Asaf Sirkis

Member Since: 2005 | Location: London | Page Views: 2,498

Contact Me Subscriber Pro

About Me

Asaf Sirkis - drummer, composer, educator

Asaf Sirkis - Drummer, Composer Asaf Sirkis is an Israeli-born drummer, composer and educator based in London. His musical work draws on jazz, progressive rock, contemporary composition, Middle Eastern and South Indian music, with rhythm and ensemble interaction at its centre.

Sirkis began playing drums at the age of twelve and started his professional career in Israel in the late 1980s, working across jazz-rock, free jazz, Klezmer and world music. After moving to Europe in the late 1990s and settling in London in 1999, he became a member of Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble, with whom he recorded seven albums. Their album Exile received the BBC Jazz Award for Best CD in 2003.

He has since developed a broad career as both a collaborator and bandleader, recording and touring internationally with musicians including Tim Garland, Gwilym Simcock, Dave Holland, Jacob Collier, Larry Coryell, Jeff Berlin, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Robert Wyatt, Natacha Atlas, Gary Husband, Mark Wingfield, Nicolas Meier and many others. He has recorded around 150 albums as a leader, sideman and collaborator, including numerous projects associated with the MoonJune Records catalogue.

Sirkis has led several of his own projects. The Inner Noise, originally formed in Israel and later re-established in London, combines drums with church organ and electric guitar. His Asaf Sirkis Trio, featuring guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos and bassist Yaron Stavi, released three albums. Since 2014 he has co-led Sirkis/Bialas IQ with Polish vocalist and composer Sylwia Bialas, combining contemporary jazz with influences from European folk music, progressive rock, South Indian and Middle Eastern traditions.

His long-running collaboration with composer and saxophonist Tim Garland has included several albums and extensive international touring. He has also worked extensively with musicians from the MoonJune community, contributing to recordings by artists including Markus Reuter, Mark Wingfield, Dwiki Dharmawan, Carles Benavent, Gary Husband and others.

In 2021 Sirkis joined Emma Rawicz’s Chroma, recording two albums for ACT Music. In January 2023 he joined the legendary British jazz-rock group Soft Machine. He has since toured internationally with the band and is featured on their album Thirteen (2026), which includes some of his compositions.

Alongside performing, Sirkis has developed a distinctive approach to rhythm education based partly on Konnakol, the South Indian system of spoken rhythmic syllables. After studying with mridangamist Paramasamy Kirupakaran, he developed a practical, step-by-step approach for applying Konnakol to Western instruments and music. He teaches and gives workshops internationally, and has developed the ideas further through his Time for Space series of drum compositions, exercises and play-along material.

Sirkis is also increasingly active as a composer away from the drum kit. In September 2026 he released Letters, his first album of original music for solo piano. The album consists of 24 short, through-composed pieces written over several years and recorded by Sirkis on a restored 1915 Steinway concert grand at Ursa Major Studio in Italy. Letters reveals a quieter and more intimate side of his compositional work, alongside his continuing activities as a drummer, bandleader and educator.