Although there was some live drumming on the recent Progtronica EP, for the most part I have focused my recording and performance techniques on live “re-mixing” of my own material. Drum wise my approach has been to record myself, often in several layers, playing live. Then take parts of the recording and slice, alter, and map out the different rhythms in Ableton in such a way so that I can be freed up to manipulate not only the drum parts, but all of the sonic textures to the fullest to create a constantly evolving sound. The beauty of performing with this technique is how much I can do live with a minimal amount of equipment. Having been a touring drummer for years, the idea of performing live with just a backpack of gear is truly an amazing prospect.
I haven’t forgotten about the drums though. The drum stool is the place where I feel most musically comfortable and my original Progtronica intention was to be more of a “drumming DJ” mixing the music while playing the rhythm parts mostly live giving a much needed human element to the machine dominated genre of electronica in all its forms. Production and performance wise it is all a give and take, more overall control of the sound or more rhythmic spontaneity.
The last couple of months have been dedicated to Progtronica as the digital live re-mix DJ, this is the re-introduction of Progtronica as the “Futuristic One Man Drum Ninja Band”.
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