NIKMARTKEN

  • Handpan Player
  • Drummer
  • Percussionist
  • Recording Artist
  • Designer

Gear and more

On this page, you can have a little taste of what NikMartken uses while performing live, experimenting or recording.

When you are a percussionist, it is quite hard not to be amazed by other musicians playing something new… I still remember a trip to Morocco where our guide introduced to me the great band Tinariwen and immediately after I learned some rhythms with the Berbers in the Mezouca Desert… What an experience!

And you are probably wondering what all this matters since we are talking about percussion instruments… Good question! This is where the discovery happens! When back in Dublin, I saw a poster saying Tinariwen were playing at Olympia Theatre and I immediately knew I couldn’t miss that.
So I went to the concert, I was simply astonished when I heard an incredible low percussive element that cuts through the mix, and it was a pumpkin cut in half. I did my researches and it was an instrument called Calabash. Of course, I bought one, glad I did it! And now this is one of the instruments that you can find in my music.

The same thing happened with the Didgeridoo for instance… I knew that instrument, tried so hard to get a good sound but nothing. Everything changed when I travelled to Cairns, Australia and I stepped inside the shop called Universal Joint and Anthony, the owner, helped me to reach a ‘good-enough’ sound considering it was the first time I was playing one in front of someone. Now I have one of his Didgeridoos.

Everything is out there: the limits are created by our minds and we have the power to go further and make new experiences… So MAKE them!

If you don’t TRY, you’ll NEVER KNOW.

NikMartken uses

Battiloro Handpans
Battiloro Handpan
Hardcase Technologies
Hardcase Technologies
Meinl Percussions
Meinl Percussion
Tama Drums
Tama Drums
Paiste Cymbals
Paiste Cymbals
Stagg Cymbals & EFXs
Stagg Cymbals
Terré Percussions
Terré Percussion
Vater Drumsticks
Vater Percussion
Hapi Drum
Mystic Planet Tongue Drums
Victor Hugo's 'Hank Drums'
SHonKy Musical instruments
Crafter Guitars
ATV drums
Gibraltar Hardware
Gibraltar Hardware
RØDE Microphones
Rode Microphones
AKG Microphones
AKG Microphones
Shure Microphones
Shure Microphones
Audix Microphones
Audix Microphones
Audio Technica Headphones
Audio Technica Headphones
Vic Firth Headphones
Focusrite Audio Interfaces
Focusrite
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