Tom Tom Magazine Issue 9: The Beat Makers Issue

a magazine about female drummers

tom tom magazine

santigold grimes pursuit grooves rucyl mills ripley fader venu$ x nguzUnguzU

is s u e 9 | s p ring 20 1 2 | usD $6

b e at m a k e r s i s s u e

welcome to tom tom issue nine. have a seat, rela x, and enjoy the ride.

contributors FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mindy Abovitz (info@tomtommag.com) DESIGN Lauren Stec (a.j.)

DESIGN direction Candice Ralph (candice@tomtommag.com) WEB MASTER Harlo Holmes (wizard) managing editor Colleen Siviter (grace) guest editor Nick Zurko (life saver) distribution Segrid Barr (pizza party) NORTHWEST CORRESPONDENT Lisa Schonberg (for president of the universe) a rt by Mo sell e S pill er of B oom C h ick

LA CORRESPONDENTS Liv Marsico, Kiran Gandhi (golden nuggets) PHOTOGRAPHERS Camilo Fuentealba, Bex Wade, Meg Wachter, Soohang Lee, Martin Evans, Stefano Galli, Elizabeth Venable, Jasmina Tomic WRITERS Van Alexander, Joanna Gutierrez, Tim Walsh, Christy Edwards, Anika Sabin, Jenifer Ruano, Rebecca DeRosa, Kiran Gandhi, Peyman Nasehpour, G*LEE, Natalie Peart ILLUSTRATORs Minka Sicklinger, Rachel Day, Lauren Maresca, Karen Codd, Aimee Norwich, Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, Lauren Stec tech editor Stephanie Barker tech wRITERS Morgan Doctor, Lien Do, Aimee Norwich, Rachel Fuhrer, Rene Ormae-Jarmer, Candace Hansen, Jose Medeles, Rucyl Mills

tom tom staffer love

colleen siviter

came on board this issue as our managing editor. Oh boy. We could not have done this without her.

Cheers to you Colleen.

Here's to hoping you stay in NYC 4 eva. is a regular here at the Tom Tom offices. He does everything from collect dog toys around the office to wait patiently for dog treats. We could NOT have done this without him. santo

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REVIEWs editor Rebecca DeRosa

is our queen of distro. She is the one you may have talked to if you talked to someone at Tom Tom about distro.

segrid barr

nick zurko is as passionate about lady beat makers as I (Mindy) am. That's really f*in passionate.

Thanks to Nick for coming on as our guest editor this issue and for his extensive knowledge of music.

REVIEWs team Anika Sabin, Attia Taylor, Jamie Varriale Velez, Nikkiesha N. McLeod, Bonnie MacAllister COPY EDITORs Rebecca DeRosa, Colleen Siviter, Nick Zurko TOM TOM TV Tamar Glezerman, Elizabeth Venable, Jodi Darby, Anthony Lonzano, Anthony Buhay interns NYC: Joanna Gutierrez, Pat Sarabia LA: Nick Fermin Portland: Misti R. Miller, Katherine Paul THANK YOU All of you, Ima, Aba, Rony, Shani, Stephanie LaVigne, Ace Hotel, Dell & Intel, The Participation Agency, DRUM! Magazine, TRX Cymbals, Hit Like a Girl 2012 (all sponsors, judges and participants), Bang Bang NY, Laura Taylor & Guitar Center CONTACT Address: 302 Bedford Ave PMB #85 Brooklyn, NY 11249 Email: info@tomtommag.com Corrections Kasey Peters was the interviewer on the Bridie Stagg article in Issue 8. Thank you! Sorry we missed you.

ON THE COVER FRONT: Santigold by Sean Thomas BACK: Grimes by John Londono 4 the pack

inside

Welcome to Issue 9 of Tom Tom Magazine

issue 9

What does it mean to call oneself a drummer? If drumming is defined as producing continuous rhythmic noise, the traditional notion of a drummer being stuck behind a kit quickly falls apart. With this issue, we’ve aimed to expand the concept of drumming to reflect the new audio culture that has arisen over the past several decades where artists are far less tied down to one instrument. As Vanese Smith, aka Pursuit Grooves, puts it, making music can be like having “multiple personalities,” reconciling the different influences and tastes that one has and producing something truly singular.

By our nature, drummers are great listeners; we have to be, to replicate what we hear and play it back in some recognizable form that gets us gigs. Listening opens us up to a world of sounds, triggering the desire to expand the vocabulary of our “kit.”

recipes from the road 5

backing track tips 10

venus x 25

So why is a magazine about drumming, and female drummers in particular, choosing to cover producers, beat makers and programmers? Simply put, we want to pull back the veil that so often shrouds electronic production and help those who want to begin incorporating electronics into their set-up, while introducing those of you who might not have considered using gear to the limitless possibilities that it affords. At the end of the day, it all comes back to rhythm and physicality; be it matching records by hand, banging it out on an MPC, or incorporating software with MIDI controllers.

In this issue you will find interviews with Santigold, who is releasing her second album this month with producer credits on countless other tracks as well. Grimes, U.K.'s hottest new programmer, Rucy Mills, Pursuit Grooves and others. We have more of the same great coverage of kit players as well with interviews with Violet the Cannibal and LKN. Whether you find yourself into the beat makers or the kit players we hope you have as much fun reading it as we did putting it together.

santigold 28

grimes 32

pursuit grooves 36

nguzunguzu 38

magic echo music

It’s all about the beat after all.

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With love,

gals rock

Mindy Seegal Abovitz Editor-in-Chief & Nick Zurko Guest Editor

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diy suitcase kit 48

diy suitcase kit crotche te d sn are at g als r ock pa r is, F r

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fan love Made by you, our Tom Tom readers.

Keep it up!

We love it.

by i tta abovi tz

by ci ndy blackman sa nta na

by a ndy blu m

by coco r oy

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see more event pics online / we like to party

tom tom : events dell: create. work. inspire. with Tom Tom & the suzan

book fair Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NYC

photo s by mi ndy abovi tz

namm 2012 Anaheim, CA

photo by a nika sab in

ace hotel palm springs Palm Springs, CA

photo by m indy abov itz

hit like a girl 2012 Worldwide

p hoto s by mindy abov itz

Press: MEOW, Out Magazine, PC Blogs, ChipChick, Gear Diary, Gawker More parties we threw: Ace Hotel DJ nights NYC Future Parties: Ace Hotel Palm Springs un-Coachella, SevetyTwo Space Release Party (NYC)

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coffee break

Recipes from the Road With Tim Walsh : drummer for The Stepkids i llu strat io ns by kar en codd

Cold-brewed Coffee Anyone who grew up within a fifty mile radius of Boston can speak the wicked truth about cawfee — that it keeps you "regulah."

And the same dudes who were tellin' me this were ordering their cawfee "regulah,'" which usually means a good amount of both sugar and milk.

I'm not picky, I can take coffee black or with sugar, Splenda or coconut sugar, milk, soy or almond milk, cream, half and half, even that vanilla flavored non-dairy no-expiration-date sludge. About a month before our first U.S. tour, my partner and I had begun changing our coffee game by cold brewing, and now I swear it is the most delicious way to drink it.

Come to find out, the method is easy and the tools are available for free at most common road stops.

The only item you need to purchase is the coffee, so do yourself a favor and get a good quality bean. Many cities have boutique roasters like Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Metropolis, Blue Bottle, Ritual, or Victoria, where you can grab the freshest bags. Ask them to do a medium grind to the beans

(yes, grinding the beans will decrease quality over time, but a nice bag of grinds in the car will negate weird van smells). Things that you will need that are available for free at gas stations are coffee filters and paper funnels. At shows, ask for a bottle of water and keep it, and if they don't give you a free one, don't ever play there again.

The coffee takes about 18 hours, so I would normally make it in the van after noon.

Using the funnel, fill 1/4 of the bottle with grinds and then the rest with water. Cap it and let it sit until the next day. If you stay somewhere that doesn't have ice, hopefully it has a freezer, so make ice. When you wake up the next morning with your bandmates in the single-bed hotel room, on someone's uncomfortable couch, or in the house of the "boy/girl you thought you wouldn't see again," grab the coffee filter and funnel and prepare to make the coffee.

Place the paper (or metal) coffee filter inside the funnel, then set the funnel on top of a bottle or cup and pour through. Before you drink it, the concentrate MUST be halved with water, so I would usually fill a bottle halfway with water first, and then add the coffee. The method I used was to balance the funnel and filter over the bottle and pour the concentrate in. Close the bottle; shake it a few seconds, then pour it over ice in a cup.

If I want any of the above mentioned additions, I will add them prior to the shaking.

Serve and prepare for a long van ride!

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the pulse and the beat

secret drum band wor d s by joanna gutierre z p hoto s by ma rtin eva ns

This band is Lisa Schonberg’s (Explode into Colors, STLS) latest musical offering. Secret Drum Band is a seven-member percussion and noise ensemble that includes the likes of Heather Treadway, Clea Partridge, Rachel Blumberg and sts. Sound awesome? We think so too! Based in Portland, Oregon, the band plays their interpretations of Schonberg’s compositions. She draws her inspiration from natural and urban soundscapes to create some interesting and sometimes haunting compositions. Look out for them.

facebook.com/secretdrumband

ivana lapolla by joanna g u t ier r ez photo cou rt esy of a rt ist

Lapolla is a fierce drummer who hails from Argentina. Her current projects include the bands Polen and Montecarlo. She describes Polen as a refuge, a place to go to unload both musically and spiritually. They don’t claim to be a part of a specific genre, they just play what they like.

Montecarlo, on the other hand, is a return to 70s rock and roll, the kind of music she has identified with ever since she was a child. Whichever band she’s playing for, Ivana rocks it. Hard.

myspace.com/montecarlorock

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ddmc W o r d s by joanna g u t ier r ez photo by dant e photog r a phy

DJ K-la Vie, drummer Brittany B (Cee Lo Green) and MC Liberty Jayne are the rockin’ ladies of DDMC (which stands for DJ, Drummer, MC). Based in L.A., these women combine their different styles and experiences to make what they call “feel good” music. Their main goal in life is to have fun and enjoy what life gives you! They try to spread this message via their vivid imagery and playful tunes. If you like high-energy songs with sassy lyrics and sick beats, this is definitely a band to look out for.

ddmcmusic.com

mitten wor d s by s tep h ba rker p hoto by Remy Steiner

Maia Macdonald and Joanna Katcher make up the Brooklyn-based, digital duo that is known as Mitten. They program everything from scratch, using a grid, with beats that stray from the norm. For example, their track “Cavalcade,” contains no two measures that are exactly the same rhythmically. Their samples are comprised of cut up Casio beats, hidden gems found in software libraries, original creations, or a mix of all three.

They use Pro Tools as their main production software, even though they feel midi is a lot easier to manage in Logic. Maia and Joanna tend to work separately with Joanna creating a basic instrumental track, which she then sends to Maia for vocal layering. Files are then sent back and forth for finishing touches until they unite for rehearsal. Mitten is currently working on their next record, set to release in mid-late 2012. Their latest record, “See You Bye,” is available online now on iTunes. You can also catch their video series every Tuesday on homoground.com.

mynameismitten.com

drumcat Photo s a nd wo r d s cou rt esy of a rt ist ed it ed by m indy abov itz

Drumcat is an all-female percussion group based out of Korea.

They have unbelievable precision and timing. These ladies have a range of drumming techniques and skill and have entertained audiences all over the world. With a choreographed show, the Drumcat women show jaw-dropping skill playing hanging snares, cymbals, huge floor toms and a full drum kit. The show includes a traditional Korean folk singer, a violinist, marching band style numbers and rock backing tracks. Looking forward to seeing them live someday!

drumcat.co.kr

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this is the list

beat makers to look out for by n ick z u r ko i llu strati on by a im ee no rw ich

Here are some noise makers who are making moves from the dance floor to concert halls. Upholding traditions and breaking rules, some even doing so at the same time.

AFG

Having cut her teeth playing in rock bands in East Germany, AFG (Antye Greie) drew attention through her novel use of abstract production and poetics and continues to perform and collaborate with other artists, including the all-female electronic group The Lappetites.

antyegreie.com

Aurora Halal

Besides DJing and throwing bizarre and wonderful parties through her agency Vibes Management, this Brooklynite is starting to catch serious heat as part of the gear-heavy throwback house duo Innergaze.

aurorahalal.com

Colleen

Working primarily with loops built around her elaborate set-up of instruments and percussion, the French composer has released two game-changing LP’s on the Leaf Label and continues to produce and perform her delicately powerful music with a fourth album expected imminently.

colleenplays.org

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Cooly G

Since bursting through the male-dominated UK Bass scene in 2009 with her underground smash “Love Dub,” this former soccer player keeps raising the bar in the UK funky genre, with her debut album set to drop on the prestigious Hyperdub label early this year.

myspace.com/coolyg

Jenifa Mayanja

Repping Connecticut across some of the top clubs in Europe, Asia, and the US, the Ugandan-born Mayanja has been on a tear since 2007, releasing a string of deep house burners on her own Bu-Mako Recordings.

soundcloud.com/jenifamayanja

Lauel Halo

Stella Om Source

Drawing comparisons from Kate Bush to Derrick May while sounding wholly her own, this Brooklyn resident and keyboard shaman has already received massive praise for her two EPs for the Hippo In Tanks label, along with her 40-minute odyssey on NNA Tapes, leaving us salivating for her upcoming release under the alias King Felix.

This synth sorceress made a name for herself with a number of tapes and records documenting her lush and bubbling soundscapes—not to mention her cosmic album covers for similar artists like Oneohtrix Point Never—and in the past year has started to take inspiration from Detroit Techno to create truly singular dance jams that envelope the listener with their warm arpeggiations and dreamy pads.

laurelhalo.com

facebook.com/stellaromsource

Steffi

Unicorn Hard-On

Having made her name internationally through her smooth-as-silk DJing, this Dutch Dj and producer has reigned supreme over the Berlin club scene’s leading light, Panorama Bar, since 2007. After a decade behind the decks, she’s been putting out a select and incomparable twelve-inches of her deep productions, culminating in her extraordinary 2011 full-length debut, “Yours & Mine” on Ostgut Ton, in addition to running her own label, Klackson.

A true pioneer who is just now starting to get her dues, Val Martino was one of the first noise artists to start incorporating dance rhythms and tropes into her music while her male peers were still fixated on power and loudness. Almost ten years later and noise techno is all the rage, with Martino’s Unicorn Hard-On project releasing a slew of genre-bending cassettes and CD-R’s across multiple labels, including her own Tangled Hares label.

myspace.com/steffiklakson

tangledhares.com

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We know it ain’t easy. Playing to a pre-recorded track can make a band sound incredibly tight, bigger than life and replicate album material more precisely, We knowor it it ain’t to a pre-recorded make atoband sound caneasy. be aPlaying train wreck.

