Name: Simone Aubert
Nationality: Swiss
Occupation: Drummer, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Current release: Simone Aubert is one of the drummer-collaborators included on the new Peter Kernel album Drum to Death, out via On the Camper.
Pure Drum Recordings Recommendation: Julian Sartorius, our master.

[Read our Julian Sartorius interview]

If you enjoyed this Simone Aubert interview and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official website. She is also on Facebook.



What was your first drum set like and what are you using today? What, to you personally, are factors in terms of build and design that you appreciate in drums and percussion instruments?

I started drumming at 12, being forced by my older brother to replace his drummer that could not come to the rehearsal … hehe.

I always found drum kits in squats that were abandoned. I selected elements which could fit together and tried to find a dry sounding drum kit. Getting as close as possible to the sound of a drum machine.

There is a lot to recover in trash and I’m not fétichist at all with gear.
 
Late Rush-drummer Neil Peart said: “The equipment is not an influence. It doesn't affect the way I play. It's an expression of the way I play.” What's your take on that?

Well I guess it is both to me.
 
Drumming is an integral part of many cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from in your playing – and why?
 
I don’t feel influenced by any sort of cultural drumming myself. Drumming is great as it engages the entire body. But it is great to remember that a trance can be reached by body dancing. Drumming is a good way to access to a collective trance.

It is good to remember that all these collective pagan rituals were also experienced in our countries and that they are a universally shared human behaviour.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a drummer / percussionist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals?

Playing as much live concerts as possible.

I’m never working the drums on my own. It would help me improve if I did but I love to play with very tiny details and beats instead of developing very complicated sentences … minimal and tight is what I like.

Especially when I play over loops in hyperculte. I have no choice really. Simple but tight.
 
What do you think you're doing different than other drummers?

I never had any lessons, so I had to find my own way. I don’t feel very particular in my drumming though …
 
How do you experience the concepts of "groove," "swing," and "rhythmic feel" in music?
 
When playing with loops in hyperculte, the challenge is to be able to get loops – which aren't always straight - to feel groovy ... A body feeling, a sensation of an internal groove.



And energy.

How do time signatures and tempo affect our perception of rhythm?

Polyrythm is something I am looking for with my other band Tout Bleu. Ternary to binary is a way to explore how music can be understood differently.



With Yalla Miku, again another band I play with, one of the singers, Samuel Ades, comes from Erithrea. It is great to see how rhythm is felt differently in the body, where people place the one, or dance with it … There is a lot to learn.
 


What is the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? How do non-percussion instruments contribute to the overall rhythmic texture of a piece?

Bass and drums make up what we call the rhythm section. What comes on top is of course a lot more free …

I’ve always liked marimba for mixing both, but never saw someone being able to break the normal way of playing it ...
 
Different drums have a distinct sound and drums and percussion are also timbral instruments. What drum sound are you aiming for and how are you making use of the timbral potentials and possibilities of your instruments?

I love bells. Always suffer from snares.

I love drum kits that are balanced with toms and snare. I always cover my snare with a scarf. They are always too loud to my ears and kill the drum feeling of toms …

How has technology, such as drum machines and sequencers, impacted the way rhythm is created and perceived? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

Not really no ... But for sure it changes the way people listen to music now.

I remember someone telling me how surprising it was for him to find records that «move,» talking about Massicot ...



We made all our records playing our songs live in the studio all together ... for sure, our ears are not used to that anymore …
 
Physical strain is a particularly serious issue for many drummers. How does it manifest itself, how do you deal with it and in how far does it affect your creativity?

That is precisely what is beautiful with drumming. That it involves the body in its globality ...

I have back problems from it though, and building and moving backline with a drum is of course not super cool … on top of needing cars or vans … That's a different question, though.
 
Many recording engineers have remarked that the drums can be particularly hard to capture. What, from your perspective, makes drums sound great on record and in a live setting?

Recordings drums is complicated, yes. That is why I asked Vincent in hyperculte for us to go back to the studio in Hamburg where we recorded the three album we released.

Tobias Levin really is sensitive to all the little details on hi hat and bells and doesn’t just push the kick for a heavy feeling ... The kick often kills me in live concerts. And it make all the things on top disappear.

But of course, in every gig I go to, I mostly will be looking at the drummer. It is always impressive as I said, it engage the whole body. Not like synths that are really not interesting to observe.
 
Drums and percussion are remarkably often used for physical therapy / healing. What, from your point of view, makes them particularly suitable tools for this?

Trance. There is there something I guess from our ancestors ...