Winter Updates

I seem to have missed a couple seasons here, how did that happen? Suddenly the hats (touques) are on and it's chilly out! Chilly for London that is, which is cold enough for me.  Time has been racing by and I have so many exciting things to share with you, so let's get going! In no particular order of course...

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MTV EMA's @ Wembley Arena

When I was little, I had a much loved VHS tape of Spice Girls live at Wembley Stadium. This month I got to play Wembley Arena for the MTV European Music Awards drumming with Clean Bandit. Here's a pic of me busting out some traditional grip (a rare occurrence). Check out the full video below.

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The History of Rock Touring Theatre Show

Moving along from pop music to rock music, I'm thrilled to share the new showreel video for the brand new touring theatre show 'The History of Rock'. It's been so much fun putting this together and I can't wait to share our touring dates in the next few months! Watch our showreel below:

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Charlie Pyne Quartet Album Recording 

From rock music to jazz - recently I went into the studio with the Charlie Pyne Quartet, featuring Charlie on double bass and vocals, Liam Dunachie on piano and Luke Pinkstone on saxes. We recorded an album's worth of Charlie's original material and are so excited to get it out. We had a wonderful day at The Hat Factory Studio in Luton and everyone played so well! You can see in this picture my view from the kit, although I was in an isolation booth, I had video feeds of everyone in the band so we still had some visual contact. This session was particularly fun for me as I decided to have different drum sounds for each tune. I can't wait to share our music with everyone soon!

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Interchange Dectet (New Project)

I'm also thrilled to share that I've had a great few gigs with the new dectet, Interchange led by Issie Barratt. We've had a few brilliant gigs at Scarborough Jazz Festival (read a review here), Jazz in the Round at The Cockpit in London and also we performed at the Southbank Centre for the EFG London Jazz Festival 2017. We play all original music commissioned mostly by different members of the band. Everyone comes from really different playing backgrounds so our music is really varied but it all incorporates elements of improvisation.  I'm using a lot of percussion as well as the kit and it's loads of fun to bring the compositions to life and play with some really amazing musicians! We'll be playing lots more in the following months and recording an album as well so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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Rafe's Dilemma (New Project)

Another new band! This one is led by Jamil Sheriff and is inspired by the play 'Spring and Port Wine' by Bill Naughton. We've had two great gigs up north at The White Swan in Leeds and The Lescar in Sheffield and will be recording an album in the new year. The music features Nel Begley on vocals/effects, Sam Vicary on bass/effects and Jamil on rhodes/synths/effects. The music is heavily improvised and flows in an out of song structures with lots of electronics and effects and is so much fun to play! Keep an eye out for more dates in the future, it's a really immersive experience for the listener.

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Pure Anthems @ Infernos Clapham

November marked the launch of the brand new 'Pure Anthems' night at retro club 'Infernos' in Clapham, London. It was a roaring success and will be happening again on 1st Dec. Expect to hear all of your favourite classic anthems performed by a live band synced to lyric screens throughout the club so you can sing along. Another fun factor is that we get to dress up in costumes. I've been waiting for an excuse to get out my purple eyelashes again!

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In other news, I've relocated my private teaching to a studio in Brixton and it's going very well. I still have a few slots left (great festive gifts!) for new students so please contact me if you are interested in studying. You can also keep up to date on what's happening on my facebook page, please like and share! Thanks for reading and hope to see you soon!