Salin
Fri, June 27th – 6:30pm & 8:30pm @ Unravel
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Salin: From Bangkok to Africa – Afropop Worldwide Interview
Salin Cheewapansri was born in the mid-1990’s and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. Musically inclined, she tried the piano, but then switched to drums when she heard that the drum teacher at her school was fun to study with. Being into grunge and heavy metal music, the drums were a perfect fit for her. She began posting videos of herself on YouTube, busking on the streets, and it didn’t take long for others to notice her talent. Still in her mid-teens, she began working as a session drummer and side musician with various Sony label artists in Thailand, including “grunge queen” Ornaree. As Salin reached college age, a friend persuaded her to go to the States to study, though she wasn’t yet convinced a career as a musician was in the cards for her. She found herself in Ohio, majoring in journalism, but spending her free time going to drum camps whenever possible, studying with renowned jazz drummers such as Joyo Mayer, Dave Weckl and Peter Erskine. Then fate took her on a journey to Montreal and eventually to perform at this year’s Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (her second appearance) debuting her new direction, exploring the intersection between African and Thai rhythms. In addition to producing her own music, she recently produced an album for Haitian-Canadian duo Bel and Quinn, which was nominated for Best World Album at the Juno Awards. Salin is currently producing an album for Mozambique-Quebec artist Samito. We caught up with her not long after her exciting and exuberant performance at Jazzfest to find out how this drummer from Thailand found inspiration in Afrobeat.
READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW
Salin’s new album Rammana release date is March 28th, and we can’t wait to listen to it!