From rural Ontario, Canada ~ Drummer & composer Patrick Simard draws from eclectic influences; from his early days of deep French-Canadian roots playing spoons with his grandfather, to studying Jazz Composition and Performance at Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, to deep studies of Moroccan Gnaoua music, to performing and studying traditional drumming in Benin, Togo, Senegal, Cuba, and the American South, to using sound, vibration and groove as a healing force.

Having toured the world several times over, with a rich love and admiration for cultural heritage, Patrick is steadily expanding his musical palette to connect with what is deep within us all. Some of the artists Patrick has performed and/or recorded with include: Bootsy Collins, A.R. Rahman, Souleymane Faye, Lionel Loueke, Alejandro Sanz, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez, Danilo Perez, Hal Crook, Eddie Gomez, John Patitucci, Hazmat Modine, Women of the World, and has been the drumset player for his mentor and sabar griot Lamine Touré (from Senegal) for nearly a decade.

He is also currently working alongside his mentor Lamine Touré to properly document traditional rhythms from Senegal to preserve this powerful oral tradition and to make it more accessible to musicians and culture-lovers across the globe.