The Swiss Infatuation with the Steelpan
In Switzerland there are over 200 steelbands with a total of about 4000 pannists. This seems to be the highest density of steelbands outside the Caribbean country of origin of the instrument, Trinidad & Tobago. Considering that the Trinidadian diaspora in Switzerland - unlike, for instance, in Great Britain - is very small indeed, this is quite an astonishing fact. In the past three decades the steelpan, also knows as steeldrum, has shifted from the image of an exotic to a true Swiss folk instrument - and nobody knows just why and how it is that the steelpan is meeting with so much response in Switzerland, of all countries.
Unlike in Trinidad & Tobago or in Great Britain, where the steelpan largely remains an instrument played by musicians with an African/Caribbean background, pannists in Switzerland are almost exclusively members of the white middle class. A possible factor for the Swiss infatuation with the pan could be that with this instrument it is possible to play in a group rather soon. This clearly distinguishes the pan from other instruments - a violin, a guitar - that often have to be practiced for years before one dares show oneself in public with it. Steel is fun fast. Accordingly, in many Swiss steelbands the social component - to "make a little music together" once a week and to perform at a couple of gigs a year - is more foregrounded than musical ambitions. This, however, has the effect that in the broader Swiss music scene the steelpan is often not taken seriously as an instrument in its own right, and steelband music is sometimes connoted with doubtful musical quality. Recently, however, more efforts are being undertaken to present the steelpan as a technically demanding and multifaceted instrument and to introduce the pan to new musical contexts.
Pan Newsletter "Swiss Pan News": www.steelband.ch
Swiss Steelband Association PANCH: www.panch.ch
Pan Info-Site: www.pan-jumbie.com