Dutch drummer Roy Dackus and some other close friends of the late drummer and independent cymbalsmith Johan Van De Sijpe, who passed away on June the 25th, have joined forces with Johan’s relatives and are setting up the Johan Van De Sijpe Memorial Foundation. The remainder of Johan’s unique cymbals will be available to be lent to a select number of drummers through the foundation.\"We spent a day in Johan’s house assisting his family in clearing his possessions. We initially found around 65 of Johan’s creations, they are in perfect, brand new condition and are of extremely high quality, representing, in my experience, some of his best work. (...) We all wanted these incredible cymbals to be played, as Johan would have really wanted people to be making great music with them. None of us thought that selling them seemed appropriate, so another solution has been agreed upon.\"
The members of the upcoming Foundation are compiling lists of suitable artists at the moment who will soon be approached with a few selected cymbals to try and use if they desire. The Foundation is planning to run a website that will track where they are and who’s using them.
Cymbal swapping
Another possibilty for the foundation is to function as a forum for Johan cymbal owners to swap and share with other owners. It could be a safe and useful resource for everyone who is lucky enough to own Johan\'s works.
Big-brand cymbals for sale
In another room in Johan\'s house, they also found many big-brand cymbals. As friends and relatives sorted through them, they came across some 14 old K Zildjians, a similar number of Paiste 602s (including a flat ride, sound edge hats and some lighter cymbals) and several Sound Creations and old A Zildjians. The whole collection of around 250 cymbals are for sale an are in good condition. Interested? Send an email to emreram@gmail.com.
Photos and sound files wanted
Johan\'s cymbal recreation service was globally acclaimed. Are you owner of a Johan custom cymbal? Please photograph your cymbal (and possibly make sound files) and allow the foundation to display these photos in an online gallery. Again, you can contact the foundation by sending an email to emreram@gmail.com.