There are so track manycan variations playing to a track incrediblyortight, thanmost life and replicate material more precisely, withbigger samples, commonly if italbum is a full instrumentation track or or ita concan be a stant train drum wreck.loop There arethe sodrummer many variations to control playing the to atrack trackvia or computer. with then will often samples, No most commonly if it are is ausing full instrumentation track orhere a constant drum matter what you to generate your track are some tipsloop by then the drummer will other often control the on track via computer.

No matter what you are me and some drummers playing with a backbeat. using to generate your track here are some great tips by drummers on playing with a back-beat.

c u t o u t illu st r at io n by r ach el day

Morgan Doctor Have a separate monitor for yourself through your headphones or ear buds that gives you a click

Jane Boxall Allen Shiori Takenoshita with the track. There are different ways of doing this, which depend upon the electronic gear you are using to generate the track or samples and your set up with a mixer or no mixer. If you are

I like to have the backing track on (on Abelton Live for example) I use most of send my practice using a computer to run a track you can the clicktime just to your earbuds, then I output. put isolation/silencer practicing with a metronome at headphone headphones over the top. That way, I can various tempos hearIf the track withoutclick in your headphones, then the sequence or pattern of it isbacking not possible toclearly have a monitor my drums drowning out. a high pitched rhythmic pattern. High-pitched patterns (ie. claps, bells, the track needs toithave

.

snare, shaker, hi hat, high pitch synth pad) are the only ones you will be able to hear while also playing your drums.

Jessie Nelson

The most ideal situation you want is for you (the drummer) to be responsible for playing to the track and the rest of the band playing to you. Trying to play along to a track or loop without When playing along with a backingjust track, headphones or earbuds and just listening through your drum wedge-will be another variable sure you aretoclued in tothrough where the that I guarantee will create problems. make So, take listening the track a wedge out of the downbeat (beats two and four) is. Keep equation.

cu t o u t i llu st r at i o n by r ache l day

that in your head and in your body as you play along and begin to play on the Always devise a way to play with headphones or earbuds when playing to aoff track. If there is minibeats or song even or just accent thetracks one and thein and out, the mal instrumentation that is being added to the if the added come three inthose the groove best option is to play to a click and to trigger sounds.with an electronic pad (DXT-12 multi

by Yamaha or SPD-30 by Roland are both great devices). Why do I say let go of a playing to a fulllength track and triggering sections? Because playing to a full-length track gives you no freedom for change, the lengths for each section are fixed and if you veer off the click or the band gets lost in the arrangement it is harder to recover. If you are triggering as you go along in the song then you can lengthen parts if need be and make adjustments along the way.

If you want to incorporate samples into a song, the best thing to do it to create 2, 3, or 4 bar samples that can be triggered when you hit them. Having samples that are 8 bars (depending on tempo) can be way too long and create the same problems as working with a track. It is much easier to stay in sync with a loop that is shorter length than longer. And again if you choose to not play to a click and play to the samples make sure whatever samples you are playing with have clear cutting, high pitched patterns that are easy to follow and that create a clear pulse.

Morgan Doctor Have a separate monitor for yourself through your headphones or ear buds that gives you a click with the track. There are different ways of doing this, which depend upon the electronic gear you are using to generate the track or samples and if your set up includes a mixer or no mixer. If you are using a computer to run a track (on Abelton Live for example) you can send the click just to your headphone output.

If it is not possible to have a monitor click in your headphones, then the sequence or pattern of the track needs to have a high-pitched rhythmic pattern. High-pitched patterns (ie. claps, bells, snare, shaker, hi hat, high-pitch synth pad) are the only ones you will be able to hear while also playing your drums.

Always devise a way to play with headphones or earbuds when playing to a track. If there is minimal instrumentation that is being added to the song, or if the added tracks come in and out, the best option is to play to a click and to trigger those sounds with an electronic pad (DXT-12 multi by Yamaha or SPD-30 by Roland are both great devices). Why do I say let go of playing to a full-length track and triggering sections?

Because playing to a full-length track gives you no freedom for change, the lengths for each section are fixed and if you veer off the click or the band gets lost in the arrangement, it is harder to recover. If you are triggering as you go along in the song then you can lengthen parts if need be and make adjustments along the way.

If you want to incorporate samples into a song, the best thing to do it to create 2, 3 or 4 bar samples that can be triggered when you hit them. Having samples that are 8 bars (depending on tempo) can be way too long and create the same problems as working with a track. It is much easier to stay in sync with a loop that is shorter in length than longer.

And again, if you choose to not play to a click and play to the samples make sure whatever samples you are playing with have clear cutting, high-pitched patterns that are easy to follow and that create a clear pulse.

The most ideal situation you want is for you (the drummer) to be responsible for playing to the track and the rest of the band playing to you. Trying to play along to a track or loop without headphones or earbuds and just listening through your drum wedge will just be another variable that I guarantee will create problems. So, take listening to the track through a wedge out of the equation.

FULL NAME: KRISTIN MUELLER HOMETOWN: Jersey City, NJ Past bands: Hidden Driveways Current bands: Christy & Emily, Caulfield Sisters, Gloria Deluxe, Lucinda Bl ack Bear, Cl are Burson, Michael Hearst, Anton Sword Day job: musician/audio engineer

a conversation with kristin mueller by chri sty e dwa r d s / Photo s by soohang l ee

The first time I saw Kristin Mueller play was at St. Ann’s Warehouse with Gloria Deluxe in a rock operetta. By April of 2010, she was in Germany at the Klangbad Studio recording as one half of the new rhythm section of my band Christy & Emily. I was excited to get Kristin’s sound on record. In rehearsal, I’m apt to give inane suggestions like “Can you play a bada blippty diga doon doon?” and miraculously she seems to understand. Look for Kristin’s solo albums and (in shameful self promotion) the Christy & Emily album in early 2012.

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Christy and emily and kristin / christyandemily.com / kristinmueller.com

Christy Edwards: How did you get so good? Kristin Mueller: I

started playing drums after being a guitar player for many years. It wasn't until I was about 28 that I had a drum kit of my own. I found an abandoned one piled up in the closet at a friend’s place. I never thought I would become a drummer; it was just a fun tool for songwriting that felt natural right away.

Later, I ran into a friend who had just lost the drummer for his band, Hidden Driveways. I had a kit so we started gigging.

How is playing for the theater different than playing in a band?

Playing for the theater company Accinosco (Cynthia Hopkins/ Gloria Deluxe) has been a rare experience. Theater is not my background and I was intimidated at first. The process is very different from band rehearsal and requires a large amount of patience. You have to be invisible when the audience is focused elsewhere and then launch into a song like you've been playing all night. In a regular band you can change things up, but in theater you can't deviate because of subsequent related actions.

Cynthia has to move from one side of the stage to hit her light cue, which triggers the sound cue, etc.

Why have you played in so many bands? Since I'm self-taught, playing in a lot of bands was the only way for me to become more confident. Starting out you tend to overplay as you learn each new physical move. You have to be patient and have bandmates that are supportive. Hidden Driveways and The Caulfield Sisters were both like this. These bands let me play with power and speed. Soon I was playing with musicians like Lucinda Black Bear, Clare Burson, Christy & Emily and other talented folks. It’s fun to find ways to support the songs and have sincere emotional connections with people. It's one of the best aspects of being a musician.

"It’s fun to find ways to support the songs and have sincere emotional connections with people. It's one of the best aspects of being a musician."

You are a dynamite guitar player and can play the thing upside down like Jimi Hendrix. How did you learn to do that? My brother

had a junky guitar I used to play upside down. No one noticed it was wrong because I was just a kid messing around. Later, I convinced my father to buy a new guitar for my 16th birthday.

So I tried to learn it regular because a guitar teacher had told me, "if you’re ever at a party, no one will have a lefty guitar." I lasted three days before I turned it around.

What other projects do you have in the works? I'm finishing

a second solo album with lots of friends playing on fully instrumented songs. Also there’s another project in the works which is acoustic, inspired by my parents selling my childhood home. Before they handed over the keys I went there and recorded in the empty house. It was intense and quite cathartic.

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myspace.com/theblack angels

the backbeat of The Black Angels INTERVIEW by J ENI F ER RUA N O photo by A mb er Rad emach er

Stephanie Bailey, drummer of The Black Angels – the psychedelic rock band from Austin, TX – is both fierce and hypnotic behind the kit. She provides a depth to The Black Angels kaleidoscopic sound by driving out beats evocative of a tribal drum. tom tom magazine: Tell us about how you came to be a member of The Black Angels. Stephanie Bailey: I started playing

in bands in middle school. When I first started out, I played in an all-girls alternative/punk band; we were a three piece and played a mix of originals and cover songs from bands like Propagandhi and Hole. We never had a name, and only played birthday parties and school events. Then I played in another band in high school, they were called the Linoleum Experiment. I ended up leaving that band because they wanted to go on tour, and I couldn't go unless my mom came along.

During my junior year in college, I finally brought my drums up to Austin and joined another band with a horrible name, Blue Couch. Shortly after that, in April of 2004, I joined The Black Angels.

part we all come together to structure and mold the songs.

As a drummer, sometimes I will come up with a drum beat, and then someone will start playing a bass line or guitar riff, and a song will unfold from there. Or sometimes someone will bring a guitar riff to practice, and then I will try different drum beats for each part, and then I use the one that best fits the song.

What is a trick/strategy you use that is not necessarily orthodox but works for you personally? Most right-handed

players, if they are using one tom, position their tom on the left side of the bass drum. For some reason, maybe because I have never had a lesson on the drums, it was always more comfortable for the one tom to be placed to the right of my bass drum — as a left-handed drummer would have it. I use my rack and floor tom a lot, so to have them close together always allowed me to move more smoothly and quicker between the two.

Who would you name as some of your drumming inspirations?

Some drummers that I really like are Mitch Mitchell, John French, John Bonham, Maureen Tucker, Dave Grohl, Keith Moon, Jaki Liebezeit, John Densmore, and Bill Ward.

What attracted you to the drum set? I am not sure what originally attracted me to the drum set, but I supposedly kept asking for one when I was four years old ­— which is when I received my first set. It wasn't really a drum set, but more of a plastic contraption composed of a white plastic bass drum (with a big yellow chicken on the front head), one white plastic tom, and to top it all off — a plastic cowbell.

What’s it like being the only female in a band? I grew up with all sisters, so it is the complete opposite of what I was always used to; now I get to see what it would be like if I had grown up with all brothers. Out of the 10 people on the bus, I am the only female, which is tough at times, but I have definitely become a stronger, more audible female while working in a male-dominated industry and environment.

How do you stay fit and fierce? While touring I do not really do much to stay fit besides eat healthy, take vitamins, and hopefully that balances out the drinking. However, at home I try to go running, and I do lots of outdoor activities whenever I can.

What keeps you going when things get rough on the road? Personal space. When you have been on the road for a while and surrounded by people all the time, personal space is something that (if I can find) can make me feel rejuvenated and relaxed again. An iPod and really good, noise-cancelling headphones are really helpful too.

Describe the collaboration process as a drummer. The col-

laboration process for every song is different, but for the most

The Black Angels, creators and hosts of the 5th annual Austin Psych Fest, play this April in Austin, TX.

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Musical duo Palo Verde channels pure rock n’ roll magic i nte rvi e w by jodi dar by & el izab eth v enabl e photos by el izab eth v enabl e

Lauren K. Newman, more commonly known as LKN, slays on the drum kit, employing sometimes frantic yet purposeful beats. In her new band Palo Verde, LKN teams up with partner and guitarist Terrica Kleinknecht to create spontaneous compositions rife with chemistry and skill. Tom Tom correspondent Elizabeth Venable took a ride with Palo Verde in their van after they performed at the recent Portland Drum Fair.

Tom Tom Magazine: Were you one of those kids who drummed on things all the time? LKN: (laughs) Yes, definitely. You

know…dinner table, fists, forks, whatever. My first drum set was a little margarine container with chopsticks.

How old were you when you were doing that? Like five years old. I think that’s when I really started playing actual beats.

And I used to also throw temper tantrums in rhythm on the floor…in time (imitates screaming in rhythm).

When did music end up becoming real for you? It was real

immediately. I don’t think there was ever a moment when I

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doubted [it]. At the age of five I knew my destiny was music.

My dad was really supportive, and showed me and my brother videotapes of The Who. I mean, imagine being five and seeing Keith Moon destroying a drum set. As a little girl, I was like, me and him are the same. That’s me when I’m big. I felt like that was what I was going to do with my life…just fuckin’ rock.

You were born with that confidence. Yes, confident. Ambitious as fuck. I spent all my free time practicing. When I got into middle school, I started taking snare drum in the drum line. And I was first chair for three years. We were playing army corps, like ratamacues, and all that shit. I threw so much energy into being the best ever.

Do you think that being a female had anything to do with your drive? I’m sure. Yes, you know, it’s a man’s world, and I’m not

a man-hater—I love people, we’re all humans. But rock ‘n’ roll is a man’s domain, largely, right? Who do we always talk about in pop culture? We talk about the Stones, The Beatles, we talk about Kings of Leon. Nobody’s ever talking about Sheila E…or Wendy and whatever…Laurie Anderson maybe…so I think yeah, it was a way of me being like, just because I have tits doesn’t mean I can’t fucking bring the brawn. That also compelled me

Palo Verde is a psychedelic heavy female rock band / paloverdeband.net

to work out. I’m an athletic nut. I pump iron and stuff—when I’m healthy— just ‘cause I’m a chick doesn’t mean I can’t shred, you know?

So when you’re playing, are you thinking about what you’re playing or is it more muscle memory? It’s a little bit of both.

When I think about what I’m doing, I mess up. Sometimes I’m thinking, “Ooh I want to accent this phrase…” — so when I do that, I inevitably fuck up. The best playing I’ve experienced is when I’m seriously nearly blacked out. Not from booze or anything—because I don’t drink—but blacked out from being totally in the zone. Just like, head down, listening to Terrica’s guitar.

That muscle memory thing is definitely where I’m at more often than not.

ally turn me on. It was a double drum thing and had aspects of performance art. We had our first gig booked and Terrica was like, “Fuck it, I’m gonna grab a guitar, I’m gonna make noise, you’re gonna play the drum set, this is gonna be our first Stick It In show.” We eventually changed our name to Palo Verde, after a nuclear reactor we saw in Arizona when we were on tour — ‘cause it was hard to tell people we were called Stick It In. We started to feel dirty about it.

It was all spontaneous composition. We would straight up look at each other right before the show and be like, “What are you feeling?” Every show was spontaneous composition.

And not improv.

So it’s not a jam. It’s like a gift from above. We’re just the por-

What do you listen to? Rock ‘n’ roll primarily. I love bands like

Shellac, U.S. Maple, Bellini, anything on Touch and Go. I love angular post-rock. Classic rock. Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Who. I even love Pearl Jam. Anything where the guitar is a rhythm instrument.

Do you want to do any touring? We’re sort of tied down financially…but we want to. I want Palo Verde to play to more audiences. I want to go to Europe.

tal it’s being channeled through. On a good night, we’re lucky enough to channel a song through us. Which makes every show nerve-wracking and inspiring.

