Biography
Dante Bucci fuses world music and melodic indie rock with his pioneering approach to the Handpan ("Hang Drum").
He is a fixture in the Philly indie music scene and one of the most-recognized Handpan players in the world, thanks to a constantly-expanding list of subscribers and over 9 million viewers on his YouTube channel (youtube.dantebucci.com).
A relatively new invention, the Handpan (a.k.a. "Hang Drum") is a melodic, inverted steel percussion instrument born in Bern, Switzerland, circa 2000. The Handpanlooks like a steel drum crossed with a UFO, and has its own distinctive voice that draws comparisons to steel pans, harps, and even synthesizers. Each instrument sings its own harmony, with a root in the center and a scale arrayed around the circumference. The resulting sound makes it perfect as background music for a gallery opening or as an indelible lead singer at a rock concert.
The unique features of the Handpan are a perfect match for Dante's eclectic musical history. In college he picked up every instrument in sight - from guitars to bass flutes to conga drums. He quickly emerged as an in-demand percussionist, which lead to nearly a decade of fruitful collaboration with dozens of local Philadelphia artists.
Now Dante is the center of his own songs. His classical and percussionist experience aids him in pulling sounds out of the Handpan that no one else has made - or can figure out how to replicate. From delicate harmonic overtones to deep djembe-like thumps, he pushes the boundaries of the instrument farther than any other player on the planet.
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