#SweetBeats
Day 14: The White Stripes - Rag And Bone
There is only so much you can do with a guitar/drum setup before adding new things to the mix, but Jack and Meg are at their best when it’s just the two of them - clearly having a blast on this track with ferocious playing from the two of them
#SweetBeats
Day 13: The Roots - Long Time
I read an interview with Questlove where he said that if he wants to be known for any type of legacy, it’s to be known as the funkiest thing walking today! His drumming excellence demonstrated best on this tribute to the band’s home town of Philadelphia.
#SweetBeats
Day 12: The Go! Team - Ladyflash
Big drums play as hip-hop, psychedelia and girl groups meet in this sample-tastic slab of joy! Initial recording sessions saw Ian Parton engineer and record everything himself at his parents’ home in Wales. The drums were recorded in the kitchen!
#SweetBeats
Day 11: Soulwax - The Singer Has Become A Deejay
Why have two drummers when you can have three? From the LP From Deewee, recorded in one take and features Igor Cavalera (formerly of Sepultura) as one of the drummers. This instrumental the best example of electronics meeting live drums
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Day 10: Adam & The Ants - Antmusic
Why have one drummer when you can have two? Regrouping after his first band left, this manifesto was born - with an unstoppable wave of percussion powering it along! Whether or not disco is “that music” which has lost its taste is up for debate…
#SweetBeats
Day 9: Bow Wow Wow - C30 C60 C90 Go
A celebration of home taping and was originally released only on cassette. Complete with tribal-style drumming by Dave Barbarossa - who was in Adam & The Ants - Malcolm McLaren persuaded him (and the rest of the band) to leave and start Bow Wow Wow
#SweetBeats
Day 8: The Cure - The Hanging Garden
From their incredibly dark Pornography album - the band were falling apart and Robert’s intention was to make the ultimate “fuck off” record. The intense drumming underpins this song and is often compared to Budgie’s drumming in the Banshees…
#SweetBeats
Day 7: Slipknot - The Heretic Anthem
To my great shame, I didn’t get them at first. I certainly did by the time Iowa arrived. My first taste of it was this - on a freebie CD with the NME. Mind blown! Blimey it’s fast - in part because of the drumming from the late, great Joey Jordison
#SweetBeats
Day 6: Sepultura - Roots Bloody Roots
Probably screamed by many people during lockdown as they looked in the mirror! But this angst-ridden banger from these Brazilian behomoths is actually about embracing heritage, and incorporated tribal percussion into their already brutal riffs
#SweetBeats
Day 5: Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ‘66 - Mas Que Nada
Regarded as the definitive version of the song (one of those songs I wasn’t aware was a cover until conversations with those in the know), this bossa nova classic with its impeccable percussion brought Brazilian music to the world stage
#SweetBeats
Day 4: Pet Shop Boys - Single
The life of a business traveller in Europe in 1996, influenced by the beats and rhythms associated with Latin American music Pet Shop Boys were hearing during a South American tour. The drums are performed by SheBoom - a Scottish women's drumming ensemble
#SweetBeats
Day 3: Doves - There Goes The Fear
Just under seven minutes of pure joy. It was written for a friend whose life was spiraling out of control - explains the lyrics about living life to the fullest without regret or fear. It ends with the most life affirming carnival percussion!
#SweetBeats
Day 2: Björk - I Miss You
Considering initial sessions for her second album Post were recorded in the Bahamas, it explains the Afro-Cuban feel of this track - full of electronic drums and Latin-inspired bongos. Pure joy in every beat! She misses you - and she hasn’t even met you yet!
#SweetBeats
Day 1: Florence + The Machine - The Drumming Song
Starting a music challenge of all things percussion with an, erm, drumming song! Written by Florence after listening to lots of hip hop and also plays the drums on this song. It’s about that unspoken electricity when two people meet…