You seem so dialed into each other; your body language and the way you respond to each other, it’s like you have a deeper agreement about how to create the composition. Nice.

Could you talk a little bit about Palo Verde?

Palo Verde started in 2006 as a drum duo. We had just started dating and I had always wanted to play with her. Terrica used to send me text messages about ratamacues and it would re-

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Violet the Cannibal Interview by Rebecca DeRosa Photos by Stefano Galli

Violet the Cannibal claims to be the hardest working female drummer in the UK and she might be right. Heck, she might even be the hardest working drummer, period. She logged over 250 shows last year with Adam Bomb and JOANovARC. The latter is the only all-woman British band to have a song on Rock Band 3 on Xbox 360. Choose your favorite rock star avatar and try playing Violet's part in the song "Sisters."

Violet's hair color may change as fast as the tides, but her madhouse drumming stays deliriously consistent. She obliterates the kit with super-controlled mayhem making her a joy to watch live. With her constant touring, she's sure to play near you. (Don't miss it!)

I dared to ask Violet to share with us what the life of a cannibal drummer is all about—and I somehow came out with all my limbs intact.

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myspace.com/violet_the_cannibal

Tom Tom Magazine: Okay, I have to ask about your name. I hope you’re not actually a cannibal! Violet the Cannibal: My name is Violet the

Cannibal…. Unfortunately I am a cannibal, but only on rare occasions.

Just don't eat my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I don't share!

Which companies are you endorsed by? I am endorsed by RCI drums,

Protection Racket Cases, Aquarian Drum Heads, Paiste, Stagg Products and Quick Stick.

How do bright colors and props add to your performance?

I have always been into boas. I got the lights done in the Czech Republic in early 2011. I think it adds to the atmosphere and looks great, too. But it is getting out of control. It's almost a competition between me and Adam Bomb with what we can put lights on. I think we have a better setup than KISS. Which isn't a bad thing.

I feel naked without my boas and lights!

What was the most memorable live show you’ve ever played?

What kind of kit do you play? I play an RCI Starlite in purple, 24"

16" 13" Premier, 14" x 8" birch snare. Paiste cymbals. Pearl double pedal.

How long have you been a professional drummer? Is this your dream job? I went full-time in 2005, when I joined German touring band,

Uniting the Elements. We played over 850 shows in three years.

Yes, this is my dream job, but it can be very hard work. It is a love/ hate relationship. I just wish it wasn't so full of people trying to rip you off.

One of the bands you play in, Joanovarc, just got a song on Rock Band on Xbox 360. How did you celebrate? We had a release party

where us and a few other bands played, and in between people could try out the game. We have a second track coming out on Rock Band, "Say Sayonara," which is good. It's in the process of being made now. I had the privilege of meeting the guy at Rock Band while I was in New York. He also runs a Rock Band night there. He got me up on stage and we played the track together alongside some of the other people who helped to create it. It was first time I had played the song on the game.

Do you think there’s a difference in playing in an all-woman band compared to the other bands and groups you drum for? I don't

From all your touring, what was your favorite city or venue?

My favorite city would be New York because of all the shops there. My favorite country would be Spain. The weather and the roads there are great to drive. Me and Priscilla, our van, have driven some good roads. There have been many venues, for me it's the ones that take care and make an effort. Rather than treating you like the last arsehole. When you have been stuck in a van all day driving, you remember good ones. Hell Dorado in Spain was a good one.

Do you play any other instruments? I play percussion. I did take up the bass, but I stopped due to exams. I do wish that I had carried on with it.

"I think at the end of the day, if you can play, you can play. I do have a thing for girl bands though. A good girl band just kicks ass."

think there is a difference. Okay, the songs may be written from a different perspective than a guy's. I think at the end of the day, if you can play, you can play. I do have a thing for girl bands though.

A good girl band just kicks ass. There are some really good ones about.

Like who? I like Gossip, Uh Huh Her, Warpaint, Jill Jackson, The Donnas, WIld Flag, Girl in a Coma, The Veronicas, The Cut Outs, The Amorettes….

You’ve played over 250 shows in the past year. Would you say you’re addicted to performing? What are the pros and cons of playing so much? It is what I love doing, and is what I have always wanted to

do. I have worked hard to get to a good level, although I still have a long way to go. I try and make it interesting for me and for the people watching each night. If you don't, you may as well not be there. It does keep you fit as well. You get to go to many places you wouldn't think of going to normally and you meet some great people on the road too. Cons can be the sometimes lack of food and lack of sleep. You do get tired, especially if you have been driving all night. On top of that, you're your own roadie, so it's not just the playing involved, it's driving the van and loading and unloading the van. It can get stressful sometimes. You can't get a decent cup of tea ANYWHERE!!!!!!!

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That's a good question...there have been many, but I think what springs to mind first off was the Free Wheels Festival in France, which is run by the Hells Angels. It has the largest stage in Europe and it was a great gig.

If you were to assemble a dream band with anyone in it, alive or dead, who would be in it besides you? Dee Dee Ramone on bass,

Joan Jett on rhythm guitar/ vocals, Jimmy Page on lead guitar, Peaches on the decks, Violet on the drums.

What is the music scene like in the UK? There are some really

good bands out there. There are also a lot of shit bands as well, which somehow seem to make it through.

What advice do you have for people who are making the leap into being a full-time drummer? And what would you like to say to someone who’s a beginning drummer? Have a back up plan if

it goes tits up. Do some teaching because you can earn good money from it. Plus, you can plan it around you. Keep your practice up as well, because you never stop learning. Find a rich girlfriend or boyfriend.

For a drummer who is starting out, get in a band, play along to your records — I still do it now. You learn a lot from trying to play someone else's drum parts and working them out. Listen to everything, go to gigs when you can and learn from everyone.

What does 2012 (the Year of the Dragon) have in store for you?

A rags to riches story. Well, I want to do more teaching and some more touring is planned. At the moment I am having rest.

I am fucking knackered.

NAME: Violet the Cannibal AGE: 28 HOMETOWN: Cannibal Kingdom, UK LIVES IN: A Cave CURRENT BAND(S): Adam Bomb, JOANovARC, Alex a de Strange, Sessions, and Tutor PAST BANDS: The Femones, Unting the Elements, Toxic Twins, Spiderbaby DAY JOB: Drummer FAVORITE ICE CREAM: Mint chocol ate chip

zanetasykes.com / turningthebeataround.blogspot.com

JAHAN GEET SINGH YOUNGEST GIRL DHOLI OF INDIA

By Kiran Gandhi

I met Jahan Geet Singh in December 2011 at an open“Why don’t you playshow like in a man,” said theIndia, conductor.

All of air Bhangra Chandigarh, the capital eyes turn me, the WOMAN with the bass Outraged theonPunjab state.

She was playing thedrum. dhol drum for an and embarrassed, I recalled my Dad’s voice.fingers “Zaneta, if all-male Bhangra troupe, her quick effortlessly you’re serious about playing the drums, you’re to have pounding intricate rhythms.

I was mostgoing intrigued by to play better than the next you.”

As a little kid,and I high how mighty sheGUY made hertodhol sound, her bass had no idea he wasstrong talking about, butthe something toneswhat bellowing throughout grounds.stuck with me that day. Every so often his words would return, at At 14, Jahan being is currently the percussionist youngest female Dholi in times when I realize a female is different India.

She ispercussionist. among the top ten students in her eighth from being a male In fact, many girls aspiring grade class at discouraged St. Anne’s Convent Schoolpercussion and plays the to play drums will be from playing dholdo tocontinue, preserve her Sikhism has and if they will rich facePunjabi gender heritage. discrimination.

But a powerful part of her upbringing andItshe is very I argue been that every woman should play percussion. is one of of what and its pillars standexperiences for and what it means to the mostaware empowering liberating a woman be Sikh. this interview formany Tom Tom, could have.

And In though I have met jerks Jahan in my focuses career, on the had role the of the dhol in life, and how she plans to give I have also fortune of her meeting wonderful teachers backWomen to the greater Punjab through practice and artists. and SYKES men, who community remind me that I belong ZANETA and performance. to a community working towards making the world better for future generations of women.

Tom Tom Magazine: When did you start playing?

Jahan In America, there are many attitudes surrounding female Geet Singh: I first putthat my hands a dhol drum percussionists.

Studies show peopleon associate instru-almost Zaneta Sykes isItdrums percussionist, one gender year back. was still to hold “tilli” and ments with and aredifficult considered masculine. “dagga” (twoand different typesisoffinding sticks),support. and to drum Therefore, the most common issue Many educator, composer. bothaway sides.

Onedrums daythrough allbecause of my family girlsShe arefrom steered from it’s notmembers gender were currently teaches sittingAstogether and encouraging the fear perforappropriate.

I still encounter parents who the Parka teacher, Slopediscussing Percussion of my one to cousin, played dhol chalin a convent allowingmance their daughters studywho drums.

Another Studio and resides Brooklyn.with From school.

Iface immediately interrupted “Whatads if I learned lenge that girls is beinginhyper-sexualized. to play dholit’s too?” really to Youtube videos, easyMy forfamily youngwas women tosupportive be more and my with father started forhow a traditional teacher. concerned how they looking look than they sound.

AboveTo this day challenge I am still in the learning process, performing all, the hardest is gender discrimination.

In school, on different occasions before different audiences, it is common to view girls as inferior musicians, unlessfrom they solo to combined, functions to state functions! can prove otherwise. from For a private young girl, this machismo chops competition can determine whether they are accepted or bullied. So why should women play drums?

Photo courtesy of artist p hoto by Z acha ry M axwell St e rtz

Why all women should play percussion

22

What does your practice schedule look like? I concentrate

on studies first, so it depends on my spare time. But ultimately, this is my passion. Whenever I get a short break, I start drumming. I forget everything around me, while playing it — it’s just me and the drum.

Can you tell us a little bit about how the Dhol drum fits into Punjabi culture? Good question! Firstly, the dhol is

part and parcel of Punjabi culture and has now made its way from villages to Bollywood, rock bands and even Hollywood. I feel it’s the only instrument which requires no support, except the power and passion of the drummer — no electricity, no power back up, no arrangements, nothing, just SPIRIT. In Punjab it is the part of each and every procession and occasion from birth. So as far as my drumming is concerned, it is part of the values of my faith and culture.

Why is your culture important to you? Certainly I am

proud of it. Rather, I can say everyone should be proud of his/her own culture. As far as Punjabi culture is concerned, it is world-renowned and its deep roots are enriched with high values, meaningful in every society beyond caste, creed, races and rations.

Last but not least, what are your future goals in terms of both your drumming and beyond? (Laughs) I am still a

school student. No one knows his or her future, it is All Mighty's wish. But my hope is to play internationally, beyond the boundaries of nations, and make dhol the mostliked instrument all over the world. Thanks and good luck to Tom Tom for such efforts.

HAND DRUMMERS

Nazanin Pedarsani

Name: Nazanin Pedarsani Age: 24 Hometown: Tehran, iran Lives in: Tehran, Iran Years as a drummer: 20 years (Drummer and instrumentalist)

Interviewed by D r. Peyma n Na s ehpou r

Nazanin Pedarsani is a talented tonbak (Persian goblet drum) player born in Tehran, Iran in 1988. At the tender age of four, she showed interest in Iranian percussion music and started taking lessons. Since that time she has performed in concerts and festivals all over the world and was voted best soloist in the Young Soloists Festival of Iran. Dr. Peyman Nasehpour had the opportunity to interview the promising tonbak player for us.

Tom Tom Magazine: When did you start learning drums? Nazanin Pedarsani:

When I was about four years old, I saw a tonbak player and I became interested.

Mr. Hossein Tehrani accepted me as his student, and that was the time that I started learning the tonbak. Let me explain that Mr. Hossein Tehrani should not be confused with the late maestro Hossein Tehrani that is considered the father of modern tonbak.

You also play Persian tar, which is a melodic music instrument. How does that affect your drumming? I wanted to learn

how to play a melodic instrument and since I was interested in Persian tar, I started taking lessons when I was 14. I had learned a lot about the tonbak and it was actually very difficult to learn the tar, because when you play an instrument at a high level you enjoy that a lot, while it is so difficult to enjoy an instrument when you are a beginner. I believe that it is so important for a drummer to be acquainted with melodic pieces, because then the drummer will be a better accompaniment for melodic instruments and vocalists. In my opinion, by listening to rhythmic compositions in Persian music, drummers can improve themselves in accompanying.

When was your first concert? The first time that I went on the stage to play the tonbak, I was six years old and I played with the children’s orchestra of our music school. All the members of this orchestra were under 18 years old and I do remember that I was the youngest one. The first important concert that I played on the tonbak was when I was 15 years old and I accompanied a women’s band in Vahdat Hall in Tehran, Iran. After that I played a lot of concerts in Iran, Canada and some European countries with different Iranian bands and a couple of famous Iranian musicians.

Have you ever faced challenges as a female drummer? Of course there are

challenges for female drummers, but the worst problem that really bothers me is that it is so difficult for people to believe that a lady can be a good drummer.

In the same conditions, a male drummer is considered by public view a better drummer than a female drummer.

Anyway, I feel that the social status of lady drummers in Iran is changing and they are going to have a better situation, particularly in big cities like Tehran. For example I have seen some bands that invite female drummers to play for them, while traditionally they are

supposed to invite male drummers and this makes me happy and hopeful for a better future for female drummers.

Who are your favorite Iranian drummers?

While I respect all styles and musicians, my favorite Iranian drummer is the late maestro Amir Nasser Eftetah. He was the teacher of my main teacher, maestro Mahmoud Farahmand, and I like his style as well.

Are you interested in playing other musical instruments? I wish to experience many

different percussion instruments from the four corners of the globe.

Any advice for new female drummers?

Since the character of the tonbak is like the beating heart of the band, it is important for the drummer to understand this important role and play this role as precise as possible, no matter if one is a female or a male drummer. It seems that, according to public view, women cannot play this important role like men. My advice to new female drummers is that they should never take this public view seriously. Be sincere and play sincerely and that will put a bit of your soul in the music that you perform.

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gracefulee / coupdegrace.co

OFF THE DECKS dj ripley

Name: G*LEE (Grace Lee) Name: Larisa Mann Age: Ageless Age: 39 Hometown: Raised in a lot of cities, Hometown: Arlington, MA but New York is my home.

Lives in: Brooklyn, NY NYC Dj Moniker:Ripley G*LEE. Liaison Femme DJ Moniker: l atest Remix: MIA MORETTI & CAITLIN Years you have been DJing: 17 MOE- SO BEAUTIFUL (G*LEE & DJ M.O.S. OFFICIAL REMIx Favorite Dj's: Nujabes. DJ AM. Mark

DJ RIPLEY

photo by jayne l ies

Interviewed by Liaison Femme (G*LEE) Photo by Camilo Fuentealba Tom Tom Magazine: What is the meaning/history behind your name DJ Ripley? DJ Ripley: Ripley is one of my favorite charac-

ters, in one of my favorite movies, Alien, so it made immediate sense.

