Drumhead Magazine - Issue #81

Marko Djordjevic & Michael Waldrop Duet Audio Download!

THE NUMBER 1 DRUM MAGAZINE IN CIRCULATION!

KASPAR

RAST SWISS PRECISION

Jason Bittner

Metal at 50

Jarle Vespestad

The Wizard of Oslo

Polynome - New & Improved DW Space Carbon Snare Drums Developing Linear Hand Patterns 0C1_RAST JM Lt.indd 1

October 2020 | NO. 081 $6.99 US | $7.99 CAN

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ISSUE 081 • SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020

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BY BRENT KEEFE

COVER PHOTO & ABOVE: DANIEL EATON 004 TABLE OF CONTENTS

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“One thing that I learned in the studio is that I can’t do this any better than I am, at any point in time, so I have to accept that.” - Kaspar Rast

006 Editor’s Letter 043 enSNARED Issues 049 Legends Issues

050 “Katrina’s Path”

Metal At 50

BY ALEX COHEN

054 Siemy Di

030 JASON BITTNER

Michael Waldrop & Marko Djordjevic

4-Way Coordination - 9-Beat Cycle

056 Ben Johnston

Developing Linear Hand Patterns, Pt. II

How to Not Lose Your Shirt or Your Mind During a Pandemic!

058 Matt Starr

BY BRENT KEEFE

Download Issue 81 MP3s @ drumheadmag.com 01 - 04 “Katrina’s Path”

Michael Waldrop & Marko Djordjevic

05 - 14 Siemy Di

4-Way Coordination - 9-Beat Cycle

15 - 22 Ben Johnston

Developing Linear Hand Patterns, Pt. II

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New & Improved

064 Gear 066 Releases

044 JARLE VESPESTAD The Wizard Of Oslo

060 Polynome

CDs/DVDs/Books

076 Classified 078 Back Issues 079 Subscriptions

TABLE OF CONTENTS 005

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I find that the older I get, the less frequent it is that I meet someone new, whether male or female, that ends

up in the small circle of what I consider to be real friends. Sure, I have thousands of acquaintances all over the world, and although I’m grateful to have all of them in my life, there’s a substantial difference between them and the handful of true friends I’m surrounded by. And, I can say the very same for drummers and music.

It’s not that often that someone new comes along that “fits the bill,” so to speak. I will always have Steve Gadd, Dave Mattacks, Jim Keltner, Simon Phillips, Andy Newmark, Manu Katché, Tony Williams and all the others that I’m always going on about, along with artists such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, John Coltrane, Joaquin Rodrigo and many others in my life, because like a true friend, I can always count on them to be there for me, time and time again without fail.

That’s what friends are for and that goes beyond acquaintances.

That being said, every so often I do meet someone in my later years that becomes more than just an acquaintance, in that they embody all that I look for, expect and require in a friend. And every once in a blue moon a new drummer and artist come along that do the same; one such drummer is Kaspar Rast and one such artist is Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin, with whom Kaspar plays.

Ronin is unlike any other artist I know. You don’t listen to Ronin, you experience Ronin.

In this day and age of “math music,” Ronin plays with more numbers than one can count or imagine, and yet, nothing seems contrived or complex for the sake of being tricky. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beyond complex and quite tricky, but above all else, it’s extremely musical, and that’s what makes Ronin so unique and special. They play with time, rhythm and melody, like a bunch of neighborhood kids in a sandbox–each one the master of his own domain, though happily sharing and playing with the others in a way that the bigger picture is the common goal for all. Whether it be a melody, rhythm, pattern, polyrhythm or another subtle nuance, I hear something new every time I listen to the them and immerse myself deeper into the vast musical webs they weave.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Kaspar and Ronin to the readers of Drumhead, and although there’s quite a library of material [Moduls] to choose from and check out, may I suggest a personal favorite to start with - “Modul 52” from the Llyria CD. From Nik’s 5:3 polyrhythmic piano intro to Kaspar’s 12/4 groove (is he thinking one phrase of 12, two phrases of 6, four phrases of 3 or three phrases of 4?) underneath a melody made up of opposing sixteenth-note phrases of 1E - A2 - A3 - 4E (are they thinking 4/4 x 3 or 6/8 x 4, etc.), there’s enough going on to keep your ears and your mind busy for some time; no pun intended. Absolutely brilliant and so much fun!

Enjoy...

YOUR TICKET TO RIDE SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 NO. 081 ISSN 1935-1607 WWW.DRUMHEADMAG.COM

EDITORIAL Jonathan Mover Editor-in-Chief mover@drumheadmag.com Charlie Weinmann Managing Editor charlie@drumheadmag.com Genoveva Winsen Vice President genoveva@drumheadmag.com Jen Brosch Production Manager jen@drumheadmag.com

ART

James Kloiber Art Direction james@drumheadmag.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Josie Dahl josie@drumheadmag.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Alex Cohen, Joe Crabtree, Siemy Di, Ben Johnston, Brent Keefe, Matt Starr, Michael Waldrop

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Daniel Eaton

MUSIC NOTATION by FINALE

Siemy Di, Ben Johnston, Michael Waldrop

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006 EDITOR’S LETTER

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Kaspar Rast Swiss Precision

Interview by Brent Keefe Photos by Daniel Eatonv 008 KASPAR RAST

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