The Hammer never dies

Text und Gesang: Felix Rohner – Hang Bal, Hang Godo, Hang Gede: PANArt Pangensemble – Video: Basil Rohner

In Erinnerung an meinen Großvater, der mich in den Schulferien an seiner täglichen Arbeit als Blecharbeiter teilhaben liess, widme ich diesen Song allen Blechklangarbeitern weltweit.

Der Hammer ist für mich ein Symbol der Kreativität. Der im Alten Testament erwähnte Tubal gilt als Urvater der Schmiede. Blechklangbildhauer haben keinen solchen Urvater. Ihre Kunst ist postindustriell, wie die Fotografie.

Die neue Kunst wurde von den Tunern Trinidads eingeführt und fortentwickelt. Sie lässt sich kaum in die Kategorien der westlichen Kultur einordnen. Das Einstimmen von Blech oder Pangblech ist eine Kunst, die sicherlich nicht nach dem Geist des Kopierens verlangt, sondern nach den Gesetzen der Not geschieht.

The Hammer never dies

A pan came over the ocean,
Full of rhythm, spirit emotion,
It looked like a belly – so lazy!
O man, sounded nice – I got so crazy!

It didn’t come from the USA,
Not from Russia, China, took another way:
Sixty-six years ago,
Trinidad Tobago.

A beat on a washing machine,
Or on an empty revolver magazine:
This all is trash
And people buy it for simple cash.

Try to tune a piece of metal sheet.
Bend and twist it, use head, hands and feet.
You will realize: high skills you need:
Fine ears, hard neck, little fear and the right beat.

To build singing bowls is not our job.
Try it, you realize, it’s maybe a good business, but a flop.
The Tibetan bowls’ sounds last long
Like the bells, chimes and the Gong.

The only thing the sheet sound can bring
Is a pulse, an intense and short ring.
Thin sheet demands the best shapes
Avoid machine pressed domes and plates.

Look at the human body and you will see,
Organic and dynamic your art should be.
Do we shape the metal just for fun?
Are we drunk of sound? What must be done?

Do we need another musical ground, a new sound?
While electronic sounds are everywhere around?
I think we should listen to the hammer blows:
That way constantly our vision grows.

Tune your sculpture, shape your life,
Give clarity, pulse and kick,
It is more than a mirror, bring out the best,
Your Gods will grant you the missing rest.

Control harshness, chaos and harmony.
Do it with dedication and empathy.
You will see the neighbor’s dancing,
You will hear the children’s singing.

At least you are grounded, embedded, connected
And the best: you are respected.
Let’ s move forward, step by step.
A robot can’ t tune, it has to be said!
Let’ s be sincere, less lies,
The hammer never dies.