As an academic-minded artist, what advice can you give to rising young DJs who find themselves categorized as female DJs? It’s

different depending on what you define as success. I benefited from staying underground in specific subcultures with different pressures from the mainstream. In terms of technical skills, I think you do have to be tough, and define your style the way you want it. My style is to put musical communication first and everything else in service of that.

Liaison Femme is a forward-thinking collective/movement comprised of female DJs exclusively. The movement’s intention is to create awareness of leading female DJs in the industry. Liaison Femme’s vision is to raise the bar for all female DJs in our culture and create a promising platform to present the artist’s aesthetic in its entirety. Liaison Femme is a collective that will ideally break stereotypes in our realm. LF has curated this issue of Tom Tom’s Off the Decks. Enjoy.

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How do you tie in social activism with your DJ career? Ideally I want a room full of all genders, races, classes, abilities, nationalities, sizes and more getting sweaty and happy together, and I want the DJ lineup to reflect that. This means location matters, funding matters, cover charge matters, naming names matters.

What is your motto or piece of advice you always turn to? I trust my instincts and try to be humble at the same time. That way when I do slip up, I can learn from it.

Where is your favorite spot to DJ? I can’t say a favorite, but I can pick some high points — the GHE20G0TH1K party in Brooklyn last year was definitely a recent high point in terms of how it comes together and the way it has fostered an amazing audience and vibe.

OFF THE DECKS venus x

photo by www.mahf ia .com

Name: Jazmin Venus Soto Age: 25 Hometown: New York, NY Lives In: New York, NY DJ Moniker: VENU$ X Favorite Club: Wherever Total Freedom is playing Latest Remix: Live is raw and better so I save my juice and perform a lot Favorite Color: Clear Favorite Late night Snack: Taco Bell

VENU$ X

You were recently on tour with Theophilus London for Tour de Roses 2012 as the DJ, tell us more about that. We just finished a

Interview by Liaison Femme (G*LEE) Introduction by Colleen Siviter Photo by Brooke Candy Jazmin Venus Soto, better known as VENU$ X, is the genius behind the weekly New York throw down GHE20GOTH1K, where club-goers sweat it out to clanging industrial samples overlaying Björk dubstep — and other seemingly impossible mash-ups.

Though she’s been ruling the New York City nightlife scene for some time, recent gigs for fashion week and a well-publicized row with producer and DJ, Diplo, have pushed her full throttle into the spotlight. Tom Tom caught up with this DJ and producer to talk about her inspiration, projects and the style that is uniquely her own.

Tom Tom Magazine: Your party GHE20GOTH1K, initially started out as more of an underground party in NYC, but has become a phenomenon with a cult fashion following. How was GG conceived?

bunch of dates in the U.S. and Canada — it was my second tour.

I learned SO much about the industry and the amount of work it takes to tour. It’s actually insane! You need a great team to do it or it’s impossible. Theo is a smart and passionate artist so it was really cool to learn from him, seeing how well his career is going and how little he’s relied on viral hits. It’s pretty amazing.

Last year you threw a party hosted by the artist Richard Phillips. Is there another collaboration in the works? Richard is

really supportive of GG and I think it’s really cool because the art world is fucking rough. It’s super white, its rigid and doesn’t embrace brown culture, ideas or people without stereotyping them heavily. So my goals are to merge those worlds somehow; mine, and the one I see everywhere in NYC which Richard is a part of. I don’t know exactly what our year looks like, but he’s somebody I think genuinely respects what I’m doing and I’m excited to collaborate with him again.

OFF THE DECKS

VENU$ X: It was just a night I took on at Beauty Bar in Brooklyn when my ex-boyfriend was bartending and needed a DJ. I was super emo and just rejecting the status quo as a DominicanEcuadorian. I couldn’t find any parties where I could enjoy my dream playlist - like Dipset, Sissy Nobby, Juke and also Siouxsie Sioux, Bauhaus and Alien Sex Fiend. Very few parties would mix the hood shit with the dark goth or radical punk, or anything white really. So I put my personal style and desires into my playlist and slowly it turned into a big movement.

What challenges have you had to overcome with the GG parties?

Not having a space. We really need our own venue. NYC is a terrible place to exercise your creative freedom. The fucking police always want to control everything or shut down fun illegal spaces even though it’s an integral part of society.

G*LEE How does your feminism come into play through your career as a DJ? I grew up one way, where women needed to cook and

clean and make money and have long hair and be perfect. I left my family at 18 and was rebellious. I dated men and women, hung out with poets and activists and worked at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club. I spent a lot of money on alcohol and drugs before going to college again. I got judged through every possible part of my journey, so GG was finally all of that culminating into a moment in music. I guess that’s feminist. People are very hurt by racism and sexism and all the isms, so being feminist in music seems obvious to me.

What are some of your upcoming projects? I’m really excited

about world domination.

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illustrations by the lovely minka sicklinger

BEAT MAKERS

W

hether you call them producers, beat makers or sound designers, a new audio culture has popped up around the world. Thanks in large part to advancements in music technology, a new breed of musicians have been able to transcend the limitations of a single instrument of style to create genre-shattering sounds, while remaining grounded on one fundamental principle: the beat.

From House to Hip-Hop, electronic producers seem to exist in a different world, one that is often seen as male-dominated. However, rhythm is a shared experience and despite what apparent boundaries and stereotypes culture may construct, the five women interviewed here go to show that

by embracing the endless possibilities afforded by technologies and rhythm, there is always new ground to break and undiscovered worlds to explore.

Despite the differences in their musical styles and personal histories, each of the women interviewed here share one major thing in common: they all use a multitude of genres and methodologies to create music that is truly their own.

From the multi-faceted Electro-Pop of Grimes to the genre-devouring styles of Santigold and Pursuit Grooves, all the way to the uncompromising eclecticism of Nguzunguzu and Rucyl Mills, these artists are pushing the boundaries of beat making, each in her own unique way.

santigold.com

santi gold Brooklyn’s Golden Child Interview by Mindy Abovitz & Nick Zurko Intro by Colleen Siviter Photos by Sean Thomas

Santigold’s got style to spare. Born Santi White, the Brooklyn-based singer/ songwriter/producer fiercely mixes Dub, Punk, Ska and Hip-Hop into a collage of danceable sound that brings depth to a pop genre that is seriously lacking in creative innovation. Nearly five years after her first genre-defying singles “Creator” and “L.E.S. Artistes” hit the scene, Santigold is set to reemerge with the new album Master of My Make-Believe on Downtown/Atlantic records.

The album’s raw sound is filled out with feverish taiko

drum rhythms and catchy choruses, while her lyrics confront issues of personal control in a changing world.

With some heavy-hitting collaborators, including the guitarist from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Switch from Major Lazer, and her singles “Bad Mouth” and “Disparate Youth” already making waves, Make-Believe promises to be the follow-up album we’ve all been waiting for. Tom Tom sat down with the artist to talk about the new album, her creative process and how she stays true to her vision.

"to get something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done."

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"I love Dave Sitek. The first time we worked together, I think we both had so much anxiety we ended up deciding to bake a blueberry pie instead. Really Dave did the baking. I just wrote down the recipe and baking instructions in an attempt to fool him, and myself, into believing that I would actually be baking my own pie one day."

Tom Tom Magazine: What was the impetus behind recording your new album in Jamaica? Santigold: Sometimes there's just too

much going on at home, and it's nice to get away when you're trying to be creative and super productive. It gives you a chance to focus, and Jamaica in particular is such a rich environment for me. I stay and work at Geejam in Port Antonio, where there's a studio, a tiny private beach with little kayaks, and it's a fiveminute drive from the Blue Lagoon. I had been having a hard time writing lyrics, and as soon as I got there, the words just started flowing.

What was your favorite part of recording there? The best part

was the Jamaican breakfast we had every morning which consisted of ackee and saltfish, callaloo, fruit, and plantains, and the ability to go down to the beach and kayak during half-hour studio breaks.

How was working with Dave Sitek? I love Dave Sitek. He is such a

special person and we have become great friends over the past couple years. The first time we worked together, I think we both had so much anxiety we ended up deciding to bake a blueberry pie instead. Really Dave did the baking. I just wrote down the recipe and baking instructions in an attempt to fool him, and myself, into believing that I would actually be baking my own pie one day. But that day was important, because we both were observing each other, and making mental notes on each other’s way of working.

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When working with another producer, how do you make sure your unique voice/vision is realized? I'm lucky that all of the producers

I work with have had faith in my vision. They are so great at deciphering the madness that comes out of my mouth and making sense of it. I am the most meticulous person that most people have ever met, so I often have an exact idea of what instruments I want to use, how I want each instrument to sound, and what I want the part to be. I work with each producer for their different strengths. So on many of my songs, the production process ends up being a sort of musical factory line, though there's nothing predictable about it. And I am the conductor of all the moving parts, sometimes to my own dismay. I really do think that the collaborative element is what's really special about my music.

Which producers do you feel do that really well and why?

I feel that way about so many of the producers that I work with, but I really enjoyed working with Greg Kurstin this time around.

He understood the way I liked to work. He had a room full of instruments ready to go, so I could jump up at any moment and just play my idea on the drums, keys, whatever, and he'd jump right in. A lot of times, when I work with producers who mostly work on the computer it's harder for me because I like to play out my ideas, and if its just one person sitting in front of Logic it's kind of limiting to me.

What is your process for producing/writing a song? My process

varies from song to song. I usually create the music before

vocal melody, and melody almost always before lyrics, but there are exceptions. On this record, I wrote a song called "Riot's Gone" just sitting at the piano and singing, which I've never really done before, and as soon as I was done recording a scratch vocal through GarageBand with my computer sitting on top of the piano, I took a loop of taiko drums that Switch had made from a previous session we'd done and put it on top of what I'd just played and it fit perfectly!

How do you know when a song of yours is going to be a hit? I never

claim to know that. All I really know is how to make art. I try not to concern myself too much with what happens to it after I'm done making it. Thinking about that part gets in the way of the process, and when that happens, you're left with nothing.

How do you think your involvement in punk bands made you a stronger musician? It taught me how to let loose, especially when I'm

we gave santigold a list of artists/bands she has worked with in the past and asked her to match them with an actvity. here’s what she said...

Karen O Björk Beastie Boys Red Hot Chili Peppers Coldplay Kanye

singing. I learned to really play and experiment with my voice in my old band. Especially studying my heroes, like HR (Bad Brains), or even Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols). I also love the raw power in punk, and I like to keep that quality in any music I make. But mostly I learned how to bring my songs to life on stage from performing Punk songs.

* Write their wedding song : Beastie Boys

What gear HAS helped you to realize your identity as a producer/ songwriter? Starting way back when I first started making music,

* Be blood related to: Björk

I took guitar lessons. I loved the guitars in the music I listened to, bands ranging from Hendrix to The Smiths, and Devo. I was never one for practicing though, so I've been at the same level since I was 15 years old. I prefer writing on the bass, mostly because you can be better on bass than guitar without practicing! But also because most of my melodies and cadence are influenced by the relationship between the bass and the drums. As for beat making, I got an SP-1200 back in the '90s when I first started trying to make my own music. I was really into Hip-Hop and it was a great simple machine to start on. It had nice grimy drum sounds that I really loved playing around with. In college, I studied traditional West African, Haitian and Cuban drumming, which I think had a strong influence on my musical style. To this day, I love polyrhythmic and syncopated rhythms and many of my vocal rhythms mimic these types of drums patterns.

Do you feel that there is a significant lack of female producers out there? Or female artists who don't get production credit? There are

far too few female producers. I think the business of making music can be intimidating for women. It is such a man's world, and any time a woman tries to put her foot down in the way men do all the

"I had to learn early on, that I have to be willing to be “difficult”, a “bitch”, “crazy”, or anything else the boys want to call me, if it means staying true and holding tight to my creative vision.”

* Eat lunch with every day for the rest of your life: Karen O * Compose a Symphony with : Kanye * Do a crossword with : Coldplay * Go to a waterpark with: Red Hot Chili Peppers

time, we're called "difficult". I had to learn early on, that I have to be willing to be "difficult", a "bitch", "crazy", or anything else the boys want to call me, if it means staying true and holding tight to my creative vision.

What is your favorite food? Popcorn with milk duds in it.

Which was your favorite tour and why? I really had fun on our Parklife tour in Australia this fall. A bunch of my friends in other bands like Lykke Li, Diplo and A-Trak, were on the tour as well, and I met amazing women like Beth Ditto (The Gossip) and Yukimi (Little Dragon). It was like a two-week band camp.

What words of advice would you give to the aspiring young female producer? I would say that to get something you've

never had, you have to do something you've never done. You have to go for what you want. Be original, be creative, and always challenge yourself to be better. You also can't be lazy with your art. Put in the work, do the research, be influenced by your influences, but take the time to find your own voice in anything you do.

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www.grimesmusic.com

GRIMES Keeping It Unreal i nte rv iew by natalie pea rt photo by r a phael o u ell et

Talking to Claire Boucher, the young woman who performs under the moniker Grimes, it is clear that sometimes words may be too limiting for the big ideas circling around in her head. It is precisely these ideas that make her music and arty videos entertaining—Boucher does not shy away from the slightly off-kilter. In the two-plus years she has been on the music scene, she has had notable coverage, including a profile in the New York Times style magazine T, celebrating her Avant-Pop, Synth-Pop, and any other description that attempts to encapsulate her sound. tom Tom Magazine: What drew you to beat making as opposed to playing the guitar, cello or drums? Claire Boucher:

I make beats using a keyboard. I’ve always been obsessed with percussion.

I am constantly tapping on things and I like music that is beat heavy.

Name: Cl aire Boucher Age: 23 Hometown: Vancouver/MontrEal Lives In: Currently displ aced Past Bands: Fake bands that didn’t do anything Current Bands: Grimes, Noise Band Membrane

Did you always know that you wanted to be a musician? Pretty much, but secretly. I

got kicked out of school and I figured my friend and I would go to SXSW. So I quit my job and we went. I played five shows there and that’s when I became a live musician.

I had a small internet rapport at the time.

How did you decide on the name Grimes? I used to make fake MySpace pages—you know when people would make a couple of songs and then post them under whatever band you were in at the time? The Grimes MySpace had the most hits so I stuck with it.

How did you come up with the video for the song “Vanessa”? I had a friend who

had access to a studio for five hours and we were throwing around ideas. We also had a small budget and were thinking what can we do with our budget, seven girls and a white wall? Our budget was $60 and we spent it all on alcohol.

People were wasted and puking. I was the only sober one. It was funny.

What is some of your all-time favorite music? Somewhere in between Nine

Inch Nails and Outkast. I like niche bands. Also, Enya and Mariah Carey.

I’m really into super vocal-driven stuff.

Is there anyone that you would really like to collaborate with someday? Collaborations

are hard! I’m not the greatest singer. I’m not the greatest producer. I would like to collaborate with rappers. Actually, I would probably be intimidated by anyone that I mention here. Probably, Azealia Banks.

