Listen to the Drums on this…

With our special INPUT: Drum Production Masterclass coming up, a common theme at Liveschool lately has been “Listen to the drums on this…”  and as soon as it starts, there goes another afternoon.

George Nicholas (Seekae / Cliques)

Cut Hands – Black Mamba (Very Friendly Records, 2013)

I like how unpredictable this track is – just when you feel like you have picked the rhythm, it changes.  Also the drum sounds are incredible.

Francis Xavier (Motorik Records)

The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up (XL Recordings, 1997)

Neil Mclennan engineered this track to perfection seamlessly blending multiple loop samples, snares and kicks into one amazingly processed bus group. It’s crazy because the drums are so live and organic yet with a modern punch but still dynamic. I was lucky to get hold of the drums individually, they were heavily compressed, and some heavily distorted but somehow worked together as a group. The sub kicks are cleverly compressed, pitched and punchy and fit perfectly in the mix which is why this track sounds killer on club and festival systems.

Adam Maggs

Steve Reich – Clapping Music (1972)

Yama Indra (Gloves)

Idris Muhammad – Could Heaven Ever Be Live This (Kudu Records, 1977)

Love this track, but it’s all about the first 20 seconds really – the phaser on the crash cymbals, the reverb / panning on the toms and of course the incredible touch of  the player behind the kit – that’s Idris Muhammad on the drums. Another reason this track came to mind is that it doesn’t feature any snares or claps – instead relying on using a tom drum on the 2 and 4 beats where the snare would usually be, giving the 2 and 4 much more bass emphasis than is usually found in disco music, while maintaining the backbeat feel.

The mix aside, I love tracks like this that kick it off with all-guns-blazing introductions, this one in particular is quite complex. It’s something often overlooked in modern music – the power of “the intro”. People often don’t dedicate enough time to making their introduction incredible, which is more relevant than ever in modern music when you consider the average listener’s attention span. Apparently one quarter of all listens on Spotify are skipped within the first 5 seconds…write an intro like this and you’ll never fall into the skipped-in-the-first-5-seconds pile.

Thomas McAlister (Alba)

Mestre Geraldo – Mistura No. 1 (Ôba Records, 1977)

If you’re at all drawn towards live percussion I strongly suggest tracking this record down. Deep deep grooves and great percussion micro melodies. This is pure Brazilian techno – there’s subby hits, hissy shakers, cyclic patterns and some snappy drops (check 5:12). I’ve been trying to edit this track for years, but I think it’s best left alone.

Adam B (Wordlife) 

Boys Noize – My Head (Para One Remix) (BoysNoize Records, 2008)

These drums somehow do everything. They are light and fast, yet also tough. They have many hits yet create a simple groove. They are all electronic sounding but don’t all sound like they come from a Roland TR – 909. They are driving but the song still has groove.

There aren’t many different sounds used but there is never a lack of sonic interest. Blew my mind when I first tried to replicate this sound.

Dresvn – Millions of Trees (Sued Records, 2013)