Table of contents for Issue 295 in Rhythm

1. Zildjian I Series Price: From £55 Replacing the discontinued ZBT series, the I family gives entry-level B8 cymbals a contemporary twist by featuring modern weights and profiles. Available in a multitude of cymbal packs, the range boasts a number of FX cymbals including 14" and 17" trash crashes. www.zildjian.com 2. Roland TD-27KV Price: £2,639 The TD-27 is the brand new module accompanying Roland’s VAD kits (see previous page). The ’27KV uses a more familiar rack system with mesh pads and a small bass drum tower, although these are now combined with the flagship digital snare and ride pads. www.roland.com 3. PDP 20th Anniversary Kit Price: TBC Celebrating 20 years of drum building, DW’s sister company has released a special anniversary kit and matching snare. It comprises 10"x8", 12"x9", 16"x14"…

Check out Rhythm’s NAMM show coverage at  www.youtube.com/c/RhythmMagazine…

There’s nothing more bonkers than being in a band with two other drummers,” declares Andy Gangadeen, sitting in front of the new, improved, bigger than ever Gangascope in a rehearsal studio in London. This imposing kit, a blend of acoustic drums, cymbals, and more than 50 electronic pads, will be the workhouse for the reincarnation of The Bays. The last time The Bays was a going concern was in 2009 before Gangadeen landed the gig played drums for Chase & Status. Originally, the project saw Gangadeen working with a bassist and keyboard players to make live dance music, but this time around it’s going to be all drummers, with Oli Wiseman and Kaz Rodriguez joining Gangadeen at the helm of the Gangascope. The three drummers are friends and the seed…

A drummer since the age of 14, when his itch to play was ignited by Nirvana’s Nevermind album, Oli Wiseman was drawn to the world of hybrid drumming when he first heard The Prodigy. “I was like, wow, this is rock music with massive electronic sounds, that’s my bag, 100%,” says Wiseman. Then he saw Chase & Status with Andy Gangadeen laying down the beats. “I was massively influenced straightaway, but I didn’t really know where to start. Going through college, it led me to audition for a band, one of the guys in that is actually the frontman of Chase & Status now, and that led to me meeting Andy. Ever since Andy has been a massive influence, showing me the ropes with electronic drumming.” Now, Wiseman is a…

With the NAMM Show already starting to feel like a distant memory on the one hand, on the other we’re still buzzing from all the amazing new product announcements for 2020. Much of this exciting new gear is already in the pipeline for review so keep your eyes peeled for your favourite brands in forthcoming issues. We’d also love to hear from you if there is anything specific that you’d like to see our reviewers cast their expert eyes and ears over. Kicking off this issue’s gear section we have Mark Whitlam checking out a special 21st anniversary kit from custom UK drum builder, Jalapeno Drums. The 21 Kit features wooden hoops, and the mighty birch shells use one ply for every year the company is celebrating in production. If…

Q. What kind of player would you expect this drum kit to appeal to? “I think this 21 Series of drums is most ideally situated for drummers who do a lot of studio work. The full-but-controlled sound they make means it’s a dream kit for the studio. But it’s also a great live kit too, with that inherent tone control making life easier for live engineers.” What was your vision behind designing this 21st Anniversary kit? “As Jalapeno drums are made from layers of 3-ply plywood laminated together, I figured that I could use 7 layers to make 21-ply drums. I also had one piece of 21-year-old wood lying around the workshop, which just happened to be 21cm deep, so I figured I’d make an anniversary snare. But then thought,…

“THE SHELLS ARE THE STARS OF THE SHOW AND THE DENSE BLACK WALNUT IS CLEARLY OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY. EACH DRUM HAS A DISTINCTIVE, UNREPEATABLE GRAIN PATTERN.” PRICE: £499 Samuel de Broize-Ward is a London-based drummer who has been building drums since 2016 and has already won many high profile fans. He was inspired to try his hand following the passing of his grandfather, a woodworking enthusiast. Inheriting his grandad’s tools he set out to make drums using recycled materials. In this, he follows a similar ideal to Provenance of Essex, whose drums have featured regularly in Rhythm. While Tim Broughton of Provenance has made metal and wood shells, Sam focuses on solid wood like oak, beech and sycamore, largely rescued from obsolete furniture. In the present case, he’s salvaged…

