What makes Ewe drumming special is the idea of 'polyrhythm' - playing several different rhythms at the same time so that they fit perfectly together, like gear wheels interlocking. Each drummer learns one part and plays it consistently, while the 'master drummer' can improvise freely on top. For a listener, the sound seems impossibly complex, yet each individual part is relatively simple. It is the combination that creates the magic.
Akpessé is a type of Ewe music often performed for community events and outdoor celebrations. It has a joyful, swinging quality - the kind of music that makes people want to clap along. The songs are accompanied by iron bells (gankogui) whose steady clang acts as a time-keeper that all the other musicians use as their guide, no matter how complex the other rhythms become.
Ewe drumming has had a huge influence on music around the world. When enslaved Africans were taken to the Caribbean and the Americas centuries ago, they brought their musical knowledge with them. Rhythms similar to Ewe patterns can be heard today in Cuban salsa, Brazilian samba, and even jazz drumming. Togo's musical heritage has shaped modern music in ways that many people do not realise.