Monday, March 7, 2016

Drumkit for contemporary classical ensembles

In THE WALL STREET JOURAL, I've read the article “Wilco’s Drummer Goes Classical.”

 Glenn Kotche, best known as the drummer for the alt-rock band Wilco, has provided the backbeats and grooves for the band plus occasional tonal color since 2000. Also he has been composing for classical ensemble and collaborating with some of the world’s leading contemporary classical ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, the Silk Road Ensemble, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, So Percussion, and eighth blackbird.

 “Those lines between classical music and rock have long vanished. People are just open to good music and good experiences." he said.

 He lives in his world with rhythms, tones, patterns and sonic textures- the building blocks of music. In fact, Delta Faucets once hired him to create the sounds backing a series of commercials promoting its touch system products, which he did by using the sounds of water. He said, “Water is like a mallet hitting a surface and hitting a surface with force- that’s a percussion instrument.”
He can find music in everything, and is good at constructing them together effectively.

 I watched Wilco's performance and his latest work “Drumkit quartets." I felt similar to listening to the drum solo of the band’s song when listened to “Drumkit quartets, No.54 (Vienna)” To percussionists, what or where are the borderlines between some genres including classical music?EndFragment The specific technique? The styles? The instruments they use? I'm interested in his career and what he has been doing in the fields of both rock and classic music. It's pretty experimental.