Composer-saxophonist Jeremy Rose and the 8-piece Earshift Orchestra bring a thrilling tribute to the timeless visceral and disruptive power of the drum in Disruption! The Voice of Drums, featuring Simon Barker and Chloe Kim Jazz composer-saxophonist Jeremy Rose and the 8-piece Earshift Orchestra bring a thrilling tribute to the timeless, visceral and disruptive power of the drum. Featuring extraordinary drum virtuosi Simon Barker and Chloe Kim, Disruption! The Voice of Drums is a riveting experience. Premiering to wide acclaim at the 2020 Sydney Festival, the work examines one of the most disruptive years in history, with bush fires, global pandemic, civil unrest and a growing ecological disaster. Whilst challenging us all, this major new work offers an opportunity to reflect. "Disruption! drums home the message of 2020's upheaval." 9733; 9733; 9733; 9733; Sydney Morning Herald John Shand "A sombre sometimes explosive exploration of percussion set to the tense groove of civil unrest." Limelight Magazine "Disruption! explores the power and use of the drums from disruptive protest music to more meditative healing roles." Loudmouth Magazine Alongside the voice, the drum is the most elemental form of human expression. From prehistory to the present we have used drums to conjure spirits, create ecstatic states of mind, bring communities together and put fear into the hearts of enemies. "I have always been fascinated by the power of drums," explains Jeremy. "Drums can create ecstatic states of mind and alter our brain waves." Drums have been used in ancient rituals, religious ceremonies and to instil discipline in the military. More recently, drums have been the lan vital of music whose purpose is to disrupt, featured in protest songs across the world from Hong Kong, to Russia and the United States. Sydney is also home to arguably one of the world's greatest drummers, Simon Barker. Versed in jazz, Simon has spent 20 years investigating traditional shaman drum music from South Korea. "He is a leading expert on the Koreanisation of the Western Drumset, and is recognised world-wide for his collaborations with Pan Sori singer Bae Il Dong and trumpeter Scott Tinkler," explains Jeremy. "Simon has developed ways of playing things on the drums that are technically impossible for ordinary drummers, so much so that he has had to warn drummers of trying his techniques for fear of injuring themselves!" Another drummer has emerged in recent years that has been one of the first to embrace Simon's ideas whilst creating her own distinctive voice - Korean-born Chloe Kim. At only 24 years old, she shows great energy in performance and her various projects. The reciprocal nature of their relationship is unique to them - Simon's reimagining of Chloe's musical heritage through Western ears, whilst Chloe is finding a musical path of discovery of rock, hip-hop and jazz through her Korean-informed approach. "In searching for material to draw upon for a possible collaboration between the three of us," explains Jeremy, "I turned to their respective solo drum music to arrange music for; Chloe's Right Turn, and Simon's Urgency! (Vol.1 & Vol. 2), On Running, 1 & 2, amongst others." This body of work highlights their respective musical backgrounds whilst demonstrating a quest to create new languages to themselves. In particular, Simon's use of dense, fast rhythms and rhythmic variants ('entangling') posed exciting compositional opportunities. Disruption! was therefore begging to be created. "The challenge of composing music for solo drums was that harmony and melody typically dictated the direction of the music and how I wrote for the ensemble," explains Jeremy. "For Disruption!, drum parts became the foreground, with the other instruments moving in and out of focus." Harmony and chords often had the reverse effect of diminishing rather than adding to the music. "I navigated this by creating layers of sound that need not lock in with the drums. These layers served to enhance and provide space for Simon and Chloe's performances." The music of Disruption!, along with powerful images by video artist duo Peachy Mosig, provides a soundtrack to the year that's been 2020. This has been one of the most disruptive years in history. With bush fires, global pandemic, civil unrest and a growing ecological disaster, 2020 was a historic year. Whilst challenging us all, we hope this work offers an opportunity to reflect. Jeremy Rose a Sydney based woodwind specialist, composer, band leader, label and festival director, whose music explores the intersection of socio-culture and genre, creating interesting and unique collaborative projects that span the globe. His music has been performed at festivals around Australia, Europe and the UK, and has relentlessly toured throughout Australia. Jeremy's music often displays influences from folk, contemporary classical and intercultural music in a jazz context, with the result being lyrical yet highly inventive music. www.jeremyrose.com.au Simon Barker is one of the world's most creative improvising drummers. With a background in jazz, Barker has created a unique voice through his 20-year exploration of Korean traditional music. He has performed throughout the world including the Lincoln Centre in New York and was the feature subject in the documentary 'Intangible Asset 82.' www.simonbarker.com.au Korean born Chloe Kim is an outstanding talent on the brink of her career with a fresh voice to her music fusing experimental rock, jazz and other styles. Described by AAO's Peter Knight as "at the centre of a fascinating movement of cross-cultural jazz" and SMH as "the first percussionist to draw on the innovations of Australia's master-drummer Simon Barker," Kim has become one to watch. www.chloekimdrums.com Artist: Jeremy Rose & The Earshift Orchestra featuring Simon Barker and Chloe Kim Album: Disruption! The Voice of Drums Release: 7 October 2022 Label: Earshift Music distributed by MGM, Proper Music Group Format: CD, LP, DL and streaming Catalogue Number: EAR067, EAR067LP Streaming/Download Personnel: Jeremy Rose (composer, tenor saxophone/bass clarinet), Simon Barker (composer, drumming soloist), Chloe Kim (composer, drumming soloist), Ben Carey (Modular Synthesizer), Jacques Emery (bass), Hilary Geddes, Guitar, Novak Manojlovic (Piano/Keyboards), Thomas Avgenicos (trumpet)