INSTRUMENTS PLAYED
Handpans
Handpan is the name for the family of steel pans inspired by the original Hang. The Hang uses some of the same basic physical principles as a steelpan, but modified in such a way as to act as a Helmholtz resonator. The creation of the Hang was the result of many years of research on the steelpan and other instruments. The inventors of the Hang have continued to refine the shape and materials and have produced several variations over the years.
The instrument is constructed from two half-shells of deep drawn, nitrided steel sheet glued together at the rim leaving the inside hollow and creating a distinct ‘UFO shape’. The top side has a center ‘note’ hammered into it and seven or eight ‘tone fields’ hammered around the center. The bottom is a plain surface that has a rolled hole in the center with a tuned note that can be created when the rim is struck.
Gongs
Traditional Thai Gongs have been used for millenia in temples during ceremonies or for healing. The deep resonant sound can influence the audience even from a molecular level. The unique blend of the mid-high registered Hang and Handpan together with the very low Gong makes a complete and complex soundscape both in therms of frequecy coverage and harmony.