Is there anyone you like musically that you wish would get more exposure? Mozart’s

“Don’t read the press.

Don’t look at what people say at all.

That’s why musicians stop making good music because they pay attention to what other people expect of them.”

Sister. She has a song called “Don’t Leave It to Me.” She’s a cool artist from Montréal.

Her set is so insane and she’s really beautiful and you can tell she doesn’t care about that.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to pursue music? Don’t read the

press. Don’t look at what people say at all.

That’s why musicians stop making good music because they pay attention to what other people expect of them.

Do you think your music is political? I feel very political. I feel like I would want to be outspoken. I have issues with the fact that I’m pursuing a hedonistic profession—the purpose is to entertain and bring people joy. I feel guilty about that given the state of the world. For me to do “political” music would be weird, but I also don’t want to be tasteless.

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RUCYL MILLS Rip It Up and Start Again INTERVIEW BY NATALIE PEART / PHOTO BY BEX WADE

Age: 37 Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Lives In: Philadelphia, PA Past Groups: The Goats Favorite Song: Marvin Gaye’s “When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?” A brilliant composition.

Rucyl Mills’ music is a carefully constructed collage of sounds tinged with otherworldliness. Citing Laurie Anderson and Rick Ross, two vastly different artists, as people with whom she would like to collaborate, one can sense that Mills’ open-mindedness is crucial to her music. A former member of the Hip-Hop group, The Goats, in the early '90s, Rucyl has gone on to lend her talents to various projects and co-founded the label and audiovisual electronic group Saturn Never Sleeps Tom Tom Magazine: How do you describe your music? Rucyl Mills: Ethereal, soul-based, experimental electronic music.

Is there an artist with whom you would like to work with someday? Laurie Anderson and Rick Ross. At the same time. And I’d

love to get Sly and Robbie. But I’m kind of happy on my own and making music with friends.

How do you create your sounds? I start with a loop, rhythmic or melodic, then add whatever other sounds I want. Then I spend most of the time manipulating those songs into textures until I’m happy with the result. At any point I might be inspired to add vocals, which I may do in the middle or at the end of the process. Sometimes I write a bunch of songs on piano or guitar, then convert them into electronic versions.

What inspires you? Architecture, nature, geometry, mysticism,

science, unknown voids like space and the deep sea, the human experience, Studio Ghibli films, the art my friends make and most of all, love.

When did you decide to pursue being an audiovisual artist, producer and singer as a career? I didn’t really decide to be an artist until

my friends started telling me I was one. Previously, I had thought of myself as an observer who liked to make music and other things. I didn’t realize I could make a career out of it until my early 30s, and even still, I don’t feel like I have to make money from something in order to call it my career. I have so much respect for the vision of the artists I admire, and I now see that it’s a gift, and a responsibility, for an artist to share their perspective with the rest of the world.

I came across something you posted on Facebook: "I do not see myself represented so I make my own media. That’s what Sun Ra did." When you say you do not see yourself represented what do you mean exactly? I don’t see myself, meaning my perspective,

represented in film, music or art. Every so often I see something that’s close, but not quite. Anyone who has an inclination to make something should do it! There’s enough room for everyone’s perspective, and our differences as humans need to be expressed in order for us to acknowledge our sameness, allowing us to gracefully evolve into a loving and respectable species.

“Listen to yourself.

Ignore any whisperings of self-doubt. Make it, break it, then make it again.“

i can definitely see Sun Ra as an influence for your unconventional and otherworldly sounds. What other musicians have influenced your work? Sun Ra’s film, Space is the Place, really

influenced me. After seeing that film, I realized that I could be and create whatever I wanted. And if you capture it on film, it becomes a reality and truth for others. I am influenced by all kinds of music, but I especially love vocalists who are masters of rhythm, and who have that element of truth in their tone. Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughn, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, Al Green, Otis Redding, Nick Drake, Sheila Chandra, Flora Purim, Natacha Atlas, Oumou Sangare, Ali Farka Toure, pretty much any Lovers Rock singer. I could go on and on.

Can you talk more about the CHAKAKhaNTROLLER? I needed a way to control my live set so I created the Chakakhantroller, a wearable MIDI controller. It can control samples and loops using a midi signal, and the loops could be audio or video. The idea was to run an entire audiovisual set at one time. I encased it in black leather and snakeskin to make it look and feel tough. I named it after Chaka—‘cause she’s the greatest thing ever.

What equipment do you like using? APC 40 Controller w/ Ableton

Live, Critter Guitari Kaleidoloop, Roland SH-101, Yamaha SY-1, Boss Dr. Rhythm 110, Roland SP 303, Monome sixty-four, Nintendo DS w/ Glitch DS, Shure SM57 (See this issue's gear review section for more of Rucyl's gear.)

What projects are you working on now? I’m working on scoring

two film soundtracks, a new solo record and a bunch of collaborations. I’m also developing an experimental video/performance piece based on a series of dreams. And I’m designing the sound and video for a series of performance pieces called “This Town is a Mystery,” with Headlong Dance Theater here in Philadelphia, premiering at the Philly Live Arts Festival this fall.

Any encouraging words to give to aspiring beat makers? Listen to yourself. Ignore any whisperings of self-doubt. Make it, break it, then make it again.

pursuit grooves An Omnivore’s Dilemma

BY NICK ZURKO PHOTO BY C . Pat e r s o n

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Like an epileptic-fit-inducing cartoon, Pursuit Grooves’ music should come with a warning label. A first listen is likely to send the subject into rhythmic vertigo, tumbling down an M.C. Escherlike staircase, passing myriad and somehow familiar strains of beats, synth patches and disparate influences, with the artist’s sosweet-it-hurts voice guiding you through the chaos back to where you started. Except now it’s different.

Confused? You should be. Pursuit Grooves—aka Vanese Smith— fuses Funk, Soul, House, Hip-Hop and much more into an astounding, sometimes baffling, whole. Seemingly incompatible rhythms clash head-on, certain tracks vacillating between a classic laconic Hip-Hop boom-bap rhythm and more uptempo, clubleaning beats. To put it simply, Smith makes the impossible sound downright easy.

natural to me but perhaps to some others it makes me hard to pinpoint.” And it is this mercurial nature of Smith’s music that has breathed fresh air into an increasingly staid genre.

Citing mega-producers Timbaland and Teddy Riley as formative inspirations, it starts to make sense where Smith’s disparate sense of musicality comes from. Just as the aforementioned producers’ strengths lay in their ability to straddle numerous rhythmic templates while producing a coherent and catchy whole, Smith aims for a similarly fluid, ever-changing end product.

As she says, “I never set out to produce in a particular style. I think I just hear things in my head that just make sense. I usually don’t quantize my rhythms or work to a click track. So the rhythms are very free flowing. It gives the drums/ percussion more of a live element.”

“Music is so powerful… And if music is my platform I try to use it the best way I can. I spend a lot of time staying up on current affairs so it’s just a reflection of my personality.”

Though she’s been making music for nearly 16 years, Smith gained a new current of attention upon the release of her Foxtrot Mannerisms EP last year on the UK Dubstep label Tectonic. To say the least, the record caught some off-guard, Smith’s smooth, soulful and genre-obliterating tracks sounding a world apart from the often aggressive and sometimes narrow conventions of Dubstep. But even more surprising, the EP was widely embraced by the Dubstep community, introducing a whole new set of fans to Smith’s novel sound.

With her new LP Frantically Hopeful just released by Tectonic, one can’t help but wonder how Smith has been able to navigate Dubstep’s infamous dearth of female producers, to stand out on the merits of her music alone.

According to Smith, “It’s like any other field that is male dominated. You always stand out and you have to work a bit harder perhaps. I don’t really worry about the gender politics because if you listen to a track without any information behind who made it, you’re making your decisions based on what you hear and if you like the music. In that sense it’s an even playing field. But of course, it never ends there.”

When asked if her music can fit comfortably under a single genre, such as Dubstep, Smith responds, “It’s so hard to say — Soul, Downtempo, Hip-Hop, Electronic, House, Bass — it all feels

Smith also imbues her tracks with significant gravitas by touching on social and political issues that are important to her. “Music is so powerful, and if music is my platform I try to use it the best way I can. I spend a lot of time staying up on current affairs so it’s just a reflection of my personality.”

In a bid to make her music more accessible to her ever-expanding fan base, Smith has recently embarked on the ambitious project of producing three distinct albums under three different aliases.

When talking about her future, Smith says, “I’ll be doing more Pursuit Grooves projects of course. That’s my Hip-Hop/House/Bass side. I’ve created another alias, called 91 Fellows, which I call my Cinematic Dub side. This alias is less club and more conceptual.

It allows me to really be free sonically. And GuSHee is my group project with Cheldon Paterson. That project we share production duties, but my focus is on vocals. Hopefully I’ll be doing live shows promoting all of the projects as well.”

Regardless of what the future holds for Smith, there is no doubt that she will continue to push the envelope in terms of exploring new rhythmic paradigms. As she puts it, “As an artist, my music is a direct reflection of where my head is at the moment. I can’t recreate what I made five years ago. So I honestly don’t know what I’ll be making five years from now. But I look forward to it.”

And so do we.

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ASMA the Sonic Streams OF Nguzunguzu

BY NICK ZURKO PHOTO BY STEFANO GALLI

Thanks to the glut of laptop performers out there who could just as easily be updating their Facebook status— “Playing Show” — live electronic music performances often seem to lack that crucial “live” element that can get a crowd moving. But if you ever get to see Nguzunguzu perform live, expect your preconceptions to be shattered.

Often recruiting their friend and producer Total Freedom to play electronic drums on stage, Nguzunguzu’s live shows are a spectacle to behold, something like a sacred ritual, with Daniel Pineda’s eyes and hands glued to his gear while bandmate Asma Maroof circles the stage, stopping to cue a certain beat or sound, and then continuing on her sonic walkabout like a master of ceremonies.

After meeting at Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, these two ex-violinists soon began making improvisational electronic music together, sharing a common interest in producing bizarre and unique sounds. Upon moving to LA, they took the name Nguzunguzu—the name for a canoe paddle figurehead in the Solomon Islands—and quickly began making a name for themselves through their unique and genre-bending blend of music, which they describe as “sad, sexy, scary.” When discussing their approach to music making, Maroof states, “We love to use all sorts of

sounds and dig for them. We download files and record sound stuff like that.”

This hodgepodge approach to music-making has won them a legion of fans, ranging from MIA—whom Maroof serves as the tour DJ for and the duo mixed her 2010 mixtape Vicki Leekx—to acts like Ratatat and Ciara. When approaching a remix, Maroof explains, “When someone asks us to remix, they give us that permission to do our thing.”

Doing their own thing can mean pretty much anything for Nguzunguzu, as the two pull inspiration from UK Bass to Chicago Footwork, while at the same time remaining firmly rooted in R&B to create club-ready tracks that are distinctly their own. Their affinity for R&B helped lead to their most recent release, the Timesup EP, on fellow R&B operator Kingdom’s Fade To Mind label, which they also help run.

When asked which show of theirs has been the most fun, Maroof replies, “Definitely the Fade to Mind party in Los Angeles. We played at The Caw with Total Freedom and Kingdom. It was an improvised set, so amazing.” It’s this commitment to improvisation and exploration of new sounds and styles that will likely ensure that Nguzunguzu will continue to attract attention from all points along the electronic music spectrum.

magic echo music

INTERVIEW BY mindy abovitz PHOTO courtesy of Mem textile art on gem by pete woods

I launched Magic Echo Music in autumn of 2009, after spending a couple of years making one of a kind synthesizers. I moved to the Bay Area and had a binder full of datasheets and schematics. I was settling in to a new city and its environment, and that premise made me want to build things. Synthesizers can be complex but not impossible things to make. I work with mostly analog circuitry, so that leaves me dialoguing with equations and chaos, almost all of the time. But it’s not abstract, signals are tactile energy, and the results keep me on my toes. I was working with synths for some time and it is entirely out of the adventure and love for it, so it felt natural to make MEM happen.

I wanted to make multiple editions of instruments, and let it grow into other instruments or ideas.

functions and abilities to sculpt sounds. There is no MIDI, it takes control voltage inputs and outputs control voltages. You can play it entirely self-contained, and it pretty much sits on your lap. There are a few patches I’ve made triggered by a drum pad. You can trigger the Envelope Generator, which can be synced to the second Envelope Generator so you trigger both with one drum pad and turn up the pink or white noise to make some metallic percussive sounds tuned to the oscillators. The kind of fast swishy sounds that start scratching at your back until you hear a beat with it..

You can also use the filter to process drum machines and add that to the mix. If you have drum machines and sequencers with a trigger output, you can directly sync the patterns to the PALette’s modules, like to trigger a filter sweep or modulating the oscillators. Or use a MIDI-CV converter and sequence from your computer program. I have a special connection to PALettes, but will most likely be discontinuing them in the Spring to focus on building new designs.

"I work with mostly analog circuitry, so that leaves me dialoguing with equations and chaos, almost all of the time."

This past year I built three small batches of PALette mini synthesizers, which were designed as soon as I launched MEM. PALettes are analog semi-modular synths with a number of 40

do you believe in magic / magicechomusic.com Full Name: K aori Suzuki Age: 27 Hometown: Japan Lives In: Seattle Projects: Magic Echo Music / Synthesizer and Experimental Music Center (of the future) Day Job: Designer/Engineer Fav Food: Noodley soups

tom tom magazine: How did you get into music? Kaori Suzuki:

I have always been into music as far as I remember. I played piano and flute growing up, sang lots of karaoke, then started to pick up other instruments and was always around people with instruments. After I moved to the NW in 2003, I became deeply interested in electronic sounds; and I was surrounded by interesting natural sounds as well because it is so lush in Washington. I lived in sort of ugly places growing up, droney sounds followed me wherever I went you know, trains and highways. That environment tuned me to mechanical or electronic sounds. Sounds have been interesting to me since childhood. I remember weird music from TV shows I watched when I was a kid. Moomin, the Swedish animated series, had a lot of creepy sounds that I liked.

What inspired you to build your first synth? I really wanted

to make oscillators. The inspiration to build though, came slowly. Aside from the encouragement of experimental music in Olympia, WA (where I lived for five years), that greatly influenced me, it was the discovering of voice synthesis. Like early research machines. They were used for accurately delivering voice models over telephone lines. I was a nerd for this kind of speech synthesis and became fascinated with the Voice Operated recorDER from the late 1930s, you know, played by a human operator. Equipped with valves, buttons and pedals, that then evolved into vocoders that were first used in early electronic music. They were built by people who make popular equipment today. I think my mind made some connection there and I told myself that I’d like to make my own instrument. So that was what was going on then, but it was a realization of my desire to build things by hand, a need for sound and interesting research, and love of synthesizer music.

