I didn't have the knowledge to appreciate what I was hearing and seeing in your principal video - "Mister" - although the YouTube comments gave me some clues. But the first 3 minutes of your "Exploring Quintuplets" video really started to show me what this lady is into, and what she can do.

Thanks, b!

Posted by: Grieved | May 20 2017 15:57 utc | 1

more technology driven stuff.. used to be a time people played music with people.. now individuals play music with machines and no one thinks about it..

there is a whole school of this sort of drumming approach based out of germany - benny greb, jojo mayer (he's actually swiss, but endorses sonor drums which are a german company) and a few others that i am forgetting their names..

personally i find the sounds and approach quite sterile - anti-septic.. not organic and communicative.. seems like a german thing this approach to drums as machines, where people don't interact, or only with the technology...

here is more my style and interest as an example - Wolfgang Muthspiel - austrian guitarist who likes playing with relay pedals, but at least it is done in an interactive way with real people... drummer is brian blade - from Shreveport, Louisiana - plays with daniel lanois, joni mitchell, and many jazz related groups..bass player works a lot of many people - pat metheny and etc..

Posted by: james | May 20 2017 16:24 utc | 2

Unexpected, but a good idea, thanks.

Posted by: Pnyx | May 20 2017 16:43 utc | 3

German drummers? i love this dude.

and here he is with one of my favorite guitar players, and bassists too, for that matter.

cheers!

Posted by: john | May 20 2017 16:57 utc | 4

Thanks b I already had Sina on my list.

#4 Thanks John for the link

Posted by: jo6pac | May 20 2017 21:52 utc | 5

i bumped into the kilimanjaro darkjazz ensemble awhile back. they seem to me to be interesting, as these selections are. not drummers though.

Posted by: jfl | May 21 2017 0:10 utc | 6

Drums and drummers are an essential component of music, given that music is defined as rhythmic sounds created and delivered in a manner pleasing to the ears and, sometimes, the soul.
But drumming is a foundational, background art and it's always nice when frenzied drummers fall silent. It's also nice that people mindful of the contribution made to music by drummers listen carefully when they're drumming.

My car has tyres. They work in the backround, preventing the wheels from wearing out, smoothing bumps and gripping the road firmly if one is careful not to expect too much from them. In a funny kind of way I suppose I love them, or at least like them a lot, because I clean them whenever I wash the car. But if there was a tyre exhibition next door to my home, I'd be happy for the people who found joy in attending but I wouldn't be one of them.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 21 2017 2:21 utc | 7

I hafta say it seems rather odd for a drummer to trot along after the music has been made then add the rhythm, I would argue that a better more aesthetically pleasing result is obtained by laying down the beat first and then let allowing the egoistic melodists to do their thing afterwards.
"Flowery" drummers have their place but as others have said they need to be interacting with their accompanists not isolated from them.
As for this drummers skillset - hmm. Drummers are at their best when not trying to be the center of attention. Bill Bruford before he retired was pretty damn good he loathed this sort of carry-on but still went through the rudiments for a coupla hours every night before performing.
Billy Cobham was the best 'celebrity' drummer I ever saw (with Mahavishnu) tho he would claim Krupa has that honour.

Posted by: Debsisdead | May 21 2017 2:49 utc | 8

On the other hand, someone improved a quirky, but not popular, a-capella song about ?'s Diner,sung by a woman whose name I've also forgotten, and turned it into a hit by adding a quiet drum track and a light sprinkling of brass.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 21 2017 6:25 utc | 9

B - Many thanks. This was the first time I'd heard Anika Nilles drumming. From the four sets I listened to, I consider her a 'true' drummer not just a performance artist.

In return for your gift, here is a link to "Djabote," a 1992 documentary about the making of the album of the same name. It was performed on the Senegalese island of Goree by Senegalese drummer and composer DuDu N'Diaye Rose and his orchestra of sabar drummers. (The sabar is an ancient drum, particularly associated with Senegal, which is struck with a stick and a hand.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V6ZrclO11U&t=1854s

I can promise you that watching Djabote is the next best thing to getting in a vacation. And if you love drumming, and it seems you do, it is an unforgettable experience. Rose (1930-2015), was one of the most renowned African musicians in modern history; he inspired drummers and other types of musicians in all different musical genres from around the world. He also considered drumming a language.

