Table of contents for Issue 298 in Rhythm

Spring, Echo, Distort, the new boutique sample library by Joe Clegg’s Dust Palace, squeezes more than 1,000 unique samples in its reassuringly sizeable pack. The pack does not just feature the impressive talents of Ellie Goulding, Mumford and Sons and Clean Bandit sticksman Joe Clegg, however, as Clegg invited a handful of top names to contribute to the collection! Adam Marcello (Katy Perry), Andrew Marshall (Billie Eilish) and Gunnar Olsen (Bruce Springsteen) all answered the call to help create additional royalty-free drum loops and pre-sets. The set features three classic drum machines that have been sampled through six analogue effect units – ultimately yielding a mighty treasure trove of more than 1,000 samples. All of which can be yours for a mere £49. Those guys and girls at Dust Palace…

There’s nowhere to hide,” says Will Glaser about his new album Climbing In Circles, recorded in a trio with saxophonist Matthew Herd and pianist Liam Noble. “It’s really intimate, and it’s quite an interesting opportunity to explore other elements of the drums that you can’t necessarily do if you’re playing with a bass or a larger ensemble.” The album mixes bold explorations of jazz standards and ‘Lonely’ by Tom Waits with free improvisations. What do you enjoy about the trio or duo formats with piano and sax? “Melodically speaking, the textures you use, you can be slightly more dense in terms of the range of the instrument – playing more on the toms, using the drums that would potentially muddy the sonic breadth of the band. One of my favourite…

1: Dave Grohl Icon Snare Drum Price: £1,780 Crafted at the DW Custom Shop in California from 11 plies of North American Hard Rock maple, the 14"x61/2" Icon Series snare features laser cut inlays, including depictions of the rock legend himself, Sound City and Studio 66. Unbelievably, Grohl’s first-ever signature drum, there will only be 250 of these made. www.dwdrums.com 2: Firefly Dynamic Tuning Device Price: $19 (£14) The Firefly Drum Key utilises a German-made unidirectional bearing designed to allow exceptional, precise and silent ratcheting. Engineered for lightning-fast drumhead changes, the key is machined from stainless steel to be long lasting and durable. www.revodrum.com 3: Gruv Gear QUIVR Tour Dekade Edition Stick Bag Price: $130 (£95) With a stylish black and matte bronze exterior, the QUIVR features a quilted interior…

RALPH SALMINS “For me, Bobby Orr, Phil Seamen and Tony Kinsey were the triumvirate of heavyweight jazz drummers. They were real hotshots doing amazing work and playing fantastic gigs. Early on in my career, I was lucky enough to work with two incredible jazz stalwarts, pianist Brian Dee and double-bassist Len Skeat, and I learnt so much about Bobby from those guys, because the three of them had played together. “The first time I got to meet Bobby myself was when I was booked to play percussion with the Andy Ross band on one of the BBC’s original Come Dancing shows. Bobby was playing drums. I was barely out of college, but he was so kind and supportive of me as a young musician, and I’ll never forget that. He…

It was long overdue for me to do a record,” says Cindy Blackman Santana. “The energy was at such a build-up that if I didn’t put something out, I felt like I would have probably imploded somehow.” It’s been a decade since Blackman Santana’s last album as a bandleader. Her 2010 release Another Lifetime was a celebration of Tony Williams’ music, an album of hard-hitting fusion, but with her new release, Give The Drummer Some, Blackman Santana gives free rein to her creative impulses with a record that spans funk, hip-hop, rock, instrumental jazz and fusion. On top of the sheer breadth of musical styles on display, the album sees the drummer step into the limelight as a vocalist, working with Narada Michael Walden, a renowned drummer in his own…

It has been more than a decade since Dan Flint firmly landed on Rhythm’s radar, thanks to his effortlessly cool and inventive playing with Surrey Brit rock heroes You Me At Six. By the time the band’s third album – 2011’s Sinners Never Sleep – came out, he’d already developed his own signature style, a creative rock player just as comfortable playing off the tom hoops throughout a verse as he was powering a thick 4-4 crash-laden chorus. Back then, he reminded us of a young Travis Barker, a drummer whom Flint also namechecked (along with Dave Grohl and Chad Smith) in those early interviews as a hero of his. Similarly to Barker spreading his musical wings into hip-hop, Flint has stretched out from those early days and dipped his…

