German Drummer Popp creates a bold statement in his latest album

Devi is the second album by German drummer Simon Popp. An engineer as well as a drummer, Popp has an undergraduate and graduate degree in jazz drums from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. With a unique approach to contemporary drumming, Simon has subsequently collaborated with artists and producers across genres, with captivating live sessions. His resounding and distinctive drumming caries his music to an admirable level of complexity.

Previously, his first solo album Laya was released in 2019 and was a percussive take on third stream minimalism, using ambient themes. This year he released singles ‘Holort’ and ‘Pingo’ which feature on his latest release, and last year he put out EPs Gahu Dub/Baixo featuring Fazer—one of his collaboration projects, preceded by the single ‘Lilac’ in 2019. In addition to his solo career, Popp tours with his other collaborative projects Fazer, 9ms, Abstand, and Runden. 9ms released Pleats earlier this year, with more of a lo-fi sound, and in 2020 Runden released an eponymous album with a percussive and jazzy feel.

Devi is an eight-track-album with a bold, idiosyncratic, and versatile drumming. Able to capture moments that are both uplifting as well as ominous, the album works as a self-reflection for Popp, representing the deeply honest and personal high and low times in his life. The exceptional skill in the drumming on this album reveals his passion for complexity, polyrhythm, and using recording techniques like heavy limiting and pitch-shifting. Popp’s command over the drums reveals the true potential, stretch, and range of what drum music can sound like today.

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Taken off the upcoming album PLEATS out on Feb 26th.9ms is the duo of Simon Popp and Florian König.On their wide ranging debut album ‚Pleats' the tech-savvy ...

Turning electronic talents to percussion, 9ms reach a meditative and almost uncanny plane of sound

German experimental drum duo 9ms has opened the doors to their own unique style of electronic percussion, with the announcement of their debut album ‘PLEATS’. Released on the contemporary jazz label Squama, the seven track collection conjures up a convincing sensation of experimental space. Rolling beats mingle with symbol clashes and reverb echoes, in a performance which measures out exactly the right amount of energy and variety to push established boundaries without spiralling out of control.

9ms is comprised of Simon Popp and Florian König, the prior experience of each producer coming together in a new project which strives to achieve something hitherto untouched. Percussion certainly forms the base for their sound, but the capacity for exploration within that field is hardly constraining. Popp and König seem determined to cover every inch of possibility, bringing in a huge range of instruments without ever comprising on the core theme of each track.

In this creative environment PLEATS sinks into dub-like valleys of world music. There’s groove buried within tracks like ‘Rosi’ and ‘Raul’, but treated with such slow and careful deliberation that the vibe becomes something different altogether. Behind the illusion of scattered beats and wild leaps of sound are guiding hands drawing perfect symmetry.

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