Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Meet the musicians drumming the bull for F1's return
We chat to percussionist Martin Grubinger and organist Cameron Carpenter to find out about their spectacular musical project played on the Red Bull Ring's iconic bull statue.
With the Formula One season kicking off with back-to-back races at Spielberg – the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5 followed by the Styrian Grand Prix on July 12 – musicians Martin Grubinger and Cameron Carpenter ring its return on the mighty steel bull at the Red Bull Ring.
In just two-and-a-half weeks, Grubinger – along with Carpenter and his organ, a choir, aerobatic pilots and racing car drivers – put together the breathtaking eight-minute audio-visual performance Drum the Bull to celebrate Formula One's return to the Red Bull Ring after its hiatus.
We caught up with them, once the ringing in our ears had subsided, to find out how it all came to be.
8 min
Drum the Bull
Renowned percussionist Martin Grubinger provides a musical opener to the 2020 Formula One season in Spielberg.
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch the F1 action on all your devices! Get the app here.
How did the whole Drum the Bull thing come about exactly?
MG: The enormous statue of the bull at the Red Bull Ring is a very interesting structure and its tone is also very interesting. Because it's so huge, it has amazing acoustics.
CC: I was there because of Martin. He needed some massive musical forces and we'd worked together a bit, so he thought of me. It took me about two seconds to say yes and I feel pretty lucky he asked me.
Grubinger hits the heights
© Armin Walcher/Red Bull Content Pool
How easy was it to play on the sculpture?
MG: It was challenging. We played on the bull, we climbed on to it and played on the peak, which is 15m high, and there we set up our instruments. We played on the bull – that's to say used it as a percussion instrument – but at the same time we played our instruments.
Whereabouts on the sculpture did you play?
MG: We were standing on the bull's back, its head, on the horns and moved to the base of its spine. We're used to being on stage and playing in big concert halls, so this was a dream, an incredible experience. From there you had an amazing view.
As a classical musician, I like being taken out of a classical context
How was the experience? Did you have to have strong nerves?
MG: It was a dream – it was fantastic. I love racing, I watch every Formula One race, I grew up with all these things. Of course, it was also a challenge to play up there and we had to think of safety – you can't fall down from such a height – so we were very well secured. At the same time, it was so exciting, as the planes flew very close to us. I could look into the pilot's eyes as he flew towards the bull.
CC: It really was a cool experience and a neat thing to do. I've never done anything remotely like that. I've done some crazy stuff before, but that was a first to be around the different drivers and folks there to see how they approach things. As a classical musician, I like being taken out of a classical context.
The percussion section in full flow
© Jörg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Tell us about the instruments you were using…
MG: Tomtom drums, darbuka drums, tambura, cymbals, hammers and special effects. We had different instruments up there because we wanted to play the bull, but also play on the structure itself.
CC: From my perspective, I had to trust that the engineers had done their job and that the organ wasn't about to fall off and break.
How exhausting was it?
MG: We were at our limits. We spent the whole day drumming. We had to test out the different camera positions, we had recorded the soundtrack the day before in a concert hall and we were drumming for hours. We were also being really pushed by our director, but it was absolutely wonderful. It was amazing on so many levels – the racing drivers, the direction team, the production team, the pilots in the planes and the musicians. Everything worked so well together. It was huge fun.
