This sunny, buoyant re-imagining of the beloved country classic melds African stylings with global musical influences in a collage of intricate guitar articulations, shimmering steel drums and the sonorous undulations of talking drum, all layered beneath the resonant timbres and easygoing phrasings of vocalist Rashida Clendening, a.k.a. Audio Angel.
From the earliest times, drums and their rhythms have been at the center of social and cultural activities worldwide; in fact, it is said to be man's oldest musical percussion instrument. However, drums have not always been used for creating music or entertainment. In African tribal cultures, drums bore an essential role during rituals and religious ceremonies for both self-expression and communication purposes. Across history, the drum has been used in warfare, both as a means of giving signals to the soldiers and to create noise and drive fear into the enemy. The drum is a profound and sacred element of Native American culture, believing the drum beat to be in sync with the heartbeat of mother earth.
Drum Lane Riddim
And now? The primitive drumming circle is emerging as a powerful therapeutic tool in the modern technological age. Drums and drumming are increasingly being used to improve health and well-being, personal development, and communication by large companies and corporations, music therapists, youth groups, schools, and even prisons.
Music therapists and therapy programs increasingly use drums and rhythm to promote healing and self-expression. Drumming can be very therapeutic, helping us connect with our inner selves and being a fun way to relax and rejuvenate our minds, body, and soul. Recent research indicates that drumming accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system, and produces feelings of well-being. Study results demonstrate that drumming is a valuable treatment for stress, fatigue, anxiety, hypertension, asthma, chronic pain, arthritis, dementia, mental illness, migraines, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, stroke, paralysis, emotional disorders, ADHD sufferer's, people with learning difficulties, a wide range of physical disabilities as well as for recovering addicts, older people, troubled adolescents, and prisoners.
Drumming induces deep relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Moreover, drumming promotes the production of endorphins, the body's own morphine-like painkillers, and can help control pain and those suffering grief. Drumming and rhythm are powerful tools as they permeate the entire brain. The sound of drumming generates neuronal connections in all parts of the brain, even where there is significant damage or impairment, such as in ADHD. The process of drumming engages both the linear, rational left side of the brain (in the learning of polyrhythmic parts and the analysis of how rhythms fit together) and the creative, intuitive right side of the brain (in the entrainment of rhythm in the body and the appreciation of the music). The two brain hemispheres often emanate different wave frequencies; drumming, like deep meditation, brings them into synchronization, creating feelings of euphoria and flowing creativity.
Group drumming can complement traditional talk therapy methods. Players can drum out their feelings without saying a word or without having to reveal their issues. Drumming circles, ensembles, and making music together in a group can be a unifying experience, encouraging self-expression, camaraderie, and lots of hands-on fun!
Many companies and corporations are searching for consultants to organize drumming workshops as team-building programs. The workshops aim to encourage employees to work more effectively - playing drums together becomes a metaphor for how people work together as a team. The workshops aim to improve communications, break down barriers, boost morale, motivate, re-energize staff, cut stress, and increase productivity. As walls are broken down, and the junk falls away, people become more honest with each other, and conflicts are resolved, leaving the team more in tune with each other.
The rhythm and order of drumming provides a creative outlet for even the most hardened individual. Drumming workshops have been used in prisons and with young offenders - providing innovative ways to re-channel negative energy, diffuse anger, and build team spirit through the power of percussion.
Many community groups, youth groups, and centers have introduced informal drumming workshops to bring children and adults together in a fun-filled, cooperative environment where they build community, create music, and learn a new skill they can take away and share with their friends. Drumming captures the heart of most who encounter it. Drummers don't have to worry about melody or chords; no previous musical experience is required.
So it seems the drum continues to play a central role in our society. Why not find the rhythm and beat of your drum? There are many drumming communities across the country promising anxiety release, physical toning, spiritual growth, creativity, and personal empowerment while being a whole lot of fun - who couldn't use that?
Speed garage already incorporated many aspects of today's UK garage sound like sub-bass lines, ragga vocals, spin backs and reversed drums. What changed over time, until the so-called 2-step sound emerged, was the addition of further funky elements like contemporary R&B styled vocals, more shuffled beats and a different drum pattern. The most radical change from speed garage to 2-step was the removal of the 2nd and 4th bass kick from each bar. Although tracks with only two kick drum beats to a bar are perceived as being slower than the traditional four-to-the-floor beat, the listener's interest is maintained by the introduction of syncopating bass lines and the percussive use of other instruments such as pads and strings.
Timbaland, a popular contemporary R&B producer in America, was the major innovator behind contemporary R&B at the time, from which UK rave culture borrowed heavily. The use of rhythmic patterns as melodic hooks is shared by both contemporary R&B and jungle, making it very appealing to the significantly ex-junglist UK garage scene. This style of Timbaland's R&B possesses a breakbeat aesthetic: breakup of the flow of four-to-the-floor rhythm, hesitations into the groove, and teasing and tantalizing gaps. As much as these R&B influences can be heard in early UK garage, the genre offered more complex drum beats, with heavy syncopation (swing) and a more energetic feel due to a higher tempo (normally between 130 and 138 BPM). However, in tracks like "Twentyfourseven" by Artful Dodger, a slower and simpler R&B infused drum pattern can be heard. This was to allow for these tracks to be aimed at a more commercial scene rather than for the dance floor. Garage producers then proceeded to churn out UK versions of US contemporary R&B hits, notably with Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine". The Architechs sped up the vocals through time-stretching and added sound effects to increase the competitive nature. "B&M Remix" eventually sold twenty thousand copies as a bootleg.[2] 2ff7e9595c
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