“Funky drums, dub bass, melodic guitar, those are the only rules.” Hailing from Houston, Texas and comprised of Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums, Laura Lee on bass and Mark Speer on guitar, Khruangbin is one of the most exciting instrumental three piece (with the odd vocals thrown in) to emerge in recent years. The band incorporates ... [Continue Reading]
drums
This is How we Fly: Foreign Fields
Formed in 2010 and featuring The Gloaming's Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (Hardanger d’Amore), Seán Mac Erlaine (clarinets & electronics), Nic Gareiss (percussive dance) and Petter Berndalen (drums), This is How We Fly is a contemporary folk group sometimes venturing into jazz and electronica whose centre of gravity lies somewhere ... [Continue Reading]
Midori Takada: Through the Looking Glass
Born in 1951 in Tokyo, Midori Takada is a classically-trained composer and percussionist who was also influenced early on by free jazz, ambient and experimental music. The artist studied western minimalism while exploring African percussion traditions with musicians from Ghana, Senegal and Burkina Faso as well as Asian music ... [Continue Reading]
Hidden Orchestra: Archipelago
Traditional jazz drummers are usually only given a few bars to shine, and consequently these short solos are bursting with brilliant ideas and glimpses of pure rhythmic feel. I began to isolate and reprogram fragments of these rhythmic gems […] read the cover notes to Hidden Orchestra’s first record [amazon text=Night ... [Continue Reading]
Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana: Hungry ghost
American pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Mark Guiliana have just released [amazon text=Mehliana: Taming the dragon&asin=B00GULA0TY], a fantastic electric duo recording for the Nonesuch record label. With Brad Mehldau on synthesisers, Fender Rhodes and piano and Mark Guiliana on drums and electronics, the pair generate a ... [Continue Reading]
Jan Garbarek: Knot of place and time
Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek released the marvellous [amazon text=In Praise of Dreams&asin=B0002IVZ2W] in 2004. More than a solo recording, the whole album works as a conversation between himself, American/Armenian violist Kim Kashkashian and frequent collaborator French/Ivorian drummer Manu Katché. Underpinned by ... [Continue Reading]
