Streik

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“The drum kit is a typical solo instrument. It drives the band, pushes them forward, sets the beat, is the engine room. It has to be stable so that the others start to sweat. There is no such thing as an ensemble of drum kits.

My piece for drum kit ensemble starts with the following questions:

Communication: How can the relationship between leading and being led work at all in a group of alpha instruments, especially when the music gets so loud and fast that the players can barely hear each other?
Space: How can these loud and extremely fast movements be distributed in the room so that the listeners have the feeling that they are sitting in the middle of a single huge drum kit operated by a single person with twenty hands?

Instruments: The structure of a drum kit is standardized, but the sizes of the instruments vary considerably. It depends on the preferences and personalities of the players. When ten kick drums are involved, the pitches therefore play a decisive role. What does a melody for snare drums sound like?

Form: The piece must be long so that the possibilities of this experimental set-up can unfold. It’s not hard to imagine that such a piece can be wild and fun. But inventing a form that lasts at least an hour from the playing gestures and physical energy will be the hardest part. Traditionally music for drum kits is actually improvised, but that’s not possible with ten drum kits. It needs a composer.”
– Enno Poppe