I was very fortunate to be able to hang out at the recording studio with Fredy Studer, Hamid Drake, & Michael Zerang as they recorded an all percussion CD for Fredy during his residency in Chicago on a Swiss arts grant. It was an amazing 12 hour session. This feature was originally published in MODERN DRUMMER. ~ MB

Over the past 25 years, Fredy Studer has been one of the most respected drummers on the European scene. In 2002 he was the recipient of a grant, from his home city of Lucerne, Switzerland, that allowed him to live in Chicago for three and a half months. Lucerne and Chicago have a “Sister City Agreement” to develop economic and artistic partnerships. “Lucerne has an artist’s studio there,” says Studer, 54. “I was the fourth winner. The others were all younger artists on their way up, but I thought I’d apply anyway.” The grant allowed him to live in the heart of Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, within walking distance of most of the major jazz and improvised music clubs.

A stipulation of the grant was for the winner to create a specific work dealing with their stay in Chicago. Fredy, who has been a frequent visitor with various bands over the years, wanted to connect with local musicians and produce a recording of his stay. One of his goals was to meet Chicago drummers Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang. The two are highly innovative players and in demand around the world. They have also been playing together as a duo for many years. One of their most popular performances are their yearly series of Winter Solstice hand drum concerts. “I went to all three of their Solstice concerts, which start at 6AM,” says Fredy, “to get a feel for how they play together. They are a strong duo, like a marriage.” From there he decided to put together a recording of the three drummers.

On a sunny winter day, the three meet at Experimental Sound Studios on Chicago’s near north side. They bring drum kits, various percussion, and an assortment of hand drums. Fredy has also rented a 50” Paiste gong for the session. He decides to set up in the center of the studio, with Hamid facing him on his right, and Michael facing him on his left, forming a triangle. Fredy plays a 5-piece kit, augmented with small gongs and cymbals that he uses on top of the drums. Michael & Hamid both play 4-piece kits. Michael also surrounds himself with an assortment of small cymbals, gongs, bells, and various “found percussion” like metal trays and plates. While Hamid prefers some small, handheld China cymbals and a Tibetan singing bowl.

After a sound check, Fredy presents a few pages of well thought out notes. Rather than writing exact scores, he has a series of instrument combinations, grooves, and moods he wants to explore. With the caliber of players involved, there’s no need to rehearse anything.

They begin recording with Fredy hitting his bell chime, almost like a starting bell. As the ring fades, everyone joins in with small cymbal sounds. Things start building as they add drums and various “noise” sounds. All three listen intently as they create textures and timbres. These small gestures build to a crescendo where they are pulsing together like a massive heart beat. After ten minutes they stop and there are smiles all around.

Fredy’s percussion

The next piece features instrument assignments. Hamid plays China cymbals and a singing bowl resting on his drums. Michael plays a metal serving tray and an old bent cymbal, while Fredy plays small cymbals and various metals on his set. They start rubbing and scraping, sounding like a flock of birds chattering. Fredy and Hamid each start rubbing cymbals together in a circular motion. Hamid then moves to his toms with sticks and things reach a rolling momentum. Then they’re back to sounds, as Fredy scrapes a stick across his cymbals and gong. Michael switches to yarn mallets, while Hamid plays rolls around his kit. Things swell and ebb back down again before finally locking into a pulsing, breathing rhythm that winds down after the 14 minute mark. “The interplay is nice,” says Fredy listening back to the track, “I like it.” They all agree that it feels good.

Michael Zerang’s percussion left side

On the next track, they use an assortment of seed pods, small cymbals, temple cup gongs, and other metallic items played with mallets, knitting needles, and fingers. They play small sounds that are almost reverent or meditative, like in a church. Then Fredy wants them to sound “electronic.” He uses a bow on his gong, eliciting high pitched whines and squeaks. Michael scrapes an elephant bell across his snare head, while Hamid scrapes the tip of a stick on a China cymbal. The resulting sound is like feedback or radio frequencies.

