Recently, a new 'jungle drummer' named Evil E has joined our scene here in Austin. I saw the actual 'Jungle Drummer'from the UK at the Craze show not too long ago and i was very disappointed and kinda of annoyed with the collaboration. He seemed to try to keep up with the beat, rather than adding to it. I wanted to hear your opinions or reviews on either adding live precussions or other musical intruments to a live dj set. Now i have caught Evil E in action a couple of tymes now, and i am much more impressessed with the sounds and the creativity of his style, but ive never seen anyother musicans add to a dj's set. If any of you have, tell us what you thought, or how it could have been improved.

I've seen live drummers a few times with DJs. Sorry, i don't remember names. (Once was at the Red Room, was it Cirrus?) I think if it's done right, it is right on. Live drums are great with some Bangra.

Live trance. Pretty interesting.

<yawn> 303 Infinity, nice group, decent tunes, live trance act not all that thrilling, really. It works better when it can be fine tuned. It doesn't need to sound raw and live.

Ive seen evl-e a few times now and he always trys to set the pace and almost every dj ive heard him play with was unable to perform as well.
I think if the drums are away from the dj and you have loud enough monitors to over power the drums,it may go over more smoothly. Anyway for me the live drummer thing is very distracting.If the drummer gets off beat even slightly I would pob adjust the record though i didnt need to.

not really a drummer with a dj per say but....

these cats from houston....dead pa

222 played a gig with them in college station and they were fucking ill, played all original dnb

the drummer was off the chain i mean seriously he was the shit. at one point he broke a stick or lost a stick for some reason and was hammering out this ruff as drum lick with one stick

check em out if you geta chance

j

Someone mentioned the need for better montitors set up and I think that is a major need for it to go over smoothly. Very many times I noticed that it seemed he was off, because he of course was jamming so loundly that he cannot hear the digital beat signature coming from the speakers. I think drumming, or playing other instruments could go over really well, just ask Breakbeat Era. But like any instrument, the drums, or a voice (MCs), or guitar can get TOO repetitive and thusly annoying and destracting from the overall power of someone's mixing abilities. It seems like developing a structure, or working with tracks that the drummer is familiar with would help as well. Sometimes breakdowns are a place where the producer of the electronic track does some really interesting things to tweak the sound and then re-introduce the track and I have seen those breakdowns ruined by the addition of some mindless chatter or incessant clanging.

MY overall opinion: I like it, but continuous refinement is in order.

They were good fo' sho'. But Like J said, the drummer wasn't competing with the DJ's beats, he was making them.

I think having a drummer play over the DJ is a bit of overkill. The records already have drums programmed in, right? That said, I haven't really heard a live act, other than on the internet, so I will make my judgement when I do.

As a drummer, part of what attracted me to Jungle was the fact that most of the drums couldn't be played by a real drummer because they were layered, sampled and sped up. This took "live" drumming up a notch.

I remember seeing the Jungle Drummer. I was not impressed at all. Hes the only one ive seen tho.

No matter how many instruments you add- drums, vocals, kazoos... you're still playing songs somebody else wrote in order.

The guys from dead pa are good friends of mine... well, the producer, jason is. I don't know the drummer as well, but he seems like a really cool guy. Jason has an incredible amount of talent.

I think live drummers with DJ's are dope, im biased though because Im a drummer, and it comes with a level of creativeness and adds an element I personally like to see/hear.....though its too few and far between i've seen it pulled off well.....I've seen Cirrus and half their show was a trainwreck (think their dat tape was messin up *wink*).....could of been a bad night but I wasnt impressed.....I like Uberzone and the stuff he does though I think were talking about strictly using somewhat of a live drumset situation......I saw Evil E play at Headhunters with Robert M and others recently and was very impressed......He was on point and I liked how they had the sound mixed for being in such a small area as they were playing in, it worked quite well I thought......The key obviously is having a good drummer and one who is into the style and can compliment the music I think, not try to re-create it or overplay it, but also rehearsing and playing together alot to make it really gel is a must....though spontaneous jams are all fine n dandy as well-



Piece

I saw evlE and My boy da 4 ELEVEN play at deep seated the other day. I was the one with the broke ass foot. Well anyway I noticed that if you stood in the wrong place the beats did sound off. This was not all the drummers fault though. The sound from the drums wasn't reverberating as well on the bar side of the club, if you stood between the dance floor and the bar area the two sources blended nicely.

You should have made this a poll Josh!

yea the way you have the sound hooked up is critical....and _nobody_ has "perfect" timing, so no one is ever going to be playing in perfect time no matter how good they are-

Dammit Ben, that's my line.

Seriously though, drummers with DJs, drummers with PAs... I'm down to support anyone trying to do something that breaks out of the two-turntables-and-a-mixer thing...

I'd like to perform what I produce live, but uh... ich habe kein geld als ich kann nicht Live PA spielen.

I don't know about live drums with dnb. But then again never have seen that. What I do remember is MichaelAngelo at Mercury breaking it down proper... He had live stuff with his sets and they turned out badass...

only with tejanocore.

but then you get a sombrerro and a trupet as well.

and maybe some enchiladas.

yeah....live pa is fun...and sym...i'm thinking about doing some dnb a al Photek stylee...but TECHNO comes first.

yeah...i think drums live would be sweeter with live pa than DJing

I've heard live tribal drums. My buddy used to have a group called Aubergine. He and a friend tagged while a live tribal drum and a few other instruments put their input in. It was an AWESOME sight to see. Too bad he moved to Louisiana and doesn't do anything like this anymore. *pouts*

Evl E and Robert M played at Lava Lounge, and it ruled. Evil E is always on, and I've never heard him miss a beat... pretty impressive...

and he didn't just recently join the scene... he's been around for a while.

i have always wanted to use a drum machine in a drum and bass set. i just haven't got the money lately because i have been buying so many records.

a jazz drummer wants to start playing some jungle patterns on his drums (he is a phenomenal drummer), and he wants me to take samples of them, and rearrange them...stoopid breakage

Anybody who's interested in this style... I would suggest you check out "Red Snapper" ... They're an actual band that performs live Drum and Bass... It's a great sound and pushes the genre forward IMO. In allot of the tracks you can hear two drummers playing and they are totally in sync. Toss in a -badass- stand up bass and you got the penultimate Jazzy DnB force... Really forward thinking stuff.

Give it a whirl. =)

Hoping someone is still reading this thread!!!!

I've been playing with djs now for a few months as my full time gig..im curious if there are any websites for this niche market?!?!

I love it!!!!

Hire a DCI World Champion Drummer to perform with your DJ.

John Donovan, based out of Deer Park, Long Island, New York, is now offering his services on a national basis. His creative combinations of tasteful Latin percussion, precise drumline and groovy drumset styles combine to make John’s service one that your clients will love to dance to.

John can perform along with every style of music your DJ can dish out. His high energetic approach adds positive mood to your memorable party.

Check out his short Party Percussion You Tube Demo Video now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqIIii3Ioc

You can also check out John’s website at:
http://www.JohnDonovan.Biz

1-570-856-6052 for bookings