Odd time signatures needn’t necessarily sound odd and it’s down to the drummer to make any awkwardness palatable. Here we explore two effective solutions to help them feel more comfortable. We begin with Example 1 which shows a basic groove in 7/8, essentially a familiar 4/4 groove with the final eighth note missing. The result of this ‘missing’ eighth note is a groove that stumbles into the next bar. One way to alleviate this is subdividing the last three eighth notes into two dotted eighth notes which essentially means placing the second snare drum note one 16th note earlier. This immediately makes the groove (Example 2) feel funkier and less odd. This approach can be used at the end of any pattern in 5/8, 9/8, 11/8 etc, assuming they’re subdivided…

In this session, we will look at expanding our hybrid setup further with the addition of a bass drum trigger. Using triggers in general not only allows us to augment our sound with almost limitless possibilities but can also guarantee tonal consistency from kit to kit or venue to venue. After all, we’ll hear the same preselected sample whether we choose to trigger a 16" bass drum or a 26". For our tech setup, we’ll be keeping the snare trigger from the previous session and adding in our bass drum trigger. The difference here though is we will only be using one input by means of a splitter cable. This method allows us to effectively double the number of module inputs available – particularly helpful for those using smaller units.…

DRUMMER: Ronnie Vannucci Mr. Brightside’ was the first single by The Killers to be taken from their album Hot Fuss in 2004. It was also the drumming world’s first introduction to the creative playing of Ronnie Vannucci. He’s a drummer who manages to infuse his performances with so much energy and personality, of which ‘Mr Brightside’ is a perfect example. “RONNIE SHOWS SOME OF HIS INFLUENCES HERE LIKE THE KEITH MOON-ESQUE 16TH-NOTE FILLS AND EIGHTH NOTES PLAYED ON THE BASS DRUM DURING THE FINAL BARS…” The track starts with its unique four-bar guitar intro after which Ronnie enters playing an uptempo 16th-note groove on the hi-hats. This first eight bars of drums are heavily effected with a crunchy overdriven sound but it’s the single-stroke 16th notes that are demanding from…

David West “I still remember my first assignment for Rhythm some 16 years ago, heading out to interview Andy Strachan from The Living End armed with a handheld tape recorder and a notepad. Too many interviews to count later, I’ve met my heroes, like Steve Gadd and Zigaboo Modeliste, and even faced the withering gaze of Ginger Baker and lived to tell the tale. I’m thrilled that Rhythm is back in action!” Best piece of drumming advice “In an interview Thomas Lang told me, ‘Never play when you practise, never practise when you play.’ I realised I’d been playing, not practising, for years. Simply expressed, but revelatory.” Rich Chamberlain Raised on his dad’s AC/ DC records, Rich has been channelling his inner Phil Rudd since he was a nipper, with…

Inspired by a love of The Mars Volta, Yes and King Crimson, Poly-Math was born from Brighton’s math rock scene in 2013, evolving to play instrumental progressive rock. “Math rock can often be more like jazz, but we bonded over the heavier side,” says drummer Chris Woollison. Poly-Math’s latest release, the epic ‘Sensors In Everything’, is full of odd time signatures and creative grooves. How does the songwriting work? “Tim [Walters], the guitarist, will often come with an idea which could be almost purely melodic, and then the rest of us will bring an element to that, we might bring the rhythm to it. Tim’s a drummer as well, so he might come up with something polyrhythmic. Generally, we don’t jam.” How do you create the drum parts? “I’ll generally…

