Portrait: Brandon Blake
In Portrait: Brandon Blake
Preschool teacher, Brain Injury Support Group Leader, Writer, Musician, Dogs in Need Volunteer and Employee at Theo Chocolate Factory / USA
Describe a “normal day” in your life
Every day begins with "feeding the cats". If that weren't the case, the animals wouldn't let me do anything until they had their food. Then I prepare breakfast for my wife and me. We always use fresh ingredients from the market. On school days, I pack my materials and, of course, the sansula for preschool. I spend eight hours at school and focus on the social-emotional development of these impressive young souls. After a day of work like that, I am truly exhausted, go home and rest, and then play the sansula or bass. My wife Sabrina and I then eat dinner together, usually with a cat on our lap. On days when I don't have school, I structure my day a little more freely. Then I make music, practice calligraphy, look after neglected greyhounds, talk to my parents or continue working on my health status. In the evenings, we often have friends over, we can be found at sporting events or I play concerts. No matter what happened during the day, I try to play the Sansula every evening to clear my head. It takes the pressure of everyday life off me immensely and the Sansula is an excellent tool for this.
What is the best thing about your job?
In preschool, I focus primarily on supporting the children in their behavioral development. In doing so, we work on the positive behaviors that we need in today's world: kindness, compassion, empathy, respect, love, humor, or the ability to resolve conflicts with words without being hurtful. I am the first teacher for these children and it is up to me and my team whether they develop a love of learning. I want every child to have a good start on this lifelong journey of learning. I want to contribute to change and ensure that our next generation is no longer xenophobic, racist, aggressive or narrow-minded. I want the children to see each other as friends, to value their personalities and differences, and to respect each other. Even though we are different, we are similar when we treat each other with love. So I teach kindness and the ability to learn to appreciate each other.
When did you get to know the Sansula?
I wanted an analogue separation from my smartphone and the digital world within it. I wanted to be independent of screens, to pick something up, use my thumbs and make music – and not scroll through digital life every minute. I needed a separation to “attentively engage in mindlessness” and so the kalimba was the perfect instrument for me. On April 20, 2015, my wife Sabrina and I stumbled into a music store called “Dusty Strings” in Seattle. I tried out a few kalimbas, but Sabrina wasn’t really impressed with any of them. Then I saw one that was integrated into a small framed drum. What was it? When I picked up the HOKEMA Sansula and started playing, Sabrina turned around and said: “You HAVE to take this one. It sounds fabulous. This is what we’re looking for!” This was the beginning of a wonderful journey that the Sansula took me on – and the journey has only just begun!
How do you use the Sansula and what possibilities arise from its use?
How do you use the Sansula and what possibilities arise from using it? I use the Sansula in a few "key places" in my life. I use it as an educational instrument in preschool - also to give the students a calm atmosphere for their afternoon nap. And they fall asleep every time. In music lessons, the children are then allowed to play themselves. Successfully creating beautiful sequences of notes motivates them to make music and they become more and more confident in their playing. I also use the Sansula when I play for the residents in a retirement home. For me, this represents a loving bridge between the generations and we share very beautiful musical moments. But I also use the Sansula as a healing measure. Namely when I play in the "Brain Injury Community". I have already shown many people that the instrument can have a kind of healing effect through attentive playing. It is also relatively easy to learn to play the Sansula - so even people who are neurologically and motorically impaired can experience learning success with the instrument. I also use it as a "medicine" for myself. It simply helps me to recover, has a meditative effect and is a tool for creating my "mindful, careless moments". But apart from that, you can simply make great music with it. I perform regularly in Seattle's music scene and use the Sansula both solo and in projects with other musicians from all over the world. I have developed new percussion and striking methods and use small magnets to enable even more effects. If you put the small magnets on the metal tongues, you can change notes and you can retune the instrument depending on the song without using a lot of tools.
Can the Sansula be considered a serious instrument?
Absolutely. I don't have to think about it for long, because it's self-explanatory for anyone who hears the Sansula. I took it with me to Tennessee and presented it at Victor Wooten's world-famous bass nature camp Wooten Woots. I showed my various playing techniques, including the idea of the magnets. People were excited - both about the sound and the way I played. Victor Wooten and his brothers (all world-famous music virtuosos and absolutely great people) said that they had never seen anyone play the way I did before. They called the way I used the Sansula groundbreaking. Victor later came to Seattle for a series of concerts and invited me to be on stage with him and drummer JD Blair. I was humbled and overwhelmed to be able to stand on one of Seattle's hottest jazz stages with my childhood idol. I performed with them for three evenings and enjoyed playing. It was perfect - even though I had only started playing the Sansula nine months before. People actually wanted autographs and photos from me after the show, it was incredible. But it would never have happened to me if the HOKEMA Sansula wasn't simply a world-class instrument. There's no other way to say it!
Which of the HOKEMA instruments would you say is your favorite?
The Sansula Renaissance because of its durable drum and robust sound. This allows me to use the percussive techniques that I incorporate into my playing. It is also robust enough to be played by very young children without having to worry about damage. It is also the only instrument of mine that my 100-year-old grandmother can play.
Biographical information on the career
Brandon Blake has been a musician since he started drumming on his thigh at the age of five. At thirteen he started playing bass guitar. Shortly afterwards he met his future wife Sabrina at Florida State University, with whom he played in a Balinese gamelan orchestra. However, Brandon only met the Sansula after an accident that changed everything... It was July 25, 2013, when his life was about to change fundamentally - and was almost taken from him as he was cycling home from teaching at a Seattle preschool as usual. A car sped towards him and hit him head-on. Life-threatening head injuries were the terrible result and Brandon was immediately put into an artificial coma. When he woke up the next day and was told what had happened, an arduous road to recovery began that seemed a long way off. Broken ribs, an almost completely shattered face and, to make matters worse, a severe traumatic brain injury required extreme treatment. Brandon had to undergo a complete facial reconstruction and still wears 7 titanium plates under his face. After the operations, he was allowed to return home to deal with how to continue living with a brain injury. Specialists, neurologists and reconstructive surgeons accompanied him from then on in his daily life. Over 150 doctor's appointments and many months later, Brandon had completed a difficult healing process consisting of neuro treatments, reconstructive measures and discussions about his traumatic brain injury. At this point, he could no longer continue his work as a preschool teacher - recovery and healing had become a full-time job. He quickly became an active member of the local brain injury community in Seattle and helped those who were going through a similar ordeal with his positive attitude to life. After two years, however, Brandon returned to the classroom. He had not lost his passion for helping others. In addition to his teaching, he now works in the "Brain Injury Community" and leads a group of young patients with brain injuries. "Those who were first confronted with me after my accident kept telling me that they did not understand how I could have survived with such head injuries. So if I should no longer be here and yet I am, then I call this "bonus life time". Every day since this stroke of fate is an additional gain for me. The time with my students, with my wife, with friends, my cats... and my Sansula! All of this is bonus time and I do not take it for granted. I am infinitely happy to be here and to share my story with you."
Interview: Annalena Horl