Will you be making any drum machines? Probably not a fullblown drum machine. I have made pieces of one, like circuits that produce the drum sounds of Roland TR-909 and TR-808 drum machines. And step-sequencers that were added to synthesizers. They had no microprocessors though and they didn’t develop further into computer memory-based machines.

That’s a different territory of frustration! I am more interested now in making instruments that help sculpt complex sounds that are percussive and repeatable, but necessarily focused on sequencing. In the process I’ve looked back into building blocks of electronic drum sounds, like a simple clap—everyone loves the clap!

What is the best response you have gotten to a piece of gear you made? A funny one to the PALette was that it might make them

cry. But I think the best have been in interactions that make things move—you know, like somebody sent me a track they made with PALette, and somebody told me one time that they have been playing it alongside another handmade instrument called LEPLOOP, which is a small performance synth/groovebox. It's exciting to know where it takes people.

What would your dream drum machine do? (no holds barred) It would be something simple, really, I think. I like drum machines that have many parameters to sound, so that you can change the space ever so slightly, and create new rhythm with various layering. Something that I want to keep coming back to and change, and it would come easily. I mean these are already existing. So... dream drum machine would be...solar powered, a combination of kicking analog drums and an intelligent sampler, and have different voices that slightly contours to the energy of the environment. No, that might change tomorrow because it rains here a lot.

Tell us about the GEM: Well it’s an optical theremin and LFO that is encased in a hand-molded gem! I was just playing around with one a few days ago with two strobing little lights, around 5 p.m. natural light. It doesn’t always do what you want it to do because it responds sensitively to movement, so light and shadow, and then you just grow a different proximity and relationship to it over time — always improvised. Optical theremins were one of the first noise makers I ever made. I decided to revisit it a few years later to make editions for a DIY Art Fair in San Francisco — which was really great because it became an opportunity to collaborate with Peter Woods. He’s an artist/ musician and a friend who is always involved in good things and extremely talented. He made the quilted panels on all of the first edition and current MKII GEMs. That event was memorable because we ended up demonstrating what it is and sort of performing on it for seven hours for two days. That’s part of the reason I went with power supply instead of batteries.

"I lived in sort of ugly places growing up, droney sounds followed me wherever I went you know, trains and highways."

What is your relationship to the drums? That’s a great question!

When I shared a practice space with folks with a drum kit, I went there as much as I could to play them, to figure out this relationship more in depth or in private. It is meditative more than anything and sets me forward. Everyone should drum. Surfaces have sonic relationships to another and drumming is a great way to explore that. I cannot manipulate my physical intuition as much on a TR-606 drum machine alone, because there is an entirely different relationship to programming.

Favorite band? Cluster.

If you modeled a machine after a musician who would it be? Hmm.

Kate Bush because she has great range, is free and unpredictable, and ingenious and complex with concepts. That would make a great musical machine, and a person perhaps! Although Richard D. James would be great too — like some giant memory bank, a sampler tank, of bizarre sounds.

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one d one q one d one q one d one q

one drummer one question ONE DRUMMER ONE QUESTION is a regular feature in Tom Tom Magazine. We get a drummer to answer one loaded question and ask an artist to celebrate her in a portrait. Lisa Schonberg curates this feature, and has so far focused on drummers from her stomping ground of Portland, OR. This installment features drummers from the recent Not Enough! Fest in Portland, an annual queer festival of new music and art collaborations. Portland drummer Elizabeth Venable interviewed the drummers for this installment, and local artist and musician Sarah Faith Gottesdiener created some wonderful portraits of them.

MARIA BONACCI of The Craft

Maria Bonacci began drumming about a year ago, and by September she was playing the kit in the melodic metal band The Craft at Not Enough! Fest. The Craft is her first ever musical collaboration. Aside from playing the drums, the 32-year-old spends a lot of time in the garden, copwatching, running around with her dogs, basking in the beauty of Portland and holding on to the remaining shreds of her jock past through running.

Do you identify as a drummer?

In defiance of some of my music-playing comrades, I didn't identify as, or feel like, a drummer until I started playing with other people (even if Kristina Davies, our bassist, has played drums longer than I have). Before the Craft, I was playing beats in a band of one, in the garage, to an audience comprised of my dogs. I didn't feel like a drummer ­— I felt like someone who was aspiring to be a drummer. Not until other people were looking to me to put shit together for a song did I think, "Oh, right, ok, yeah, I am the drummer in this outfit. I guess I'll write some drum parts." There are so many ruling drummers in this town, people who inspire me, that it was hard to consider myself worthy of sharing that title. I think, though, that calling myself a drummer encourages me to work at being one, and will ultimately make me a better musician.

PORTRA I T S BY Sa r ah Fa ith Gott esd iener

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FABI REYNA

of Reynosa, Modern Marriage, Older Women and Patches Fabi Reyna’s band Reynosa has gotten a lot of exciting talk around Portland since they premiered at the Not Enough! Fest this past summer. At the time of their first show, Fabi had only been drumming for a couple of months.

Fabi, who was born in Cancun and raised in McCallen and Austin, TX, described Reynosa as Latin American rock. Her other projects include the bands Modern Marriage, Older Women and Patches — she is an experienced guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter. Both members of Reynosa were formerly in Sexhair, which was a featured band at Tom Tom’s SXSW showcase in March 2011. Fabi’s contribution to the Portland music community goes well beyond playing in bands; she co-runs and founded the record label Talking Helps. Fabi also organized the recent Shred Fest festival — a benefit for She Shreds, a magazine about female guitarists that Fabi is starting — and we are honored that Fabi names Tom Tom as a huge inspiration for it.

Do you identify as a drummer? Yes, I identify as a female drummer — but there's a small part of me that doesn't think so. If you pick up an instrument and you can make something creative out of it, even if you don't know the technical side of things or haven't been playing for years — then hell yeah, you can consider yourself a player. With that said, I feel like there are a lot of drummers out there who have really studied their instrument and if they were to watch me play they might think I was some sort of joke. That is a pretty intimidating way to look at it though and I don’t think I’d be behind the drums with that mindset. So yes, I'm a female drummer because although I've only been playing for a couple months, I keep a rhythm, I make a beat and I can make something creative out of it. What else do I need to identify as such?

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www.galsrock.fr

SUPERHEROES by va n al e xand er

all other photos courtes y of gals rock

Name: Clémence Gancel and Pauline Dutheil Project: Gals Rock Mission: Gals Rock is a place dedicated to female rock

culture. We created it because there was no place presenting a wide selection of female rock music, as well as a relevant selection of clothes, books, accessories . . . and other items related to this culture. Additionally, we are organizing a variety of events (shows, in-store gigs, readings, signings, etc.) and DJing. We believe that there will always be a "niche" of music lovers interested in CDs and LPs. We provide them with honest advice and great service (a cup of tea or coffee, a comfortable couch) and because we are presenting our own selection of music, we're really able to talk about each CD on the shelf.

s u p er h ero p hoto by: jasmi na tomi c H a i r: Gloria Esp inoza M ak e- u p: Seevo n Chau

A few months ago, I started thinking about how to make people aware of all of the awesome, amazing, out-of-this-world good work that women are doing in the world of music. Work that nurtures, features, inspires, incubates and ultimately empowers women in music. It’s not my intention to ignore or belittle the strides that have been made towards women’s equality over the years, but I’d be a fool to deny the work that still needs to be done. I truly believe there is a superhuman quality necessary to realizing your dreams and the women featured as superheroes here are doing that work well. This is our chance to say to them, “Up, up and away!”

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Tom Tom Magazine: Why are women still under represented in music? Gals Rock: Historically in the rock culture, women were

backstage or part of the crowd, but certainly not on stage. Today, the music industry remains mostly driven by men who still consider women to be more like products than artists. Most women who have visibility in music are asked to have "something more" to present other than their music (provocative attitude, exceptional physical appearance, etc.). Their talent is relegated to the background, as if their music were incidental. Then we feel there is no space for women who are "only" artists.

How do we change this? For the reasons mentioned before, we were frustrated that lots of awesome artists were undeservedly under exposed. So we decided to open a shop where we could promote the music we love, which is unfortunately undiscovered. We wanted to show the scope of underground female creations.

If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?

Pauline: To make everyone realize that buying records is the only way to penetrate the artist's creative world. Clémence: To condemn those who tell us that underground female music is lesbian-only music to the eternal and exclusive listening of Michel Sardou's "Etre une femme" (2010)!

1. Give every note and rest its full value. Don’t rush through choruses or drag out a rest.

2. Pick an appropriate tempo for the song that best conveys the feeling or tone that the song is trying to set. If it’s a punk-y anthem, play an energetic tempo. Sad Ballad? Maybe it should be slow and/or sparse.

Six Ways to Create a Killer Drum Part

by Rachel Fuhrer

3. Pick drum parts that suit the song. Don’t play busy drum parts for the sake of showing off. Always play a part that fits the song, and makes the song, and your bandmates, sound best.

4. Be ready and able to incorporate different dynamics, and accents to support the other instruments/flow of the song.

illu st r at io n by lau r en stec

5. Listen carefully to what the other instruments are playing.

Find a drum groove that complements the other instruments. Pay special attention to the bass player! You can create a good kick drum pattern by following the bass line. Don’t forget the bass player is the other half of the rhythm section. Together you will “steer the ship.” Always set your drums up so that you can best hear, make eye contact, and communicate with the bass player.

6. Once you’ve come up with the right groove for the song, you have to inject some emotion and personality into it. If you play your part with finesse, emotion and stay in the pocket, you’ve most likely created a great drum part. Even if the song calls for the most simple, basic beat, you can do so while incorporating all of the above ideas. Just crank up some AC/DC to prove my point!

getting a great drum sound

by Rachel Fuhrer

3. Choose new heads wisely depending on your playing style. If you are going to be pounding out rock beats, then you may want to look into double ply heads for toms and kick. Also, a four or fiveinch port hole cut into your front (resonant) kick drum head will give you a controlled sound. create a place to mic the drum, and adjust any dampening material you may have in the drum.

4. Experiment with tuning each tom at the top of the pitch spectrum (tight) and bottom (loose) and see what you like best. Make small adjustments in whichever direction, and strike the drum as you go to see what sound you like best.

5. Tune the bottom heads of your toms just slighter higher in pitch than the batter heads. This combination can create maximum resonance.

After owning many drum kits and sitting in on even more, I am convinced that any drum set can sound great, even if it is a low budget kit. Here are some basic tips for getting a great sound: 1. Replace any heads that are dented, torn, worn, or just plain old. Many Pros replace their heads before every show! I’m not suggesting that your budget allows that, but if you think your heads are a couple of years old, get rid of them. Yes, that includes the bottom (resonant) heads too!

2. Make sure that all of your drum mounting hardware, lugs and stands are all in good shape, Not rattling around or loose.

Check the lugs, tension rods and all nuts (including the bolts inside the shells) to make sure they are secure, and don’t rattle while playing.

6. Choose a good general-purpose head for your snare drum.

Always check the top and bottom heads to make sure they are retaining proper tension. Some snare drums may require repeated tuning during a show.

7. Try to tighten the tension rods on each drum evenly. Count each half turn on the first rod, and then tension the rod directly across the drum the same amount of turns. Continue around the drum in this fashion, tapping and checking the sound the entire time.

8. Finally, take your time, and don’t get frustrated. Enjoy the prospect of creating your own signature drum sound by experimenting. Rock on!

by lien do

46

This workout requires: • a cymbal stand • a snare • a good attitude

This is roughly a 20-minute workout. These 10 moves can all be done in your practice space (or anywhere really) using just your drum equipment as your weights. The key is to do 3 strength moves, 2 cardio moves, and 1 ab move in that order. Repeat that cycle 3 times, and you’ve got an intense 20-minute body buster. Please, don’t thank me. Just promise to embrace tank top season like never before. Keep your eyes peeled because I will give you a whole different next issue.

D.I.Y DRUM WORKOUT

By Steph Ba r k er illu st r at io ns by kar en codd

CARDIO: 1. Mountain Climbers

Get into plank position, and bring one leg in at a time. You want to bring your knee into your chest, and speed is the key.

This is cardio after all, and we want that heartbeat fast and pumping. Basically you are running in plank position. Do not lift your butt up. Keep back flat and straight. Repeat for 30 seconds.

BEFORE YOU GET GOING : Pick the cymbal stand you are most comfortable with and keep using it for all the strength moves. The crash is typically lighter than the ride stand. So, keep that in mind when selecting your stand.

Your stands should be completely closed and as streamlined as possible.

Your crash stand will typically weigh anywhere from 8-10 lbs, and your ride stand will weigh about 10-12lbs.

2. High Knees

isolate the biceps during the curl. Make sure your chest is up, and your back is flat; if you feel any pain, do not continue this exercise. It is very important to have correct form. Repeat 15 times.

Run in place. The key is to get your knees as high as they can go, and to do this you need to tilt your pelvis slightly forward and up towards the sky. This will make sure you are activating your lower abs, as well as keeping your heart rate up during cardio.

3. Chest Press with a Bridge

STRENGTH : 1. Sumo Squat with Tricep Press

Stand with legs a little wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes out to the side. You should look like a sumo wrestler. Grab one cymbal stand in both hands and raise it over your head. Keep your elbows in towards your ears, so they are pointing forward. Inhale and sink down, exhale and rise up. At the same time, extend your elbows, but keep them pointing forward! As you go down again, lower the cymbal stand, etc.

Repeat 15 times.

Lay on your back, knees slightly bent. Using a cymbal stand as a weight, hold it in your hands across your chest. Elbows bent 90 degrees. Exhale and extend your elbows, bringing the stand above your chest, and as you lift, dig your heels into the ground to lift your butt and lower back off the floor. Hold for a beat, and slowly lower down. Do not let your butt touch the ground. This will keep the contraction all the way through. Repeat 15 times.

abs:

2. Bicep Curl with Deadlift

Again, using a cymbal stand, grab it in both hands, palms facing up. Stand with legs hip-width apart. Keep your chest up, back flat, and knees slightly bent, slowly lower until your arms reach your knee.

Slowly rise back up, chest up, and curl the cymbal stand in towards your chest. Keep the elbows behind the back. This will really

1. Trunk Rotation

Sit on the ground, with your knees bent in towards your chest, and hold a snare drum or high tom in both hands at your chest. Lift your feet off the ground, and twist your torso side to side, touching the drum to the ground on each side. Repeat 15 times on each side, 30 times total.

47

Ed u cati on

Vintage Rhetoric ADVICE TO A YOUNG DRUMMER

by J o s e M edeles p hoto by keary ortiz

To Grip Or Not To Grip, that is the question: How to hold in traditional grip

By R ené Or ma e- Ja r m er / illu st r at io ns By lau r en ma r esca

The head pictured above is from the 40s and depicts an old ship with multiple sails. The head is about a journey and the drums are the vessel. The core of the following text was written decades ago by Ernest Hemingway. I merely replaced words such as writer/novel with drummer/music to give the statements more relativity to our craft. The ship, the words and the sentiment still echo meaning and substance to this day. Enjoy!