Michael’s percussion right side

The session picks up momentum as Fredy assigns mallets to Hamid, brushes to Michael, and knitting needles to himself for the next track. It starts quietly and becomes a conversation as they “talk” to each other, asking questions and giving answers. Hamid and Michael switch their brushes and mallets as Hamid hits a swing pulse. Things take off in a weird ballet, where you can feel the dancing as the pulse moves. Afterwards, Michael points to Hamid and laughs, “When you switched back to brushes, I had my eyes closed and thought it was me!”

“Movements On Skins” is just that, as the trio uses brushes, creating a swirling sound, almost like rain on a roof. The continuum flows like waves with them stopping together, as if on cue, after seven minutes. The next track utilizes brushes played in the air. “Use different kinds of motions,” explains Fredy. “This is just a framework, if you feel something else, that’s cool.” The drummers wave their brushes through the air, whipping them back and forth in short rhythmic bursts that sound like the wings of insects buzzing or a DJ scratching.

“Three Hi-hats” sounds like a flock of chattering birds, with the quick open and close hi-hat becoming a “squawk.” The three stop and start a few times, sounding like the flock is taking off. Fredy and Hamid then move back to the drums with Michael playing bird whistles. They create ambient noises with Zerang supplying the bird sounds. The music becomes a sort of Peruvian rain forest jam. Afterwards, they all agree that things are going well, with a lot of exciting material being recorded. “It’s difficult though,” says Fredy, “to be both the producer and a player.”

After a dinner break, it’s decided to move on to different material. The giant gong is hung in the middle of the studio and Fredy proceeds to play it with a super ball mallet. The harmonics rise and fall in an eerie, otherworldly way, like a sci-fi soundtrack. Everyone is mesmerized by the sound. When he stops, Fredy asks how long it was. “Twelve minutes,” replies Pete Wenger, the engineer. “I thought that was five or six minutes,” Fredy exclaims in surprise! “Wait, wait,” he says, pointing to Michael sleeping on a couch behind his drums, “This guy’s snoring!” Everyone breaks out in laughter at Zerang being able to sleep through two takes of Fredy playing the gong. But they’ve been working hard for nearly seven hours.

Fredy then has Drake overdub a “one drop” reggae rhythm. Hamid listens through his headphones and picks up the pulse of the gong. He locks right into it, creating an intense groove. Everyone in the control room is excited. “It’s fantastic to sit here and listen,” says Fredy. When he’s finished, they play it back. “What a sound,” says Drake smiling. “It takes a moment for the pulse to get established on the gong, but then it lines up and is there.” Finally, Zerang adds various squeaking sounds by rubbing mallets across his rosined snare head. “That was beautiful,” says Fredy. “I’ll bring him in and out of the mix.”

The time is getting late and it’s decided to get some hand drum tracks before they finish up. Hamid gets out his tabla and Michael places an old zither on his snare. He uses small bells and metal rods to scrape the strings and create a bizarre melange of sounds. Fredy colors things with his drums while Drake lays down a groove. There’s almost a “techno-ambient” feel, with sounds moving in and out of the mix, shifting from a rhythmic pulse to free form and back.

Next, Hamid plays bodhran, Michael plays doumbek, and Fredy uses TUBZ on his kit. “I’m not a hand drummer like you guys,” he says. An incredibly deep groove is quickly established. The tempo shifts after a few minutes as if on cue. The interplay between them is so tight that it sounds like one drummer with six hands.

It’s now after midnight and Fredy decides to call it a night. The twelve hour session has passed by quickly, with everyone pleased by the results. “I won’t listen to this for a few months until I’m back in Switzerland,” explains Fredy. “Then when I edit and mix it down, I can hear it fresh.” Things get packed and loaded, with everyone then going their separate ways, tired, yet energized by the shared rhythmic experience of the past day.

Hamid’s drum kit

All photos & text © Michael Bettine