We’ve all been there. You watch a gig or a video, or just read about what another drummer is up to and automatically start comparing yourself. I suffered from this reaction for years and would proceed to start making a mental list of the skills and experience another drummer had which I didn’t, and by default this meant I was rubbish and not worthy. I would be left feeling hopeless, deflated and unmotivated. These days I’ve managed to interrupt this automatic pattern of thinking by catching myself and asking two questions: what kind of player am I and what kind of player do I want to be? Just asking these questions seems to take all the negative energy out of the situation, and bonus, it gives me some valuable answers!…

“DIALLING IN THE SNARE TENSION AND HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT IS FIDDLY COMPARED TO SIMPLER VINTAGE SNARES, BUT ONCE RIGHT, IT'S GUNSHOT LOUD, CLEAR AND CRISP.”DEL HARRIES, OWNER This month’s owner, Welsh drummer Del Harries, admits to being “obsessed with vintage drums” since attending one of the first UK vintage drum fairs in 2000, “organised by the legendary ‘Sir’ Alan Buckley, and advertised in Rhythm”. Del tells us that he played drums “with a few bands way back (my first drums at school were a mix of old Premier and Beverley) and in a Lottery-funded music project, bringing percussion workshops to people with disabilities”. Today, work commitments restrict his playing opportunities and he admits that, “In truth, it's finding and restoring old drums that I love best. Locating a battered old set…

If you are lucky you may make a good living simply playing the acoustic drum kit. But more than ever today it’s important for drummers to develop multiple skills, initially to embrace hybrid acoustic-electronic drumming and programming. Then maybe remote recording, engineering and producing, arranging and composing. All these areas were explored by Simon Phillips from a young age and Simon’s approach made a massive impression on Kaz Rodriguez, growing up in the 2000s. Kaz has duly forged his own multi-faceted style in the modern era. Simon also pioneered open-handed, ambidextrous playing and extended multi-tom drum sets, following the example set by Billy Cobham from the late 1960s. And like Cobham, Simon became a composer and bandleader in his own right. From his teens, he slotted into the London session…

801 801 Live (1976) Early, acclaimed experimental work by Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera with his band mate, fledgling genius producer Brian Eno. Simon says, “An important album – live - a real underground thing that still sells - pivotal at the time, magical. Eno was a manipulator, important for the guidance of that band. A lovely man.” There’s a strangely atmospheric ‘You Really Got Me’ and a fabulous, imaginatively inventive reworking of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, driven along by Simon’s funky-rocky drums and a mega bass line from Bill McCormick. Jeff Beck There and Back (1980) Joining up with Jeff Beck, the most talented of British rock guitarists, for this timeless instrumental extravaganza cemented Simon’s reputation as the UK’s foremost fusion drummer. He seized the opportunity to contribute…

Perhaps appropriately for one of the pioneers of live drum and bass and hybrid drumming, Andy Gangadeen studied electronics at college before moving into music. He’s played with the Spice Girls, Lisa Stansfield, Massive Attack, and Chase & Status, and is a role model and mentor to young players interested in exploring the landscape where acoustic and electronic drumming comes together. “The technology is there for you,” says Gangadeen. “It’s a limitless thing. It’s all pretty much affordable now, where before it wasn’t. A Fairlight sampler was 30 grand and you could sample in for eight seconds. You can sample more on your phone now if you want to. Things have moved on.” Now that The Bays are back in action, Gangadeen is ready to stretch his musical muscles. “The…

“THEY’RE SNIPER-ACCURATE AT LOW DYNAMICS, YET WHEN THE STICKS ARE RAINING DOWN IN ANGER THE UNDERLYING MELLOWNESS STILL CARRIES THROUGH.” PRICES: from £199 Launched in the UK in the final months of 2019, Vulcan is an all-new entry to the cymbal market. Landing as a full-formed brand, Vulcan has already acquired Brit sticksmen Rob Brian and Mel Gaynor as endorsees and is distributed in Britain by PMT, a retail chain with stores dotted around the UK. Vulcan boasts no fewer than twelve distinctive cymbal ranges. This selection sent to Rhythm is from the company’s Dark Master Series. Vulcan (the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology, usually depicted wielding a blacksmith’s hammer) was founded by Italian cymbalsmith Massimiliano Arrigoni. Max’s family business is a long-established instrument manufacturer and distributor…