• We do not find the deep truths of music and life: they find us • Playing must be a labor of love or it is not playing • You won't succeed by accident, only by patience and hard work • Musical dexterity does not make for a good movement or song • Too many drummers are more concerned with the style of their playing than with the notes they are playing • A good drummer is a careful artist who goes to infinite trouble and great risk in search for their voice • The indispensable characteristic of a good drummer is a style marked by lucidity(wit) • The first thing a good drummer does is overcome their self conscious playing • All good drummers must have irrepressible confidence in themselves and in their ideas • The toughest thing for a drummer is to maintain the vigor and fertility of their imagination • The song/movement is a kind of battlefield on which the drummer fights their eternal struggle between good and evil This is our regular column on vintage drums by Jose Medeles. Jose is the owner of Revival Drum Shop in Portland, Oregon. It specializes in vintage and custom drums, and is full of all sorts of percussive treasures. Jose plays the drums in The Breeders and the 1939 Ensemble.

48

Much has been written on this subject. Yet, many drummers do not know how to hold their sticks in “trad” grip, even though they have seen it or worship drum idols that use it. I hope a little history and direction will help more percussionists honor the art form, and benefit from learning this misunderstood technique.

History

Dating back to the 1400-1500s, this grip is called traditional because it descends from military marching drummers who carried a snare drum on a sling hung around their neck or one shoulder, with the drum riding closer to one hip than the other. Tilted slightly for easier reach. This allowed the drummer to play the drum with the left hand, “under-handed,” and match grip (like a hammer) with the right hand while marching. The first drum set players surfaced around 1840 when drummers started sitting down.

Since most of those players were marching drummers, the traditional grip continued to be the orthodox way of playing. Snare drums continued to be slanted within the drum set arrangement. The traditional technique is more difficult to master; however, it is embedded into our percussion culture. Mostly used in Jazz, and marching drum line genres.

Grab a stick!

Hold the left arm, palm down, fingers together. Place the stick in the socket between the thumb and first finger (about 1/3 of the butt end of the stick above the hand). Grip should be tight enough on the stick to cause a slight drag if you try to pull it out from the hand.

Keeping the third and fourth fingers closed, turn the arm to the left and the stick will naturally fall into position across the third finger.

Bring your arm in towards your body. Curl your fourth and fifth fingers so that the stick is laying on the nail bed of finger four with finger five (your pinky) supporting finger four.

Bring your index finger around, and cross your thumb between the first and second knuckles of your index finger (like a “T”). At this point, and this usually gets a small chuckle from students, you are flipping me off.

Yes, your middle finger is “out there” about an inch from the stick. Bring it in a bit so it’s not an extreme flip-off. Some instructors teach that the middle finger is to be straight, but a slight bend is more comfortable. Be sure not to arch the wrist back, but keep it straight.

For the right hand, a simple match grip is fine. At this point if you check your fulcrums (where the point of balance is on your sticks), they should match. There should be butts sticking out on both hands, and it should be even.

Now you are holding your sticks in front of you with your wrist on the left hand, “trad” grip, and the match grip right hand. It should be about 1/4 of the “pie” on the drum or about 45 degrees in angle.

Drum Machine Love To Play:

Your left hand should be slightly higher than the right. With your wrists straight, and not bent back. You are going to now imagine turning a doorknob, and strike the drum. If you are like most drummers, you will immediately feel how underdeveloped your wrist muscle is, and you will notice how the stick wants to slip off your fourth finger nail bed. It is really easy to develop a blister, so if you feel one coming on, stop and give it a rest. It takes a while to get used to traditional grip. With practice, it’s like riding a bicycle. It will get easier and you’ll notice that your muscles in your hands and wrists will get strong. I always tell my students that if you are going to practice this grip, start with a band-aide and protect your finger.

If you get a sore spot or blister on the ring finger, it will take time to heal. Have a teacher check to make sure you are in correct form while practicing. Now, go get your “trad” grip on!

drum it yourself: d.i.y.

GROOVE: 3/4 Over 4/4 By morgan doctor

This is a beat developed from a Jazz line I learned from my teacher Jim Blackley. I took the basic figure shown in Part 1, and filled it in on the toms. It is a pattern that goes over 3 beats, but the hi-hat is keeping the 2 and 4 of the 4/4 time. So, your left foot is keeping 4/4, while your hands are doing 3/4. The figure is played in the right hand (between the snare and floor tom), and the rests are filled in with the left hand (on the rack tom). The beat has a nice swing to it, and later in the song I move the floor tom hits to the ride.

The tricky part of the beat is that the figure (Part 1) doesn’t actually start until beat 2 of the first bar.

Univox SR-95 W o r d s a nd Illu st r at io n by A im ee Norw ich

According to a tech forum online, the service manual lists the Univox SR-95’s manufacture date as 1973. Visually, its vintage-ness is indicated by its sweet wood siding and super simple layout, not to mention the rubbed-off labels on the surface of the machine.

The SR-95 is analog beat box machine making at its purest and simplest - press a few buttons, move a few faders, and presto… your own beat, mixed and ready to go! Such a relief, compared to the option paralysis we now face with our mega deluxe amount of choices in this highly complicated technological age.

Although it was originally designed for using one rhythm function at a time, musicians quickly realized that by engaging multiple buttons simultaneously, they could build unique, customized beats! Both, mega stars and DIYers used, and continue to use, this machine. As for mega production uses, composers like Jean-Michel Jarre used the Univox in his Yanni-style new agey symphonies like Oxygen 2. DIYers gone bigtimers like R.E.M. also partook in the delights of the Univox; if you listen closely on "Everybody Hurts", you’ll hear the Quijada fills! As for way cool No Wavers of the 70s, Martin Rev used this simple beauty in his rig, to complete the influential electronic duo Suicide.

So the Univox SR-95 is a simply designed vintage drum machine that has made its mark in our musical consciousness. Scouring Ebay and other online vintage gear resources, I found that the SR-95 can still make quite a dent in your pocketbook; so, it’s still a device in high demand that continues to rear its beautiful head in our musical culture.

Aimee Norwich is a musician, composer and producer and a regular contributor to Tom Tom Magazine. For more info, please visit www.aimeenorwich.com

49

Diy: Drum Suitcase

BY CANDA C E H A NSEN

How to make it!

1. Put all of the parts into small matching groups categorized by what they are going to be used for. Ex. All cymbal stand supplies together, all tom bracket supplies together, and all cowbell mount supplies together.

Candace Hansen is a drummer and drum expert from Orange County, California. She has been playing drums for ten years and has worked in drum sales and service since 2006. She has recently been named one of Guitar Center’s top drum experts in the company in 2012. She has played in numerous punk bands all over Southern California and toured internationally.

2. Clean all parts, and make sure to remove all stickers from PVC material.

3. Paint all parts that require painting.

4. Visualize where you want to drill out the suitcase. Make sure to mark where you want to drill in pencil before you drill. You will need to drill: • 2 cymbal stand holes.

• 1 tom mount hole.

• 1 cowbell mount hole • 4 holes for the bass drum mount door hinge • 2 small holes per bass drum spur.

DO NOT ACTUALLY DRILL YET, JUST MARK. 5. Build the bass drum mount, and install the door hinge. It should be fastened to the bottom of the suitcase, and held by 4 machine screws with nuts on the opposite side. To ensure this is permanently connected, use a vice grip and screwdriver to tighten. Double check that the door hinge is centered, and on the “batter side” of the suitcase.

6. Next put on the tom and cowbell mounts. For the cowbell, use one large machine screw for the mount. Drill out a space just large enough, and then thread it through the plastic. Put a washer on both the top and bottom side before securing thoroughly with a nut.

For the floor tom mount, take the 5/16th-threaded rod, and drill plastic to fit exactly. Thread through, and place washers on both sides. On the topside, put a neoprene washer under the metal washer to prevent slippage and unscrewing.

50

MATERIALS NEEDED: • 1 HARD VINTAGE SUITCASE • 2 SHELF BRACKETS • 2 small PVC pipes (1/2 inch) cut to approximately 17 inches • 2 PVC “Reducing” Male Adaptors ½ to ¾ inch • 2 Female PVC Adaptors ½ inch • Two ¾ to ½ inch PVC Plastic “Reducer Bushing” • 2 carriage Bolts w/ Matching Nuts • 1 Door 4-inch Hinge • 4 Machine Screws and Nuts • 2 Cymbal Sleeves -4 Cymbal felts • 1 Large Machine Screw w/ 2 washers, 1 Nut • 1 Threaded Rod 5/16 Size, 2 Washers, 2 Nuts, 1 Matching Neoprene Washer • 14 Metal Washers • Two ¾ inch Neoprene Rubber Grommets * You may need to purchase a floor tom leg bracket to put on to a miscellaneous tom for it to mount. A good model to buy is a Pearl LB15.

7. Now make the cymbal stands: Step 1: Collect 12 washers, 2 PVC pipes, 2 male PVC adaptors, 2 female PVC adaptors, 2 PVC reducers, 2 cymbal sleeves, necessary felts, 2 carriage bolts and their matching nuts.

Step 2: Attach female adaptors to the bottoms of PVC pipe.

Step 3: Stack 4 washers on top of the PVC pipe. Put 2 washers on top of the carriage bolt, and then add the reducer PVC cap so that the bolt is coming out of the top of the cap, with the 2 washers in between. Push on the reducer cap to sandwich all of the materials inside. TaDah! A cymbal stand is born. Next place the cymbal sleeve, felts and a washer of your choice and top with nuts. Repeat for second stand.

8. Drill out the spaces in the suitcase for the stands. These are the most difficult holes to drill. Grab the “male PVC pipe adaptor” and trace the threaded diameter onto the suitcase. Then drill a hole to match this size near to exact. Note: Do not over drill this hole. If it is too big, the cymbal stand can fall through the suitcase! Thread the male PVC adaptor through the suitcase from the inside out. It should poke out when there is nothing attached to it. Carefully, unscrew the male adaptor and put the ¾ inch neoprene grommet at the base, and then screw the adaptor back into the suitcase. To secure this piece, use a vice grip when screwing. These parts stay in the suitcase, and will poke out of the top about an inch or so.

9. Lastly, attach the bass drum spurs (shelf brackets) to the front side of the suitcase. Drill from the inside of the suitcase. Now you’re done manufacturing!

Setting it up should be the easy part.

Close the suitcase up, and face the door hinge side towards you. Attach a bass drum pedal to the door hinge. Screw on “cymbal stands” to their respective bases. Put cymbals on stands. Attach cowbell to the cowbell mount, and position accordingly. Attach accessory tom to the tom mount. Set up your snare drum, throne and hi-hat stand. SHRED!

the l atest on the greatest / gearheads

GEAR

by ru cyl mi ll s (i n te rvi e w on p. 34 )

Nintendo DS Lite Boss Dr. Rhythm DR-100

Akai APC-40

vintagesynth.com/roland/dr110.php

akaipro.com/apc40 This piece of hardware completely changed my live process. I had built the Chakakhantroller to do all the things this can do, and it does even more than I need. Combined with Ableton Live, I have a limitless palette of sounds to choose from. I designate the first four tracks for my vocals, each channel set up with effects and a looper. I put stickers on some of the buttons for reference. The other rows are for VSTs and samples. I can trigger the looper or loop samples on the fly with the pads, and the knobs allow me to access and control effects for any channel at anytime. It’s the only piece of gear in my live set up that requires an external power source - all the other pieces run on batteries or are USB powered from my laptop. I’m all about cable minimalism.

top pick

Kaleidoloop

critterandguitari.com I love this little guy made by Chris Kucinski & Owen Osborn of Critter Guitari here in Philadelphia. I met Chris at the ITP program at NYU and was thrilled to find their workshop a few years later. The Kaleidoloop has a built in mic and can sample sounds which you can then loop and pitch manipulate. I’ve created some really nice rhythms from organic sounds with this — it’s one of my favorite pieces right now.

Critter Guitari also makes some rad pocket pianos and video synths.

Lovely little analog drum machine from the 1980s.

Has that old school drum sound, Shuggie Otis style, and you can use it to trigger another synth and sync them up. These don’t cost much, but it’s priceless to me.

amazon.com/Nintendo-DS-Lite-Gold-Legend-Zelda/dp/B000X25GWM glitchds.com I don’t play any video games — I use my DS strictly for music stuff. My favorite is the Glitch DS homebrew application which turns the DS into a cellular automation sequencer.

You can add your own sounds or use that IDM/glitchy ones that come with it. Great for traveling as well and the DS has surprisingly good sound quality.

Roland SH-101 Monome Sixty-Four monome.org/devices

Made by Brian Crabtree and also originally manufactured in Philadelphia - the Monome is a controller that lets you use open source software to make it do basically anything you want. The most popular function is using it as a sampler, made famous by Daedelus out in LA. Brian Crabtree is amazing with this thing, as is Galapagoose from Australia, who wrote the customized software for Daedelus to use.

The Monome is beautiful to hold with a wood casing and it even has a tilt sensor built in which some folks use to control effects. Great to travel with if you only have room for one piece and doubles as a controller for visuals.

Comes in three sizes according to the amount of buttons: 256 (16×16), 128 (16×8), and the one I have, 64 (8×8).

vintagesynth.com/roland/sh101.php The Roland SH-101 monophonic synthesizer. *sigh* Soooo dreamy... I was pining away for years for one of these, and just finally got one. It’s the perfect synth for me. I like tactile interfaces, and after spending a few years with my face in a laptop, I’m loving being able to physically create the sound I want by adjusting knobs and levers. Not to mention the tones this lady can make — analog heaven.

There’s another part to it, a modulation attachment that lets you wear it like a guitar — gotta get that eventually.

Shure SM57 Akai MPK Mini

akaipro.com/mpkmini Plug it in, it locks to Ableton Live, and you’re ready to go. 25 mini keys, eight knobs, eight pads. All I need sometimes. Light and easy to carry, no fuss.

shure.com

I’ve had this mic for 12 years now, it’s a trooper.

I’ve dropped it a million times, no one wants to steal it, and because of the head shape it has a pseudo-unidirectional effect, which is helpful with cutting down on feedback for my effectheavy live vocals.

51

MUSIC

Ani Difranco

¿Which Side Are You On? Righteous Babe Records | January 2012

Between its consistent, walking-pace tempo, lack of dynamic extremes, and its slow Jazz folk sound, ¿Which Side Are You On? vsonically pretty mellow, despite its intense titular demand.

The Little Folksinger moved to New Orleans in 2003-ish, and the influence of the Big Easy is audible in her work. Lyrically, Difranco is as incisive as ever; the questions she asks about our government, how we treat each other, and how marriage, motherhood, and happiness have changed her aren’t easy. But as always she approaches contradiction and inner conflict with honesty, righteous anger, humor, and grace. The result is an inspiring portrait of an active and talented musician who also happens to be a grown ass woman.

top pick

Old Wars

Broken Bones Cassingle and Loving It Records | Nov 2011

Kathy Mendonca, former drummer of The Gossip, has joined up with Jen Moon to form Portland's newest duo, Old Wars.