GAVIN THOMAS DRUM PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, PRO MUSIC DIVISION, YAMAHA MUSIC EUROPE, GMBH (UK) What was the motivation behind the new DTX6 range, and how do they differ to your existing models? “The new DTX6 series replaces the DTX502 range. We have looked at all the elements that make up the range and improved all areas, with the new module being a standout. This DTX Pro module has a new approach for Yamaha in its user interface, which opens up a more engaging experience and maximises the control of all the sound possibilities.” A particular stand-out feature of the kit is the high definition and quality of the sounds. “There have been a few studio sessions in development of these new sounds, one of which was in the UK at…

MARTIN POTTS PRODUCT & ARTIST MANAGER, KORG UK What was the motivation for Mapex to bring out the Evolution alongside the existing Saturn model? “It’s all about choice. The Saturn 2020 offers the player the classic Saturn sound with some new tweaks, whilst the Evolution kit brings in ground-breaking new features from the Design Lab project and introduces alternative wood blends to allow the drummer to shape their sound.” Are there other new and exciting products on the way from Mapex this year? “2020 saw Mapex introduce 14 new models of Black Panther snares and 5 new Black Panther Design Lab Artist snares plus the 2 new Saturn kits, 2021 will be a quieter year for new releases, however, there’s always something in the planning, and we’ve just released pictures…

Welcome to Beats Working, the part of the magazine aimed at helping drummers of all abilities to develop and progress. Kicking things off this issue, Colin, Erik and I are looking at some different aspects of jazz drumming, including groupings, independence and soloing in ‘Getting Started’, ‘Creative Concepts’ and ‘Technical Difficulties’, respectively. Next, in ‘Four-Piece Fills’, Jason Bowld explores linear triplets to spice up your vocabulary, while in ‘Percussion Toolkit’ all-round percussion guru Pete Lockett continues his look at the humble triangle, with some essential patterns that can be used to add sparkle and life to any drum track. Rounding out the tuition section is Tom Bradley, with his beginner’s hybrid column, and Mike Sturgis, who shares some much-needed wisdom on how to survive (and hopefully thrive) in today’s challenging…

Melodic interplay is the use of the various voices of the drum kit to create melodic rhythms in our timekeeping, comping and soloing. This lesson focuses on a simple-but-effective practice concept designed to develop the coordination to articulate phrases melodically on the drum kit. The act of phrasing on the snare drum and bass drum against the traditional jazz ride and hi-hat pattern is often referred to as ‘comping’, derived from ‘complement’ or ‘accompaniment’. Comping is how musicians (particularly drums, piano and guitar) frame, react to and embellish the melody of a song/ soloist. Listen to drummers such as Art Blakey, Bill Stewart, Elvin Jones, Peter Erskine and Brian Blade to hear this in action. The exercises below will help build up the coordination to comp freely and melodically and…

David West Once a proud destroyer of single-ply drumheads, since switching to jazz, David now caresses the drums as softly as a summer breeze. There’s still a part of him that misses breaking sticks all the time – it’s the part that grew up on Cozy Powell and Alex Van Halen. Part of the Rhythm team for nearly 20 years, he has interviewed many of his heroes, including Steve Gadd and Zigaboo Modeliste. WHAT’S GOT YOU EXCITED? “I’ve been getting a buzz from listening to some amazing congueros, like Alexandra Alban, Kachiro Thompson, Luis Conte. It’s a great incentive to keep my hands in shape!” Jim Toscano A NYC freelance drummer, educator and clinician, Jim is the author of Filling In The Grooves: The Ultimate Guide To Drum Fills. He…

“My dearest desire was to play like Max Roach, or to play like Art Blakey, and because of that I learned what the drums can do and what they have done in the past. It’s like learning a vocabulary. If you want to learn how to speak French the way you want to, you first have to learn to speak French the correct way by learning all of the idiomatic phrases and all the proper grammar, and then you can start to express yourself…” Rhythm, December 1990…

‘Fool In The Rain’ Led Zeppelin – In Through The Out Door (1979) Drummer: John Bonham “I was young, maybe 13, when I first heard this track. I just remember how good it felt, what a cool groove it had, and wondering if I would ever be able to play it! “It really was unlike anything else I had heard up until that point. I was a pre-teen in pop tunnel vision with my Michael Jackson, En Vogue and MC Hammer – now you know my age! – and I discovered it right around the time those musical tastes were just starting to change. ‘Fool In The Rain’ was the start of my Led Zeppelin obsession, and it was my first experience of a shuffle like that. “What was it…