And to quote the Wikipedia article he was "purported to have developed 500 new rhythms, and, indeed, his music is quite complex, featuring ever-changing rhythmic structures."

I'm not sure about "developed" in all those 500 cases, in the sense of thinking them up. He heard rhythms all around him. I had an eerie experience that tended to shore this idea. I started watching a video of a Qigong master giving a demonstration of traditional qigong moves. But I'd forgotten to turn off a video of Rose drumming, which was playing at the same time. To my astonishment it was as if the Qigong master was dancing to the drumming.

So does "Qi" or the life force have rhythms? It certainly seems that way, and I suspect Rose could sense some of them, 500 or so, and transfer what he sensed to a drum. And while the Djabote documentary is all about the music, I think it manages to convey this idea in an intuitive way.

In any case we are creatures of rhythm; for eons our daily labors such as rowing, spinning, threshing, pounding, were very rhythmic and made rhythmic sounds. And even our early machines -- the loom, steam locomotive, printing press, etc. -- made rhythmic sounds as we operated them. Today, much of the rhythmic sounds of our lives has been relegated to musical performances. This could be a reason so many today have a hard time working without music in the background.

But time was, we made our own music just with the simple rhythmic acts of our daily lives. The first six minutes of "FOLI," a 10 minute film by two Europeans, Thomas Roebers and Floris Leeuwenberg, underscore this. They document rhythmic work sounds in an African village -- threshing, pounding grain into flour, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVPLIuBy9CY

From Roebers' introduction to the film at YouTube:

"Life has a rhythm, it's constantly moving. The word for rhythm (used by the Malinke tribes) is FOLI. It is a word that encompasses so much more than drumming, dancing or sound. It's found in every part of daily life. In this film you not only hear and feel rhythm but you see it. It's an extraordinary blend of image and sound that feeds the senses and reminds us all how essential it is."

"Essential" might turn out to be literally true, but that's a topic for neuroscientists and psychologists -- although I'll note that making rhythmic sounds could give people an innate sense of order or control, which they can lack in this era.

But enough thinking about thinking. I invite you to climb onto YouTube's time machine and join scores of drummers as they converged on the Isle of Goree, where the roads were so narrow (at least back then) they couldn't support truck traffic -- and where the electricity was so uncertain the makers of "Djabote" had to jerry-rig wiring to get enough juice to power the large video/ sound recording machines that were first boated to the island then wheeled and hand-carted from the dock to their destination.

Speaking of the electronic equipment in the documentary, its final moments resolve the debate about technology vs. tradition. Without the technical knowhow of the young French team that created Djabote, and without all the electronic geegaws they hauled to Goree, present and future generations would not have the precious record of DuDu N'Diaye Rose and his fabulous orchestra drumming to the heavens. And you can see that Rose is very aware of this, and very pleased with the results as is Eric Serra, the producer.

And of course, without all the techno-wizardry that made YouTube possible, millions wouldn't have the chance to see Djabote, and see it for free.

But speaking of free, a note of caution. While individual videos of the performances in Djabote as well as the full album are available on YouTube, to my knowledge there is only one print of the documentary itself at YouTube. It's not in the best of shape in parts -- and once while I was watching it the sound died. The person who posted it to YouTube somehow got the sound going again a few weeks later.

However, I venture that at one point the print will have to be taken down from YouTube until a remastered version is produced. That might mean it's no longer available for free. In any case, if you have the interest I'd suggest watching it while you still can.

All right, b -- once again, I greatly enjoyed your gift of music, and I hope that you and your readers enjoy Djabote (and my long-winded introduction to it).

Best regards,
Pundita

Posted by: Pundita | May 21 2017 6:26 utc | 10

Re #9 = Tom's Diner, Susanne Vega.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 21 2017 6:56 utc | 11

Posted by: james | May 20, 2017 12:24:40 PM | 2

personally i find the sounds and approach quite sterile - anti-septic.. not organic and communicative..

