It sounded like ambient electronic music. I stopped walking past and joined the attentive crowd. We were gathered around the busker sitting cross-legged on the pavement.
 | | Danny attracted a crowd |
But he's not playing keyboards. There are no batteries required. Dreadlocked and smiling, he is tapping what looks like an upturned wok. The gentle rhythms and melody rise and fall as the buskers' fingers play across the tuned metal of his instrument. Its tones seems to draw people towards it. People step towards the music, young and old. The busker's name is Danny and it's not a saucepan: "It's a Hang drum." he says, still playing. "I'm originally from Bromsgrove, but I've been around a bit. I've just come back from six months in India.
 | | Danny, Corporation Street |
"I got it from Switzerland. There is one guy who makes them in the mountains." Danny is playing a new musical instrument. The Hang was created in 2000 in the Swiss capital Bern. Hang, in Bernese German, means hand. They cannot be bought in the shops - it seems that the drum's makers select a chosen few to purchase their creations. They must be collected from the 'Hanghaus' in Bern. It is "based on a steel drum" says Danny. "That Carribbean vibe, but it's a lot softer sound".
 | | Danny playing the Hang |
He'll be playing his Hang in Birmingham, "on and off over the summer. Tomorrow I'm in London." He's worth catching if you can. See Danny playing the Hang at his website: www.myspace.com/
hangplayinghedgemonkeys | 
