The Sample Music Festival 2025 – An international event
The Sample Music Festival 2025, which was sponsored by Yamaha, brought together talented finger drummers from around the world, including participants from Brazil, Venezuela, Great Britain, the USA, Puerto Rico, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, Japan, and Germany. The Finger Drumming World Championship featured a pre-elimination round, with the top six competitors advancing to the evening’s main stage. The performances were mind-blowing and showcased an incredible level of skill, style, and creativity. Judges for the competition were Mad Zach, Guvi Bosch, and your’s truly.
The Winners of the Finger Drumming World Championship
The Finger Drumming World Championship award ceremony crowned the following champions:
- 1st Place: Nular from Hungary (1st performance / 2nd performance)
- 2nd Place: Entek from the UK (1st performance / 2nd performance)
- 3rd Place: Pancho Trackman from Brazil (1st performance / 2nd performance)
The Sample Music Festival 2025 as a whole, marking its 10th anniversary, was a celebration of turntablism and finger drumming, also featuring a “Clash of the Titans” scratch battle and a variety of workshops and showcases.
Nular – 1st place
Entek – 2nd place
Pancho Trackman – 3rd place
The Yamaha FGDP Championship
And the fun didn’t stop there! Besides the Finger Drumming World Championship 2025, Yamaha also threw an FGDP Championship for Sample Music Festival attendees. They let people grab a unit, practice for a bit, and then jump straight into a competition. Given the short notice, the results were a perfect mix of mind-blowing skill and pure comedy. About 15 people joined in, and three lucky winners snagged a new Yamaha FGDP! The judges were Tim Kroker, Simon Raschen, and me.
A big congrats to the three champions: Entek (UK), Hawt Coco (Germany), and EL-Studio (Puerto Rico).
Here are a few outtakes from the Yamaha FGDP competition: