What happens when drums become part of a contemporary art performance?
At Tokyo Gendai 2026, one of Japan’s leading international contemporary art fairs, artist Shohei Takasaki created a live painting as drummer Seiya Kudo performed alongside him.
Providing part of the sound behind the performance was gear from Drummers Top Team, including the upcoming NOTBAD cymbal series and a Drummers Top Team front drumhead.
Tokyo Gendai brings together leading galleries and artists from Japan and around the world at PACIFICO Yokohama. Takasaki’s live painting was presented as part of the fair’s official Sato “Meadow” program, which explores large-scale installations and performances beyond the traditional gallery booth.
For us, it was an exciting opportunity to see Japanese drum gear become part of a completely different kind of creative environment.
When Drums Meet Contemporary Art
The performance was built around a simple but powerful interaction:
sound, movement, color and energy.
As Seiya Kudo played the drums, Shohei Takasaki painted live in the same space.
Each hit filled the room while new layers of paint appeared across the canvas. The crowd gathered closely around the performance, watching a work of art take shape in real time.
It didn’t feel like a traditional concert.
It didn’t feel like a traditional art exhibition either.
The music, painting and energy of the audience became part of the same experience.
And Drummers Top Team gear was right there inside that sound.
NOTBAD Cymbals Put to the Test
The performance also gave us an opportunity to hear the upcoming Drummers Top Team NOTBAD cymbals in a real-world musical setting.
NOTBAD is a new cymbal series currently being prepared for release by Drummers Top Team.
And one of the most exciting moments of the night happened after Seiya Kudo played them.
Kudo regularly performs with high-end professional cymbals, but after playing NOTBAD during the performance, he gave the new cymbals extremely positive feedback — even compared with the cymbals he normally uses.
For a new product still approaching its official release, hearing that kind of reaction from a professional drummer in an actual performance environment meant a lot to us.
There is still more to reveal about NOTBAD.
But after hearing them in this room, we’re even more excited for what comes next.
Who Is Drummers Top Team?
Drummers Top Team was founded by two veteran Japanese drummers and drum technicians, Masuo Arimatsu and Masato Murakami.
Both have spent years performing on stages and recordings while also supporting professional drummers behind the scenes as drum technicians.
That combination matters.
They don’t develop drum gear only from the perspective of a manufacturer.
They understand what a drummer hears from behind the kit, what engineers hear through microphones, and what actually works in live and studio environments.
Drummers Top Team takes that experience and turns it into new tools, accessories and ideas for drummers.
From tuning and product development to exploring new forms of musical expression, the goal has always gone beyond simply making another piece of drum gear.
Japanese Drum Gear Beyond the Stage
That is what made Tokyo Gendai particularly meaningful for us.
Seeing Drummers Top Team gear used in a performance that brought together drumming and contemporary art showed another possibility for what musical equipment can become.
A cymbal is an instrument.
But in the right setting, its sound can also become part of a larger creative work.
We were honored to have Drummers Top Team represented through the instruments used in Shohei Takasaki and Seiya Kudo’s performance, surrounded by the incredible energy of Tokyo Gendai.
Thank you to Shohei Takasaki, Seiya Kudo, and everyone involved in making the performance possible.
And as for the new cymbals heard that night—
Drummers Top Team “NOTBAD” is coming soon.
Stay tuned.