Tom -

musical upbringing
I was 10 when I started drumming. Four years later I played in my first band.
I never went to the conservatory, but during the years I did a lot of self-study and took lessons with a wide range of teachers. Among them were Wim de Vries, Marcel van Engelen, Theo Piepenbrock and Martin Verdonk.
In my search for development I also took an interest in percussion. In 2002 I went to Senegal, together with some people from the Amsterdam conservatory. There we had many workshops with percussionists from a local tribe. In 2005 I travelled through Cuba for a month and in 2006 I volunteered to go to Brazil for Xplore: a development program for the local youth. On these travels I learned some of the roots of rhythm and took them home to try and put them into my own music. I also followed lessons with Sascha Popping.
Next to Raffa I do other stuff as well. I'm the regular drummer in a band called MrsLouLou
I consider the drums to be my main instruments, but I also play conga, cajon, udu, jembé and everything else that shakes.

I, musician
Making music gives me such good energy, especially when I see it moves other people too. I want to discover and listen to music from all over the world. My trip to Senegal made me realise what music is about: feeling! The Africans I played with could not read music. They simply played from the heart and made every rhythm swing and groove, the way they are supposed to. That is what I want to accomplish too!
Combining my own Western roots with styles and elements from any other music, that's my challenge. It's like travelling and going on an adventurous journey.

musical influences
I listen to everything from jazz to rock and from Latin to pop: Lhasa, New Cool Collective, Ojos de Brujo,  Sara Tavares, Nitin Sahwney, Rachmaninov, Richard Bona, Jeff Buckley, Renaud Garcia Fons.

Raffa -