“THE KIT PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY, WITH A PUNCHY, PLEASING TONE TO THE BASS DRUM AND EXTREMELY OPEN AND MUSICAL-SOUNDING TOMS.” OWNER, WILLIAM KEEL-STOCKER Here is one of the most interesting kits we have featured in all the years of this column. It also shows UK craftsmanship of the highest order. And yet, as its owner, the multitalented drummer/singer/guitarist Will Keel-Stocker tells me, it was rescued from a skip, which signifies the sad disregard in which British-built drums of the immediate post-WWII period seem often to be held. Can you imagine canning a ’40s or ’50s Ludwig or Gretsch?! “The kit was salvaged from a skip by a passing tradesman, who sold it to me on eBay,” Will tells us. “It was pristinely preserved in original canvas bags and had calf heads…

“I’ve started a drum academy for fans who want to learn from me, which has been good fun. Over lockdown last year, I thought to myself that if I’d have had Travis Barker sitting there for an hour showing me how to play ‘What’s My Age Again?’ I would have absolutely loved that, so I thought there might be some people out there who would want to learn from me. I also cover how I create my beats, what I’m thinking and feeling when I do certain fills, what I am trying to say in my drumming, and get people thinking about being a musician and not just the person who plays the beats at the back. “I go live every week with it, and I also send personal videos…

PRICE: £159 Aston have made a name for themselves over the past few years producing very reasonably priced mics whose performance rivals high-cost competitors. With the launch of the fixed-position cardioid Element, they have taken this to another level. Having developed a completely new capsule design, Aston have managed to bring down production costs significantly without compromising on sound quality. Its sonic properties are described as having the low-end punch of a dynamic, the mid-range warmth of a ribbon and the higher-frequency precision of a condenser mic, hence the hybridised name ‘Ridyon™’ for the proprietary capsule. Boasting a very flat frequency response, low noise-floor and high sound-pressure level (SPL) rating, we tried a pair of Elements in a few situations around the drums, with the first port of call being…

Jazz drummers are often afforded the opportunity to solo, perhaps trading 4s (four-bar phrases) with the band or sometimes soloing over the form of the piece. Either situation can expose a drummer who’s less experienced at soloing or is less comfortable soloing in a ‘swung’ eighth or eighth-note triplet subdivision. Here, we’ll continue this Beats Working’s jazz drumming theme by addressing this with some swing solo vocabulary. When we first begin playing fills or attempting to solo, it’s often based around the use of single strokes, usually 16th notes, perhaps starting on the snare and then moving down the toms. On a jazz drummer’s four-piece kit, this immediately presents an issue as the one-up, one-down tom configuration doesn’t really lend itself to this – but also the way that single…

Porcupine Tree Track: ‘The Sound Of Muzak’ Album: In Absentia, 2002 “That was really the beginning of my relationship with Porcupine Tree. I remember recording that song on the second day of the sessions. “It was one of those days – it so rarely happens – where you pick up the sticks and everything just works great. The stars aligned. I was staying in a really nice hotel in Times Square, I walked through Manhattan to the studio, it was a spring day, the mood just took me.” The Pineapple Thief Track: ‘In Exile’ Album: Your Wilderness, 2016 “Another fresh start with a new band. They gave me completely free rein to do whatever I wanted. I took a lot of liberties! I even rearranged some of the songs, but…

It comes as little surprise to hear that drumming is good for you. Not only does it release those endorphins as we joyously bash away at the tubs, but it also helps to keep us fit and healthy. In fact, over the last decade the Clem Burke Drumming Project (CBDP) has provided some incredible insights into the links between drummers and the fitness of top-level athletes. But, even with the project’s sizable existing pedigree, 2021 is shaping to be something of a landmark year. That is because they are now drawing parallels between time behind the kit and a positive impact on individuals with autism. Latest research from the project has linked learning to play the drums with positively changing the brain’s structure and function, something that has resulted in…

This has always been my dream,” says Madden Klass. The New York drummer balances playing progressive rock with Space Junk Is Forever with studying at Berklee College of Music. Being in demand, she took a year off from Berklee to tour with Wheatus and Mike Doughty, drumming with both acts every night. “This was a huge, unexpected bonus,” she says. “I was really happy to take the time off, get some experience and use that to get even more focussed.” How did you join the band Space Junk Is Forever? “I had just gotten to Berklee, I was having a good time, but I wasn’t really playing with anybody yet. I went on Facebook and saw somebody posted looking for a drummer, paid rehearsals and gigs, and I answered in…

How have you coped this year? “In March the gigs started getting cancelled, a couple of tours fell through and the writing was on the wall that this was going to be more than a few weeks off. “On a personal level, I had a crazy year even before COVID-19 because we had a house fire last October, so we had to move out of our house while it got repaired. Then my father died, so I needed time to reset. I did that for about a month, doing very little music at all. But then I felt like I was missing playing, so I set up kick, snare and hats in the spare room in the house we were renting and started putting a few beats down. “I put…