Their first release, a bright red cassette off newborn label, Cassingle and Loving It Records, strikes some strong chords right off the bat with “Broken Bones” — a ballad that evokes the vocal elasticity of Karen O and filtered swag of early-Kills Alison Mosshart. The album, at large, is an ode to pop rock via drum and bass medleys.

Listen to this: on your maiden voyage to the Northwest. — Anika Sabin

Listen to this: while hosting a dinner party for your most awesomely aware and politically active friends. — Jamie Varriale Vélez

Grimes Visions

4AD | February 2012

The experimental and daring musician Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, has released her fourth album, Visions, on 4AD. It follows up her previous endeavors of lo-fi pop and R&B in the past two years. Visions has early tracks that are rich with enhanced, snappy, and well-thought-out beats for tracks such as “Genesis”; the song holds a hypnotic intro and keeps it consistent. However, Visions has the ability to fall into a deeper and darker path for tracks down the line.

The album is laced with gorgeously layered and thick vocals, giving it an epic edge that, nonetheless, stands on a different platform as a psychedelic dance album.

Listen to this: on your way to a sweet electronic show. — Attia Taylor

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan YT//ST

Psychic Handshake Recordings | October 2011

The elements of Rae Spoon comes to us in a neat package. I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets rides between melodramatic and spirited with pockets of intrigue — and a few secrets are actually revealed. It serves as the sixth fulllength album of the Montreal artist, featuring production work from Lynne T of Lesbians on Ecstasy and Alexandre Decoupigny. There are a few tricks up Rae's sleeve, giving us a heavily programmed follow-up to the 2010 release, Love Is a Hunter. A true shift in focus is in effect because with the experience to back it up, the indie electronic album has consistency and emotional language. This proves that Rae Spoon lived and is here to tell the story with true digital soul and a classic backdrop.

It’s not often Chinese opera and death metal mingle in the same sentence, but damn, if it doesn't feel good. Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a Montreal-based duo of drummer Alaska B and Ruby Kato Attwood, have ballooned into an eight-piece orchestra to create the supercharged prog-rock opera, YT// ST. Harnessing both Eastern and Western traditions, and the boundless arena of no wave, the band toys with duality of culture and sound while creating massively elaborate sets, both in performance and in sound. A song may be brought to life with an organ (ala Stereolab meets Blonde Redhead), but is later tethered by a weighty prog backdrop. There is subtle switching of sets like a rotating theater, unmasking, then re-veiling sound as YT//ST veers in and out squealing guitars, lost voices, grinding cacophony and pummelling drums.

Each track stands on its own, but definitely attack the whole album at once if you have the chance.

Listen to this: when your blues and joys intertwine. — Attia Taylor

Listen to this: during battle, and after as you rest on your cosmic laurels. — Anika Sabin

Rae Spoon

I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets Saved By Radio | January 2012

52

Various Artists

Riot Grrrl is Not Dead!

Curated by Riot Grrrl Berlin | January 2012

A long, effusive love letter to the house Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, and many other bands built, these bands' stylistic and political influence is evident in the 50-plus songs and detailed liner notes.

But homogenous, this compilation is not. The bands are from all over the Western world, and the songs range from guitar-driven garage-y fuzz to jangling pop to synth-laden electronica, motivated by anger, humor, and every emotion in between. Put together by Riot Grrrl Berlin, this compilation shows that young women musicians and artists are still working together in the name of punk feminism, and proves that riot grrrl is anything but dead.

Listen to this: while having a radical craft party with your feminist friends. — Jamie Varriale Vélez

reviews

Magnetic Island

Trophy Wife

Trust

Self-Released | January 2012

307 Knox | August 2010

Arts & Crafts Records | February 2012

With its complex guitar melodies, and thunderous drumming, Magnetic Island’s self-titled album takes the riot grrrl sound of the 90s to greater heights by fusing punk and experimental rock. One of indie rocks best female guitarists, Lisa Liu also demonstrates the qualities of a brilliant composer. Liu is a newcomer to the drums, yet played all of the percussion parts for the album, in addition to guitar, vocals, bass, and Rhodes piano. Liu’s drumming is clear and precise and complements every accent of the guitar and vocals. A sense of equilibrium reigns throughout the album as each instrument is arranged best to benefit the overall sound with bandmate SMV’s vocals and undercurrent melodies on the keyboard, making Magnetic Island a very well-composed album that will surely be a contender for best of 2012.

Katy Otto and Diane Foglizzo seem so synchronized that they might be one Janus figure, two heads surrounded by animated beams of metal spinning up spires to ignite and trigger celestial disturbances. The layered vocals fall like finely crafted pieces of an installation, invocating literary and queer theory heroines, such as in their arrangement of Audre Lorde’s words in “Sister Outsider.” The ferocity of Otto’s drumming spreads ripples past the initial impact.

She can tremor out sixteenth notes and evoke contradictions in words while making it seem as she only shifted slightly in her seat to do so. Foglizzo has equal fortitude to convey the urgency and necessity of their messages, as in “Pregnancy” the women seem formed together, one arm circling strings while two voices belt out alarms in perfect compositions.

After nearly two years of touring with the likes of Glass Candy and Hercules & Love Affair, sporadically dropping singles along the way, Austra's Maya Postepski and Robert Alfons, the duo behind Trust, are giving us an album.

This full length includes their 7” singles like “Candy Walls,” which feels a little witch house stale, but “Sulk” and “Bulbform” prove them worthy of a second listen. These songs dive into mesmerizing cold wave, and pulsing dance beats melted only by the warmer houseswaggered synths. Alfons’ voice slides between spooked falsetto and numbed-down baritone with ease, through dense wobbled pitches and a bath of arpeggios, making this album near addictive.

S/T

Listen to this: during a power outage as a tropical storm rages outside. — Nikkiesha N. McLeod

Patience Fury

Listen to this: when it’s time to shatter a litany of compulsions, in an awkward dressing room, before meetings with adversaries, and between uncomfortable silences. — Bonnie MacAllister

TRST

Listen to this: while sweating it out slow motion on the dance floor. — Anika Sabin

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youtube These drummers are killing it in the world of YouTube.

Here are some of our favorites.

top pick

Abra “Crab” Scratch Tutorial

by LuckeyMonkey LuckeyMonkey is a kick-ass female beat boxer, and she made a video teaching the art of Abra “Crab” Scratching. It is very informative, and she explains all the motions really succinctly. I found myself sitting in front of my laptop practicing, and had so much fun. Mindy was less than impressed with my new skills, but I felt great. Isn’t that all the really matters? Go and get your learn on!

Search: LuckeyMonkey Tutorial

Street Drummer – Poker Face

Nine-Year-Old Female DJ Beauty and the Beatz

Crystal Vargas on Percussion with DJ LJ

Man Qing is a street drummer in Taiwan. She doesn’t just play with a couple of buckets, she has her whole kit out on the sidewalk, and blasts popular music to perform drum covers. It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of strangers. She does it really well. Tom Tom plans to find out more about Qing in the near future. So, get a jumpstart and check her out now!

Adorable. This little girl has more swag than basically everyone I know, combined. The best part, aside from her name, is that she is spinning her set at a burger place.

This is so cute. Also, she has really dope glasses, and totally emerges herself in her set. I can’t even.

This is a very short clip, and only had about 70 views when I found it. I have no idea why it had so little because Crystal is killing it! I did not want it to end, she was grooving so hard. Latin music has always been fascinating to me, and I love to listen to all the intricate rhythms working together. Not to mention, cowbells. Hello? Cowbells, yes! Now go, more cowbell for you!

Search: eddieku147 Channel

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Search: DJ Beauty and the Beatz

Search: Crystal Vargas on Percussion with DJ LJ

reviews

books pink noises: WOmen on electronic music and sound

By Tara Rodgers

Duke University Press | 2010 What does it mean to be a female electronic musician? This seemingly simple question lies at the heart of Pink Noises, Tara Rodgers’s compelling exploration into the relationship between technology and gender. Over the course of 24 interviews— ranging from pioneers like Pauline Oliveiros and Eliane Radigue to contemporary noise makers like Bevin Kelley and Mira Calix— Rodgers’s book serves as both an introduction to the world of music and technology, even providing an extensive glossary, and inspirational manifesto, revealing that to succeed as an artist is to follow one’s own unique path, no matter what. — Nick Zurko

tom tom tv best of Li st compi le d by st eph ba r k er

If you haven’t noticed, we have a video screen on the homepage of our website. Yep. That’s right. We use it to premiere music videos, upload exclusive drum lessons, and for just about anything female drummer related. Here are some of the highlights from Tom Tom TV.

Interview with Lauren K Newman

Stick Trick Tutorial by Lindsay Bird

Tom Tom interviews LKN of Palo Verde, while she is driving. If that first line was not enough to make you watch this immediately, then hopefully the next few will. Lauren speaks so openly and honestly during the interview.

Also featured, are a few clips of her shredding throughout. This video is very real, and very raw. We like her so much we interview her in this issue as well.

Lindsay is the drummer for Toronto based band, Mittenz. Not to be confused with the Brooklyn band, Mitten (who we also featured in this issue). She is breaking down three stick tricks that can be done while you are playing, and also during any drum breaks that might occur. They are all very fun, and easy to learn. Lindsay does a great job explaining, and showing exactly how the tricks work. Spins baby, spins.

Space Invaders: Aftergloam

Hit Like A Girl 2012

Space Invaders is Tom Tom TV’s sneak peak into practice spaces. This video features the LA band, Aftergloam. We talk to each member of the band, get clips of rehearsal, and of course, a few close ups on the drummer! I love that it is in a bedroom, but I also love the phenomenal drumbeat in the opening. Holy wow, that bass drum pattern is sick, and locked in so tight. I need to talk to someone about it.

All of the videos submitted to the Hit Like A Girl 2102 contest can be viewed on YouTube. Make sure to watch everyone that competed online. Great solos and performances from girls, and women, all over the world! www.hitlikeagirl2012.com

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UPLOAD YOUR DRUMMING VIDEO FOR A CHANCE

HitLikeAGirl2012.com primary sponsors:

TO WIN OVER $10,000 IN DRUMS & OTHER PRIZES!

A Contest For Female Drummers Aiming to seek, support and celebrate the impact of female drummers, Hit Like A Girl 2012 is the world's first drum contest for girls and women and open to all female drum set players—any age, any level, any style.

Go to www.hitlikeagirl2012.com for details today. Submit your videos online and vote for finalists from February 1 to April 1, 2012. The Grand Prize winner will be picked by a panel of celebrity judges including Sheila E, Jess Bowen, Dawn Richardson, Susie Ibarra, and Kim Thompson and winners will appear in DRUM! and Tom Tom Magazines.

More Than $10,000 In Prizes & Media Support!

Grand Prize • Crush Sublime 5-piece North American maple kit with M4 hardware • Six (6) TRX ICON cymbals • Twelve (12) pairs of Vater sticks and stickbag • $500 in Evans drumheads, SKB cases, and Alfred instructional media.

Second Prize • Four (4) TRX NRG cymbals • Twelve (12) pairs of Vater sticks • Evans snare drumhead, SKB cymbal bag and merchandise.

Third Prize • Three (3) TRX ICON cymbals • Six (6) Pair of Vater stick • Evans snare drumhead, SKB cymbal bag and merchandise.

Bonus Prizes The first 100 entrants will receive a subscription to Drum! and a selection of sponsors' merchandise.

Rules: This contest is open to participants from all countries, however winners from territories outside North America are responsible for any additional shipping costs as well as any local duties and/or fees. No drummer signed to a major label or in a major band is eligible. The Contest is not open to employees, families, or employees of participating manufacturers and sponsors. The decision of the judges is final. The contest is void where prohibited by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local regulations. Taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. The prizes are nontransferable. The winner releases HitLikeAGirl2012 and its affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from any liability in connection with use of the prize. Entrants agree that their likeness or photos may be used in promotion of this or future events. Contents © HITLIKEAGIRL2012.com.

Drummer: Fiona Daniel Photographer: PetrKlapper.com

additional media sponsors:

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throwback

delia derbyshire By a nika sab in

BEFORE THERE WERE SYNTHESIZERS and samplers, there were wobbulators, reverberation chambers, and Delia Derbyshire. The world was first introduced to Derbyshire via the eerie, spaced out Dr. Who theme. Composed of waveforms from test-tone oscillators (re-purposed for music) and warping feedback on spliced bits of analogue tape, the song encapsulated the fantastical essence of the space/time continuum. For Dr. Who and many other lucky BBC programs, Derbyshire set in motion wild atmospheres that heightened both the character's depth and their stagings through her acute sonic sensitivity.

Derbyshire originally studied mathematics and music in school but had trouble pinning down a job in the '50s, as many record labels and recording studios did not employ women. She spent time working for the UN, however, she came back to music in 1962, joining the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. This studio was set up, in part, by another pioneering woman in electronic music, Daphne Oram, who developed the Oramics machine. This hefty synthesizer reads and transforms drawings of waveforms on glass slides into music. And though the machine is now too fragile to operate, it’s on view at London’s Science Museum as part of a larger survey exhibition on the origins of electronic music until late 2012.

Derbyshire approached the studio with her own style and techniques, preferring Musique Concrète, a style of electroacoustic music relying on handmade, organic sounds, to create her space odysseys, ambient tones, and bizarre pop tinkering.

Derbyshire's compositions weren’t often made with a synthesizer, instead sounds were recorded on a reel-to-reel, cut out and re-arranged with other tape. She’d often be found rolling out

yards of tape in the hallways of the BBC — walking alongside, counting beats in her head, and knowing exactly when to cut by sight. Derbyshire ran these sounds through a delay or generated an echo effect to bring the samples seamlessly together. Favorites from this era include “Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO”, a recording made for the show Out of the Unknown, in which Derbyshire gets the cast to chant "Praise to the master/his wisdom and his reason/praise to the master/forever and OO-OO-OO-OO/his wis.../his wis.../OO-OO-OO-OO" then chops up and reverses the tape to create this haunting piece. For over a decade Derbyshire lived within the now iconic Radiophonic Workshop at the BBC, during the day laying down soundtracks and special effect sequences for programing, and into the night, as she sneaked back in to experiment with her avant-garde pop music project, White Noise alongside David Vorhaus and Brian Hodgson. Today, their debut album = remains an influential milestone in electronic music with songs like "Love Without Sound" and "Here Come the Fleas."

As the synthesizer began to dominate the scene, Derbyshire feeling disillusioned by the direction music was taking, shrunk away.

She spent most of her days in relative quiet, working from time to time as a radio operator, in a bookshop, and in an art gallery.

When she died at age 64 after a bout with cancer, many of her tapes were recovered — from blank to singular recorded sounds to fully mixed compositions. The tapes had been stored in old cereal boxes, which seems oddly fitting — Derbyshire often approached the seemingly banal with irreverent appreciation, taking small unassuming sounds and drawing them out into her own haunting mythics through a near alchemic transformation.

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