All photos by Alan Taylor of Planet Vision

LATEST NEWS DRUMSCHOOL RECORDING - JULY 2008 On 27th July 08, the Planet Sound Drumschool celebrated the achievments of the summer term so far with a recording at Carwright House. The group recorded the piece "KUKU" complete with djembe breaks and dundun accompanyments and was the first recording experience for many of the participants. You can hear the recording by clicking here! The recording is also available, along with other Planet Sound material at the myspace page - www.myspace.com/planetsoundcommunityarts Members of the Planet Sound Drumschool also attended Drumcamp in Bungay from 11th-13th July to take part in workshops and masterclasses delivered throughout the 3 day festival. The Planet Sound drumschool is currently conducting open West African djembe workshops every Sunday at the Mitchell Memorial Theatre. Sessions run from 3.30 to 5pm and welcome members of the community from any age and playing experience. Drums are provided and sessions are free of charge. If you wish to take part, click here for further details. "STREET STYLERZ AND MGB" CONFIRMED FOR SPECTRUMS OF SOUND 08 Stoke based "Street Stylerz and Mgb" have been confirmed for the Spectrums of Sound 2008 show, due to take place in November 08 at the Victoria Hall. The group of young people from Slovakia and Russia will perform as part of the showcase event, and will work with Planet Sound Community Arts and NexLevel to produce a piece of percussion and dance, inspired by the STOMP shows of previous years. The group took part in the "Street Dreams 3" show at the Regent Theatre in May 2008 and have recently been awarded a grant from the Youth Opportunities Fund to develop a touring programme in the City. For more information, click here!

All photos by Alan Taylor of Planet Vision

PLANET SOUND CARNIVAL 08 AT SANITY FAIR 2008 JUNE 14th 2008, HANLEY CITY CENTRE On June 14th 2008, Planet Sound performed throughout the day as part of the 2008 Sanity Fair in Hanley City Centre. The first performance was the 2008 Carnival Parade. Starting at Bethesda gardens and parading into Piccadilly, Hanley, the group was made up from Madula Dancers, capoeira Art Brasil and the Planet Sound Bateria who joined forces to perform their parade routine consisting of samba dance, capoeira and Samba Bateria drumming. The song for the parade was the 2008 composition "Oatcake Samba!", written by Planet Sound and dedicated as a theme tune for the Sanity Fair 08 festival. Recording is being completed over the summer of 2008, and you can hear an early version featuring Bosco De Olivera and Laurie together with Sarah Miller by clicking here. The group paraded through the City Centre and finished by parading through the Sanity Fair stalls and activities to the main stage to join dancers from NexLevel for a joint performance of street dance and samba! The Bateria stayed on the main stage to accompany a fantastic capoeira display in the middle of Piccadilly for the crowds gathered to celebrate Sanity Fair. The performance finished with a final "Oatcake Samba" performance complete with percussion breaks led by Bosco De Oliveria, and the crowds joined in, singing along to the tune! The bateria and dancers then cleared the stage to make way for the other fantastic acts featured as part of the festival. Kasanti came to the main stage at 2.30pm to play several West African Drum pieces to the crowds. Featuring players of primary school age on djembe, dun-duns and even lead solo the group played their versions of traditional pieces that they have been studying in the after school project. Later it was the turn of the Planet Sound Drumschool who gave the final to the Planet Sound performance of the day. Consisting of players from both the intermediate group and the open group, the drumschool played several West African drum pieces to energise the crowd and prepare them for the Sanity Fair "Elvis" who gave the whole event his own Grand Finale!! Further sessions are currently being planned for Brazillian Samba drumming, if you are interested in taking part please click here to email us! The Planet Sound drumschool is currently conducting open West African djembe workshops every Sunday at the Mitchell Memorial Theatre. Sessions are open to all members of the community and are free of charge. If you wish to take part, click here for further details. Many thanks to everyone who took part in the day as a performer and a special thanks to everyone at Sanity Fair for their hard work and organisation, and to all who turned up to support the event! Long may it continue! Gallery links! Carnival report! / Gallery 1 / Gallery 2 Gallery 3 / Gallery 4 / Gallery 5 / Gallery 6 More Links! Oatcake Samba demo! Drumschool Website! / Sanity Fair 2008! capoeira-art-brasil.co.uk!! Planet Sound recordings & video on mypsace!