The Flam Paradiddle We’re continuing our flam theme this issue with the Flam Paradiddle. This involves taking a single paradiddle with an accent on the first group of four in each hand and applying a flam to this note. In essence, the underlying paradiddle sticking is unchanged, but rather the opposite hand is adding a grace note before each of the accented notes (see Ex 1). In Exs 2 and 3, you can see how this now requires the right and left hand, respectively, to play four consecutive notes – one of the reasons that flam figures can be excellent for developing one’s technique is that doing this at speed can become a serious workout. Finally, Exs 4 and 5 move the figure to the kit by placing the accented…

CAPTURE DEVICE – A video capture device is a piece of hardware that lets you transfer audio and video from a VCR, camcorder or other devices to your computer so it can be stored on a hard drive, whether for editing or just general archival purposes. VIDEO MIXER OR SWITCHER – A video switcher is a hardware device used to switch or choose between different audio or video sources. Video switchers are mostly used in film and video production environments like production trucks and television studios, and are also known as production switchers, video mixers or vision mixers. CLASS COMPLIANT USB – Most USB audio and MIDI computer peripherals are Class Compliant USB devices. This means that to communicate with the computer, they use drivers that are built right into…

PRICE: £1,974 Yamaha has been developing high-end musical instruments and professional audio equipment for years, as well as producing some of the best acoustic drum kits to be found on stages and in studios around the world. The new line of electric DTX6 kits proves itself no exception to the Yamaha family. Loaded with completely new high-resolution sounds and a host of sound creation controls – as well as comprehensive connectivity with computers and mobile devices – the DTX6 is more than just a new electronic kit on the market. Available in three configurations to suit a range of budgets (DTX6K3-X, DTX6K2, DTX6K-X), we were sent the DTX6K3-X, which is the top spec of this lineup. Let’s dive deep into what this new electric kit has to offer. Sound Module…

PRICE: £1,599 Whilst 2020 felt like Groundhog Day for many of us, Mapex was not standing still, having released the latest line of their Saturn series of drum kits, the Saturn Evolution. As you would expect from the title, the company have taken strides forward with this version of the Saturn. It transpires those strides are more leaps in terms of developments – and there are many of them. Buckle up whilst we take this handsome instrument for a test drive. Hybrid Woods and Hybrid Shell Sets The original Saturn series offers a blend of maple and walnut drums, with the walnut originally forming the inner two plies of the shell. With the Evolution, this design has been tweaked by sandwiching the walnut between the maple outer layers. Placing the…

PRICE: £569 Paiste are no strangers to coloured cymbals, with 1984’s Color Sound 5 in red, black, blue and green originally rustled up in response to the newly arrived MTV era. The 5s lasted only a couple of years, but Paiste has offered the possibility of colouring its cymbals by special order since then, if you’re plucky enough. Other series have also appeared occasionally – like the black Visions, inspired by Terry Bozzio (1994-1999) and Joey Jordison’s Black Alphas (2008-2014). This time around (well, actually since 2017), Paiste decided to offer its CuSn8 alloy ‘2002 Bronze’ 900 Series in normal and coloured versions. The 900 Series is a 10% cheaper follow-on to the longstanding – now honorably retired – Alphas, the original decent budget B8 cymbals. Paiste maintains, however, that…

Welcome to another ‘Getting Started’ drum lesson from me, this time focusing on triplets played in groups of four. Triplets by their very nature, are in groups of three, but if you subdivide them into even numbers you can get some interesting results. Eighth-note triplets count for 12 notes in a bar of 4/4, which means you can divide them into three groups of four. We’ll play in jazz feel to best illustrate how this works. Ex 1 shows a run of eighth-note triplets with four notes played on the snare drum, high tom and low tom. Ex 2 shows the triplets broken up by accenting the first out of each four on a tom, and obviously this time I’m able to include the mid tom. Ex 3 moves the…

Among the benefits of a hybrid setup is the ability to add effects to your drum sound straight out of the box. The advantage over using microphones is not only a lower cost, but also the ability to quickly enable or disable the effects between songs (or even sections), all from the comfort of our drum kit. In this lesson, we’ll be using some reggae groove variations as a platform for exploring the in-built effects of our hybrid module. Whichever hardware you’re currently using will almost certainly have some customisable FX settings. For this demonstration, I’m using a dual snare trigger that allows for separate samples depending on whether the head or rim of the drum is struck (for a refresher, head back to Issue 295). This will allow a…