can I get an amen…umm…break beat?

absolutely, and you will soon see why…but first let me explain. In case you did not know,  the “amen break” is a drum solo / groove of about 6 seconds long. It was performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvestor GC Coleman. The song he did this drumming on was called “Amen Brother” and it was performed by the Winstons. Although the song itself did not get much attention – the drum groove became a staple in sample based break beat music, and inspired several subcultures of music, largely derived from permutations of this one beat. If you want a fascinating insight into the history – you can see this very interesting video for more information (it’s about 18 minutes long but worth it). Old news, right? A tired overused sample of drums, already cliche and boring 10 years ago, right? To some, maybe – but not to me. To me, as a drummer, it’s another word in my musical vocabulary, it’s another tool in my musical toolbox. I mean, this sample of 6 second drumming may be the most sampled drum beat of all time…why not learn it? So I did. And then – why not record it? So I did. After recording it I thought it might be fun to embellish it. So I ended up with what you hear below. Since the original is 6 seconds long – I basically duplicated the original sample for about 3 minutes in length in my DAW and played the whole thing live with the sample as the reference. I did check the tempo and it is about 138.9 beats a minute straight / unedited.  Below you will find the original 6 second sample. Then you will find my version +/- 3 minutes long. Then you will find my experimental blush at adding the music direction (bass etc.)… you will hear some variety on the beat, extra kicks, fills etc for the simple reasons that 3 minutes of this groove straight and my mind wanders, plus it is still an interpretation – knowhatimean? Anyway – I pictured a somewhat relentless, fervent, musical drum, percussion bombardment… I know it is kind of spazzy, but I hope the energy translates in a positive way…can I get an AMEN?

amen brother original sample

here is my extended version redo

amen brother drh version

here I am just messing around with some sounds (percussion, bass / synth effects etc)

amen brother drh2 version