Leona Lewis Track: ‘Run’ Album: Spirit “I’ve only played on two tracks of hers, but I chose this because it was my first number one as a drummer. I knew what approach [producer Steve Robson] wanted, very much in the style of when I play with James Blunt, big ballad, keep it simple, keep it groovy. We did it three or four times just to get the performance because it’s a very expressive song, so it’s really important that the track builds dynamically.” Feeder Track: ‘Kyoto’ Album: Tallulah “I really felt I hit the nail on the head with this one. Grant [Nicholas, Feeder frontman] likes to jam, so very often we just set up and play around with riffs together. It’s an exciting process and it’s always exhausting because…

Just days into 2020 the drum world lost one of its brightest stars when Neil Peart passed away, following a battle with brain cancer. Peart, who had been quietly fighting the disease for three-and-a-half years, was 67 years old. Born on 12 September 1952 in Ontario, Canada, Peart picked up the sticks at the age of 13 and five years later travelled to the UK in search of a career behind the kit. Within 18 months he had moved back to Canada, his dream of a life as a professional drummer seemingly dented – until the summer of 1974 when he joined up with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, replacing John Rutsey in Rush. To say the rest is history would admittedly be a cliché, but the prog trio were…

Jazz star aims to unlock creative practice Your new book is subtitled Stickings, Dexterity & Orchestration. What’s the concept there? “It’s very much a departure from traditional pattern-based learning and doing repetitive things in unchanging subdivisions, the way rudiments tend to be studied, which is all perfectly fine but I thought it was time to present a different way at it. It’s built upon the premise that all sticking patterns are made up of just 12 very small components and everything that we play is composites of those. This is the whole concept of dexterity that I’ve come up with where you take different types of stickings and play them over changing rhythm patterns. It makes your hands work in a completely different way. The other key element is orchestration,…

‘Disc Jockey Jump’ Gene Krupa And His Orchestra (1948) Drummer: Gene Krupa “This tune hooked me from the moment I heard it – it was killer then, and it’s killer now. I was around 12 when my dad started playing it at home and it immediately grabbed my attention in a way that nothing else had before. It’s funny, because the drum sound on it is modern, even though it was recorded way back in the ’40s. Everything about it still captivates me today, though - it’s just so cool. It’s the sound, that groove, the short little solo that Gene plays, and the way he goes in and out of it and puts it together – it makes real good sense for the song. I had only just got…

After many years as market leaders in the world of electronic drums with the classic V-Drums line, at the NAMM Show in January, Roland broke the news of its brand new V-Drums Acoustic Design collection. The VAD range sees the company’s proprietary triggering technology incorporated into real, full-size drum shells. The internally triggered drums are powered by the new TD-27 sound module – mixing the user-friendly interface of the TD-25 with the digital processing power of the flagship TD-50 – which is also capable of running Roland’s digital snare and ride pads, connected via USB. The VAD506 configuration (pictured) comprises a 20"x16" bass drum and 10"x7", 12"x8" and 14"x13" toms. The poplar shells are finished with a black sparkle wrap and feature a new lug design. The cymbal pads have…

12th September 1952 – 7th January 2020 “In the beginning it was all about playing, all we were interested in was playing and technique and experimenting with really unorthodox arrangements. Those were really natural things for us to do, there was no plan, it’s just what got us excited. Later we got more interested in arranging in a focused way, and the song, of course. For anyone who’s involved in songwriting as opposed to playing, it becomes a lifelong commitment. How to express things better, how to present them better, how to communicate the idea…”…

