Hands On! was originally composed in 1993 for the Dutch percussion ensemble Slagwerkgroep Den Haag, who premiered it in a series of "stokkenthuis" concerts in which the players were forbidden to use drum sticks. All 4 players play the same instruments: congas, bongos, tambourine, hi-hat cymbal - all instruments usually played with either hands or feet. In addition, two of the players share a vibraphone, which is also played by the hands instead of with the customary mallets. The vibraphone functions entirely as a 'resonance' instrument, it's occasional entrances always masked by sharper, louder playing on other instruments - like momentary shades of blue peeking out behind a backdrop of darker, more aggressive lines. As the work unfolds the vibraphone also reveals a thin strand of a chord progression - all in the context of what is basically a rhythm-based music. Certain aspects of Hands On! were inspired by surface features of both Indian and West African drumming. The work was composed under the auspices of a Fulbright grant, and is dedicated to Louis Andriessen.