Released
1998
Label
ExtraTerrestrial Disks
Reviewed by
Ben Didier
Contact
Bill T. Miller
PO Box 230221
Boston, MA
02123 USA
Last Edit/Update
5 April, 1999
Drum Army Wants You!
Track Listing
1. Motherland (Africa)
2. Tropical Rainstick (South America)
3. Trance Dance (Tibet)
4. Tribal Stomp (Native America)
5. Big Rock Beat (Britain)
6. Urban Jamfest (USA)
7. EuroTech (Germany)
8. Drum Army March (World Parade)
Described by Drum Army ringleader Bill T. Miller as an "experimental percussion jamfest trip around the world", this disk covers percussive styles ranging from a Tibetan "trance dance" to the hard beats of the German techno scene. There are eighteen contributors in all, credited as playing gongs, pots and pans, and more conventional drums like snares and toms. Vocal samples are scattered all throughout the disk. The potentially chaotic clamour of rhythms always seems to maintain its focus, and each track is true to its designated culture.
This CD also includes a bonus EP tacked on the end from Miller's "Out of Band Experience", an album originally released in 1990. Constant samples are strung together over drum machine beats and simple electronics. It's rhythmic, low key cut and paste; the equivalent of electronic garage rock. The Drum Army portion of this CD is available for download free from mp3.com, which is a great new way of using technology to eliminate material costs and get your music heard.
