play a metallic bell called kenken, which is affixed to the side of the drum. Together, these drums form the bass line of the djembe orchestra |
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