Interview with Marcus and Gemma Brown and Penny Whitfield
Marcus ‘I was born and raised in London and when I was fifteen, I moved to the Los Angeles with my parents, where I then lived for twenty-seven years before returning to the UK. It was while in America that I met Gemma.
It was whilst living in the States that I discovered traditional West African drumming, although I first heard the djembe being played in South London, and the drummers would play the drums wearing traditional African dress. So, at first my perception was that only someone who was West African could play the drums.
I wasn’t aware of the term drum circles in the early days, this only came about when I was living in the States and went to a drum circle, where there were about two hundred drummers.
In amongst those drums there was one sound that I connected with. The sound cut through all the other drums. This turned out to be a djembe. That sound represented, for me, the true connection to the earth. There was something pure about it. It had nothing to do with race or colour-it was something about being human. It’s hard to explain but the sound made me feel something. I also saw that drumming was a natural way for people to heal themselves.
I then got more involved with drum circles, and I began my pursuit to learn how to play the djembe.
In 2005 I got invited to play the djembe at a West African drumming event in Japan, and something happened there that really made my mind up that West African drumming was what I was going to learn to play properly and really understand the djembe.
I then started to repair my drums and also seek out djembe suppliers from West Africa and I started to form relationships with them.
I was still working a nine to five at this time but would work when I could to fund my passion for making the djembe drums. I was able to go full-time with my passion in 2018 when I returned to the UK.’
Gemma ‘I met Marcus very quickly after having moved to America. We met backstage at a rave. We then had our first date, which was a djembe drum class. I had no idea what a djembe was. The drums were fast and furious, and it was amazing!
I was very aware that Marcus had started his drum journey, and I felt it was important that it was for him to be on that journey. It wasn’t until we came back to England that my drumming journey truly began.
We started holding drum lessons in our home and we started holding workshops. I mostly provided the food and took the photos, but in time this changed I got more into playing too. We were living in Suffolk, and this is where we set up the business.
Drumming is now part of my lifestyle and my wellness. I find drumming very empowering. I love to see the students come to a drum class then leave feeling so uplifted. The experience has them floating out of the room.’
Penny ‘Like Marcus I grew up in London before moving to Essex and then to Suffolk. I was in the corporate world but then had a massive change and studied holistic therapies.
My drumming experience started with the shamanic drum. I started going to a drum camp once a year and loved being there and listening to the drums. There’s something about the beautiful chaos that I love. I find it really inspiring!
But I hadn’t found my community. I found some of the drumming groups quite closed and I couldn’t find a way to access them. But then I found Marcus and Gemma. It was around this time that my wife, Berni, became unwell and drumming with Marcus and Gemma became my sanctuary. They held a space for me that really helped me when Berni passed.’
Gemma ‘Regards the business side of Wooden Roots, Penny and I do the office work, the books, the contacting students, managing social media and the website, and Marcus is the teacher, drum builder, visionary.’
Marcus ‘The relationship I built with what are known as the carvers in Africa has been essential to my drum making. They make sure I get the right kind of drum. A drum that has been harvested properly. The welfare of trees is important to me. I have to know the drums have been carved in the right way, and I’m very particular. For instance, I don’t want a drum that’s been carved the wrong way up. I only want the best quality and carvers I work with ensure this happens.’
Gemma ‘We feel we are like custodians for the drums, and that makes us much more than just some company that sales drums. It’s magical to see the way people find ‘their’ drum in our shop.’
Marcus ‘The Black Panther movie connection happened a few years ago, around 2015/16. I was working in my garage back in the States and there was a phone call. The caller was enquiring about drums. They told me that they’d been vetting me for the previous two years and that I was the only one who could make drums for their movie. I asked what the movie was, and they replied telling me it was Marvel’s Black Panther.
They went on to say they wanted me to make drums for specific scenes and that they needed the drums to not only look and sound amazing so that people could really see them being part of the movie.
I made about eight custom drums for them and the scenes that they wanted to use them for. There was a whole production around the drums. They also asked me if I could suggest any drummers to play them in the movie. I naturally referred my teachers, and they did it and they are now three-time Grammy Award Winners.
I’m proud of making those drums. We also learned that three of the costumes used in that movie found their way to Ipswich Museum, so we ended up partnering with them doing some drum workshops. It’s been part of the Wooden Roots story.’
Connect via https://linktr.ee/Woodenroots
Photo credit Greyhound Creative