“It’s a dream to be doing a project with what I would consider family,” says Kaz Rodriguez, who has drummed for such big names as Josh Groban and Jessie Ware as well as releasing his own music. His interest in hybrid drumming began with adding a Roland SPD-S to his set-up and some inspiration from Andy Gangadeen. “When I was younger, I was obsessed with Andy,” says Rodriguez. “Sorry to freak him out, because I’m sitting right next to him, I was obsessed with him. I remember seeing a Maida Vale session of him having an MPC on the floor and it had pads and he was trying to explain it, showing an audience how he plays samples.” Now he wants to inspire others in turn – “I started playing…

“THEY ALMOST SOUND PRE-EQ’D, WITH A STRONG FUNDAMENTAL PITCH, LITTLE IN THE WAY OF BRIGHT OVERTONES AND A REAL SENSE OF POWERFUL BODY IN THEIR TONE.” PRICE: £2,800 Let me state this from the outset: there is nothing generic or mainstream about this set of drums. Nor should there be, as this unique instrument has been produced by David Nuttall in honour of his company, Jalapeno Drums, reaching its 21st anniversary. The prominent ‘21’ badge displayed front and centre on each drum not only refers to the anniversary year, but to the number of plies of Finnish birch from which the drums are made. Yes, that’s right, 21-ply. Taking these drums out of the cases, the first thing you notice is the smoked sunburst-style matte finish of the birch. It’s…

PRICE: From £21.90 In 2016 Evans released the UV1, boasting not only a newly designed, hard-wearing film but also a special ultraviolet-cured coating from which the heads take their name. Following the success of the line, the UV1 range has since been expanded to include bass drum heads and now we see the introduction of a double-ply snare and tom batter which uses the same technology. The UV2 heads are constructed using two plies of clear 7mm film which are treated to a thin white coating – screen printed and then cured under UV lamps. This unique process is designed to create a hard-wearing surface with a coating that doesn’t wear or chip under prolonged playing. Available sizes at launch include 8", 10", 12", 13", 14", 15", 16" and 18".…

Welcome to Beats Working where the familiar trio of Colin Woolway, Erik Stams and I are spending this issue exploring the world of odd time signatures in ‘Getting Started’, ‘Creative Concepts’ and ‘Technical Difficulties’, respectively. Here we’ll be taking you from mastering your first odd time grooves in 5/8, 7/8, and 9/8 through to challenging two-bar Vinnie Colaiuta-inspired examples. Next in ‘Four-Piece Fills’ Jason Bowld explores another intense sounding fill concept, this time breaking up single-strokes between the hands and feet, while in ‘Percussion Toolbox’ all-round percussion guru Pete Lockett turns his attention to the humble shaker, with some essential patterns that can be used to add sparkle and life to any drum track. In ‘So, You Want To Play Hybrid’ Tom Bradley turns his attention to using triggers on…

Indispensible to the percussionist and cohesive for the music, the shaker is often misconceived as an easy and insignificant member of the percussion family. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The world over, across many percussion traditions, different forms of shakers are central to the ebb and flow of the groove. They come in many shapes and forms; from woven basket caxixi shakers to maracas, taking in ganzá, shekere, small plastic egg shakers, metal cylinders and what feels like an infinity of other varieties, too many to mention. Within many cultural traditions the shaker helps define the shape of the rhythm and often acts as a ‘bonding’ agent among the many different tonal components and instruments. For me, it has often been a first port of call on sessions,…

DRUMMER: Bruce Gary ‘ My Sharona’ was the first single released by LA rock band The Knack and as well as staying at the number one spot for six weeks it has gone on to become an all-time classic. Its most identifiable feature has to be the unison guitar/drum pattern which drummer Bruce Gary orchestrates between the toms and a flammed snare backbeat, with the bass drum underpinning the toms. The key technical element in this pattern is the left-hand movement between the rack tom and snare, essentially on quarter notes. It’s this doubling up of the motion of the right hand between the floor tom and snare that generates not only the flammed backbeat but also the increased intensity of two toms being played on beats 1 and 3,…