Anything drum orientated and rhythm-based is going to attract my attention, there’s no doubt about that…and, fortunately for me, today’s discovery just happens to be a gorgeous percussive-orientated composition that blends old traditions with modern beats.
Producer, composer and percussionist/drummer Andrea Benini, also known as Mop Mop, hails from Cesena, Italy, but now resides in Berlin. He has been releasing his creations for over 13 years, with a sound that pivots around jazz-funk and world music. Next month Benini is to release, Drumphilia volume 1, a new album that he describes as, “a rhythmic experiment that sits on the fault line between traditional instrumentation and analogue electronics.”
The project is a response to many years spent working with, learning about and listening to African and Caribbean percussion where traditional rhythmic influences are combined with analogue drum machines and drum synths. The aim of this project was to create melody and texture using only carefully tuned percussion instruments, whether organic or electronic. Bass lines were created by blending drum synth tones with the acoustic marimbula, a traditional Caribbean instrument that was often used in place of a bass guitar. Melodies were created with everything from log drums and thumb pianos to early Soviet drum modules and the trailblazing Pearl Syncussion SY-1.
Written, performed, arranged and produced by Andrea Benini, Drumphilia Vol. 1 is “a journey inspired by early African Electronic music and modern beats.” The record features an array of interesting instrumentation, all of which are played by Benini, including: electronic drums, analog drum machines, drum synthesizers, bass synthesizers, syncussion, percussions, log drum, marimbula, kalimba, sansula
El Guerrero (translating as The Warrior) is the album’s first available track brimming with inspiriting layers of hypnotic, dazzling percussion. It’s lively, yet gentle dynamic textures dance and explore with lighthearted clarity as they fuse together to create one vibrant melody. Listen above.
Due on 22nd June via Germany’s Agogo Records, you can pre-order your copy of Drumphilia Vol. 1 from here.
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