Murmuration Without End
Cuban batá rhythms form the backbone of Los Angeles drummer and engineer Ben Lumsdaine's third album, spiced up with synthesizer modulations and instrumental augmentations from his crew of studio mates.
Introduced to Cuba in the 1820s by enslaved Yorùbá peoples from Nigeria, the batá was central to Santería ceremonies at first, before being absorbed by local secular folk music. The drum is now common throughout Cuban music, and its rhythms can be heard in jazz, hip-hop and rock music, even spreading into the USA and Latin America. Lumsdaine uses these rhythms as the starting point for 'Murmuration Without End', not mimicking them directly but attempting to capture the vibrance of the music. On opening track 'Dallas' it's most evident as the drummer uses a light patter and weightless voices to train our eyes on Cuba without making the image too vivid.
'Tough One' is more developed, and Lumsdaine drives into dub territory, echoing his polyrhythms and driving the track forward with a pulsing bassline; elsewhere on 'Here's Your Next Clue', he uses gurgling, island rhythms to buoy a stunning horn performance from Bon Iver collaborator Dustin Laurenzi.
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Cuban batá rhythms form the backbone of Los Angeles drummer and engineer Ben Lumsdaine's third album, spiced up with synthesizer modulations and instrumental augmentations from his crew of studio mates.
Introduced to Cuba in the 1820s by enslaved Yorùbá peoples from Nigeria, the batá was central to Santería ceremonies at first, before being absorbed by local secular folk music. The drum is now common throughout Cuban music, and its rhythms can be heard in jazz, hip-hop and rock music, even spreading into the USA and Latin America. Lumsdaine uses these rhythms as the starting point for 'Murmuration Without End', not mimicking them directly but attempting to capture the vibrance of the music. On opening track 'Dallas' it's most evident as the drummer uses a light patter and weightless voices to train our eyes on Cuba without making the image too vivid.
'Tough One' is more developed, and Lumsdaine drives into dub territory, echoing his polyrhythms and driving the track forward with a pulsing bassline; elsewhere on 'Here's Your Next Clue', he uses gurgling, island rhythms to buoy a stunning horn performance from Bon Iver collaborator Dustin Laurenzi.
Cuban batá rhythms form the backbone of Los Angeles drummer and engineer Ben Lumsdaine's third album, spiced up with synthesizer modulations and instrumental augmentations from his crew of studio mates.
Introduced to Cuba in the 1820s by enslaved Yorùbá peoples from Nigeria, the batá was central to Santería ceremonies at first, before being absorbed by local secular folk music. The drum is now common throughout Cuban music, and its rhythms can be heard in jazz, hip-hop and rock music, even spreading into the USA and Latin America. Lumsdaine uses these rhythms as the starting point for 'Murmuration Without End', not mimicking them directly but attempting to capture the vibrance of the music. On opening track 'Dallas' it's most evident as the drummer uses a light patter and weightless voices to train our eyes on Cuba without making the image too vivid.
'Tough One' is more developed, and Lumsdaine drives into dub territory, echoing his polyrhythms and driving the track forward with a pulsing bassline; elsewhere on 'Here's Your Next Clue', he uses gurgling, island rhythms to buoy a stunning horn performance from Bon Iver collaborator Dustin Laurenzi.
Cuban batá rhythms form the backbone of Los Angeles drummer and engineer Ben Lumsdaine's third album, spiced up with synthesizer modulations and instrumental augmentations from his crew of studio mates.
Introduced to Cuba in the 1820s by enslaved Yorùbá peoples from Nigeria, the batá was central to Santería ceremonies at first, before being absorbed by local secular folk music. The drum is now common throughout Cuban music, and its rhythms can be heard in jazz, hip-hop and rock music, even spreading into the USA and Latin America. Lumsdaine uses these rhythms as the starting point for 'Murmuration Without End', not mimicking them directly but attempting to capture the vibrance of the music. On opening track 'Dallas' it's most evident as the drummer uses a light patter and weightless voices to train our eyes on Cuba without making the image too vivid.
'Tough One' is more developed, and Lumsdaine drives into dub territory, echoing his polyrhythms and driving the track forward with a pulsing bassline; elsewhere on 'Here's Your Next Clue', he uses gurgling, island rhythms to buoy a stunning horn performance from Bon Iver collaborator Dustin Laurenzi.