Studio/ Recording and Stage services

Artifact Repairs:

The Èsù Rescue mission 

The Èsù (pronounced Eshu/ Echu) rescue mission is available to handle the delicate repair work of most artifacts from Africa and around the globe. Specialising in religious artifacts, our goal is the restoration or preservation of your personal, special collected and even sacred pieces.

No job is too small and all requests will be offered complete and serious assessment, consideration and consultation before any repairs are performed.

If you would like more information regarding these services, please send an e-mail t0:

Obikaye@gmail.com

Nkonde/ Muta Kulombo

Double headed dog Kongo peoples Angola 

Pipe Carved with face of Èsù

Benin

Egungun doll

Benin

Shaved Monkey Productions/ Go-rilla! Studios is available for a wide variety of recording and studio percussion services. Whether it be percussion tracks for your original music or demo production for your band, we have affordable quality services available to suit your needs. We are also Available for field recordings and offer special rates for fundraising efforts and more.

Obi is available also for live performance or studio recording as a "sideman" at your location. Specialising in Jazz and world music, he can provide you with a sound that is complimentary to your style and tastes.

Just a few of the percussion instruments available at Obi's dispense... 

Obi is also available for numerous programs and workshops, all specially tailored to suit your needs.

We will be posting a separate page listing all of the available workshops and programs soon... 

E-mail us for more details: 

obikaye@gmail.com 

Drum Repair Services

All repair services performed on site.

We repair most African, Mediterranean and Caribbean drums from Djembes Djundjuns and Ashikos to Congas Bongó and Batá. 

Reheading traditional drums is our specialty. Great care and attention are paid to every detail to insure quality craftsmanship . All drum heads are treated, fitted and tuned using traditional techniques. Many American Drum retailers now purchase shells and skins separately and use tools like "clam-cleat" pullers or wedge tuners to fasten skins to the shell of the drum. In many cases, this creates too much tension across both the ropes and the skins thus, weakening the head and shortening its "life". 

At Shaved Monkey Productions and Go-rilla! studios All reheading and tuning is done by "hand", no machines or devices are used. 

Skins are carefully selected and cured then shaved. Finally, applying our own techniques (Obi's personal secret), the new head is softened and made smooth. The finished product is a skin which has almost unparallelled texture of smoothness found only on the best quality African made drums.

The Pictures on this page are a recent sample of a new head replacement. Note the "straight" roping on the djembe in the first picture. These ropes were pulled too tightly. Often, this is done with "Clam-cleat" pullers to save time and produce more drums for retail sale. The head was made weaker and easily ripped. 

Above is the new head, treated using traditional techniques used in Coastal West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The new head still retains the "character" of the original skin. It has nice colouring and has a smooth and supple texture which is as pleasant on your hands as it is on the eyes.

Below, We see how the ropes are tuned  using a "diamond" shaped weave. The finished product creates an even tuning and is easy to adjust when the drum will need to be retuned. Obikaye@gmail.com

We use the finest quality goatskin and calfskin on many African, Caribbean and South American drums and can even replace fishskin heads on Middle Eastern percussion instruments. 

Drumshell repairs are also available for almost all wooden shelled drums.

Heads can be replaced on most drums including:

Single headed; Djembe, Ashiko, Ngoma, Abakua drums and other similar drums. this includes drums which are "peg tuned"...

Double Headed; Djundjun, Bombo, Rennaisance/ Vintage Military/ Tupan and more...

We can also rehead Congas, Bongó and other "latin" percussion instuments. These drums can be reheaded to have softer, smoother playing surfaces without sacrificing quality or sound. (Recommended for handcrafted drums or, for those who wish to have a more authentic feel to their current drums.)

Batá reheading/ repairs are available as well.

Finally, we can also completely rehead vintage drumsets as well...