Some time ago whilst living in North London, I noticed a narrative coming from some politicians and sections of the media which troubled me. It was: that people of differing cultures couldn't or weren't supposed to live together or side by side.
They were promoting the idea of 'It's them and us'.
One day as I walked along the main shopping street a realisation came over me, and I stopped, stood still on the pavement, and looked around.
There was a Jewish (Kosher) supermarket and bakery a few doors away from a Persian book and musical instrument shop.
To my left was a grocers run by a man from Pakistan, next to a Chinese restaurant.
A few hundred yards away stood a Catholic church which had a large West African congregation and behind it, a Jewish cemetery.
A little farther down the road was the town centre which was home to a large Japanese community, and a Buddhist temple
Then there was myself, a Scotsman brought up in England and it literally struck me.
We already are living together, there's no them and us, there's just us.
I had to find a way of saying it, of expressing what I could see, but I was a musician not a politician, so I decided to find a way to say it with music.
That is when the Gathering Of Drums was born.
There are instruments representing different continents, cultures and religions.
Rhythms usually associated with one part of the world are played on instruments associated with another part of the world.
They sit side by side, at times on top of one another, but rather than fighting or competing for space, they come together.
They find a way to use the space available, and they harmonize with one other.
It plays Mythical Beats and it is called,
The Gathering of Drums