 |
Danny Frankel
(September 2005 Issue)
Vibration
Of Sound Drummer/percussionist Danny Frankel lives in a world of sounds. His latest release, The Vibration Of
Sound
(Transparency), is a collage of organic percussion sounds. As he
explains it, "I hike every morning and listen to
things like hawks and
woodpeckers. They are natural percussion."
The CD is a collection
of moods generated by
percussion and other instruments layered on top
of tape loops and drones, which were inspired by his walks. "I had the
idea of
making percussion groove strongly, like a drumkit groove,"
Frankel says. "Tabla People" features drones and voices moving in
and
out of the various drums and bells. "Message From Another Planet"
features an ethereal steel guitar and a slowly
unfolding clarinet.
Frankel layers various sounds on top, especially bongos. "Bongos are my
favorite thing," he says. "I
remember hearing them in '60s pop music
and being intrigued by the sound of the high bongo. I often use
bongos
instead of a high tom when I gig."
Perhaps the album's most intriguing track is "The Birdcage." This
is a
"duet" between Danny and eleven Zebra finches. "I keep finches,"
he says. "I started with three, then had eleven, then
twenty-two.
They're psychedelic, and they have their own rhythms. One has a fast
boogaloo beat, another an odd-time
jazz beat." The birds' singing
creates their own natural loops over which Frankel layered bongos,
doumbek, djembe,
conga, and metals. The interaction of the birds with
percussion is startling and brings out the organic quality that
Danny
strives for.
Frankel has studied tabla, where he says he learned to "flirt
with time." He also studied with jazz
drumming icon Paul Motian. "He
had great ideas and stressed being relaxed and open to the spirit,"
Danny says, "playing a
piece differently every time." Frankel's busy
schedule has found him working with such diverse artists as
Laurie
Anderson, Lou Reed, and Fiona Apple. "I'm open to anything," he
asserts.
Michael Bettine
 Go to Artist Index
|
|
|
|
