Glenn Kotche: Drumkit Quartets

Drumkit Quartets actually goes well beyond the drumkit which is to be expected, given the feverishly creative strengths of the artists behind the recording. Conceived by Wilco drummer and composer Glenn Kotche, the initial approach was to get back to writing for percussion, he reveals in the CDs liner notes, because I think the timbral, textural, melodic and rhythmic possibilities havent been explored nearly enough. I try to do that through my solo performances, but I jumped at the chance to try it with such an incredible and forward-thinking group as So Percussion. The result runs the expressive gamut of percussive instrumentation, from the marimba-based Drumkit Quartet #51 (with haiku recited by Cibo Mattos Yuka Honda) to the hand-cranked sirens that open Drumkit Quartet #50, which channels the futurist manifesto of Luigi Russolos art of noise, spiced with a little John Cage and Luc Ferrari. A rich foundation of globe-trotting audio collage and third-mind improv underpins the session, making Drumkit Quartets a free-wheeling exploration of rhythm, sound, texture and timbre.