![david macejka [rishi records]](Bio_files/shapeimage_1.png)
David Macejka, is a percussionist playing and producing music that is inspired by and combines a variety of traditional styles of music from around the world with a heavy focus on percussion. He plays conventional trap kit, as well as a Hybrid trap kit which includes several ancient percussion voices in order to give the basic groove elements of a trap kit with the voicing of exotic percussion from around the world. Included in the instruments he plays are Frame Drums, Doumbeks of all kinds, Djembe, Djun-Djun, Ashiko, Conga, Bongo, Bata, Udu, Tupan, Davul and the list goes on. He is part of a group of musicians that is individualizing the evolution of these instrumental voices while respecting the traditional approaches to those instruments.
He has had the exposure of playing with a great variety of performing situations from Western Classical Orchestra to The Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps. He has played conventional trap kit in everything from Jazz, Funk, and Reggae groups to heavy improvisational electric music and Hybrid Trap kit in everything from Tribal-Electronic-Gothic ensembles to Rock n’ Roll Bagpipe groups and for Bread and Puppet style Theatre troops. He has played hand percussion in everything from Tribal Belly-Dance Troops to African Dance Ensembles and Zydeco bands to DJ / Hip Hop combinations and radio foley.He has also performed live and/or recorded with a variety of acts such as legendary Zydeco artist C.J. Chenier (Alligator Records), The Dude of Life (Phish) and a slew of regional acts across the nation including Jocamo w/ side members Tony Perrino (Dan Toler, etc.) and Dave Cast (420 Funk Mob), Raisinhead w/ side members Chuck D’Aloia, T-Bone and The Dark Horse (The Ominous Seapods), Moon Boot Lover (Peter Prince), E Muzeki, Caji, Shirae, Traveler and many more.
His first CD “Poi for Gadje” was recorded it at Levon Helm’s (The Band) studio in Woodstock, New York with his friend Ryan Ghent 3 months after he learned my first Middle Eastern Rhythm from 2 CD’s: Armando Mafufo’s 25 Essential Middle Eastern Rhythms and Hossam Ramzy’s Rhythms of the Nile,. It is there he forged his vision for the mix of ancient and modern fusion percussion sounds.
This mix of traditional rhythms with a modern approach set him off into a direction of recording other traditional world instruments with combinations of non-traditional approaches ranging from jazz and freeform world acoustic to spoken word and arrangements that have an intended effect of inducing trance states. He feels as if he is a part of a community of musicians that is documenting as well as creating music that was forged from the meeting of inspiration and musical ideas from the far reaches of the globe with the unique perspective and the alchemy of mixed ideas that have propelled western musical thought. Rishi Records, is his label that seeks to capture this musical meeting and record it. He has recorded the likes of Steve Gorn (Paul Simon), Steve James (student of Ravi Shankar), Dr. Didge (Rykodisk / Narada), Dan Toler (The Allman Brothers), Rich Goodhart, Shahram Shiva, Jay Kruse, Eric Zang, Madi Kuyate, Hristo Alexander and a host of other talented and interesting artists that grows by the hour.
