DURACELL: Small scale creativity in large doses. 

Who could have thought that such a dense musical explosion could ever emanate from one man alone? Using a nord modular to constitute additional members and musical parts, and supplying an endless, controlled battery of lightning-fast drum smashes; Andrew Dymond is able to create a wholly new embodiment of musical exposition, manifold in its creative genius. 

One hit of a drum does not signify the whole in this process of music making. Midi-triggers are attached to a pre-programmed synth –painstakingly sequenced with complex, alternating patches- to create a perfectly synchronised accompaniment to the drumming onslaught. The drum strikes become twinned with melody, but the sound does not stop spreading. The floor tom, then the bass and snare drum, are all attached - all musical cogs in action- creating the whole. Each drum giving their own sonically synonymous melody; the bass drum triggering staggeringly powerful basslines, the snare driving with hectic disarray through different melodies, and the floor tom pushing through different patterns. 

It becomes almost like a nervous system. The drums are used as the sense nodes for the whole, the midi triggers become the synapse through which the electrical signal, the communication is sent. These electrical pulses are then interpreted by the modular, and, upon returning a command, interpret the impulses into coherent, organised melody, orated in grandiose fashion through two heavy-duty amplifiers. 

Duracell is a paradox between the unrelenting, dyonisian release of sonic force and the detailed, structured process with which the music is programmed. It is drumming which appears completely unrestrained, completely free, and yet it is an accomplished art form, requiring detailed composition and a unique talent for drumming. 

R Cowling. May 2005