Allright, here is something real :-D

And this is cute. Erm, I mean she is cute. <3
Meytal Cohen, Tool Lateralus drum cover

Posted by: hopehely | May 21 2017 7:27 utc | 12

@10 pundita

great stuff. thanks.

Posted by: jfl | May 21 2017 7:42 utc | 13

Debsisdead says:

I hafta say it seems rather odd for a drummer to trot along after the music has been made then add the rhythm, I would argue that a better more aesthetically pleasing result is obtained by laying down the beat first and then let allowing the egoistic melodists to do their thing afterwards

you mean, like this...Marco Minnemann's 52 minute improvised drum solo then given to Mike Keneally (and others) to play along to.

Posted by: john | May 21 2017 8:01 utc | 14

She is good, but what about this guy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvsK9ggeics

Posted by: harrylaw | May 21 2017 8:42 utc | 15

Anike Nilles is an innovator. With great precision, impeccable meter and skill, she's made 5 beats fit where they didn't fit before and she is doing it in an array of patterns that she, herself, created. She began doing this when there were nary any individual drummers from whom she could draw reference.

Posted by: fast freddy | May 21 2017 14:02 utc | 16

fast freddy says:

She began doing this when there were nary any individual drummers from whom she could draw reference

if you're going for the most asinine statement of the week, well, you just won it.

...

sorry b, once more for your compatriot, the great Marco Minnemann...live in Vladivostok.

...

and now, back to the drums of war, i guess... ):

Posted by: john | May 21 2017 15:06 utc | 17

Cool. I've been learning to play drums. Nice to see B plays as well - probably a lot better than me.

Posted by: Alaric | May 21 2017 15:44 utc | 18

@7 hoarsewhisperer and @8 debs.. yeah.. i relate.

@10 pundita... that was cool. thanks. may as well throw on some fela kuti, tony allen, high life and etc. etc.- spread it around the african continent where drumming started...

@12 hopehely.. good drumming, but not my style, lol... nine inch nails and tool.. is tool still happening? that is younger folks music!!!

@16 ff.. last sentence.. nah... math metal drumming shit man... pick a number and work off it... she is not doing anything that hasn't already been done before..

@17 john, lol...

Posted by: james | May 21 2017 15:44 utc | 19

@Alaric - I don't play drums myself - tried some decades ago but that was all.
---
@James - Anika explains in the Drum Lesson video how she composes. It is not something she does alone but with her co-musicians. Sometimes it starts with a melody, sometimes with a rhythm. She also does a lot of live performances with ever changing groups all over Germany. Those are mostly classic stuff or cover of (classic) rock-pop music. I have seen one live event with her and it was great.

Anika studied drums (and other instruments, composing, musical theory etc) at the Music University in Manheim. Her introduction of "quintuples" and their variations into (western) drumming as we know it is indeed new and was much acclaimed. You will find few other drummers who ever used these as a base for their pieces.

I usually listen (too) little to the drums when I listen to music. They are there and needed but I don't hear their details, only feel them. I found that to be different with her new, unusual rhythms.

Posted by: b | May 21 2017 18:05 utc | 20

...
Anika studied drums (and other instruments, composing, musical theory etc) at the Music University in Manheim. Her introduction of "quintuples" and their variations into (western) drumming as we know it is indeed new and was much acclaimed. You will find few other drummers who ever used these as a base for their pieces.
...
Posted by: b | May 21, 2017 2:05:23 PM | 20

Well, if it's true that quintuples are new to western music then it's about time. The last innovation in western music, that I'm aware of, was way back in 1959 when the Dave Brubeck Quartet brought out an album called Time Out, which explored some quirky time signatures.
Unfortunately, it only appealed to people who think Jazz is music...

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 22 2017 14:11 utc | 21

Anika's quintuplets video instantly reminded me of German group Triumvirate's 1975 album Spartacus. I was auditioning speakers in a hi-fi shop and they were using Spartacus for speaker demos. I was so impressed that I called into my local record shop, on the way home, and ordered it. It's still one of my favourite albums. One of the things I used to like about it was that it could be played louder than any other music I own without obvious distortion, presumably because being mostly electronic, it's more compatible with electronic reproduction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_(Triumvirat_album)

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 4 2017 7:08 utc | 22