Name
Allanah Stewart
 
Where are you from and/or where do you live now?
I grew up in Hamilton, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Moved to Auckland to study painting and then ended up in Melbourne 7 years ago.
 
How long have you been playing drums? And what initially drew you to the instrument?
Technically about 10 years. But I remember thinking percussively as a child, too  - listening to music on long drives, imagining a big bouncy ball bopping along to the sounds and using power poles as the music bars.
 
Do you play any other instruments?
As a teenager I was playing/teaching classical guitar and have played guitar in a few bands here and there. I’m still emotionally connected to the guitar but I don’t play it much these days.. I prefer to have no idea what’s going on, in a way. I spend a good chunk of time just picking up things (objects, trash, instruments) and figuring out different ways to generate sound. There are no rules, I reckon.
 
What bands/projects/collaborations are you involved in right now?
At the moment I mainly play in Snacks (with Jen Callaway and Dale Gorfinkel) and Propolis (Michael McCosker, Jen Callaway and Michael Zulicki). Even though I find the city a bit much at times, it’s a great city to live in as a creative person...heaps of interesting characters floating about to make music and art with.
 
I have a solo project which is a bit of a slow moving turtle but it's something that I’ve quietly been working on for a few years now. I’ll link up the first tape below if you want to have a listen. I also have recently been making my own instruments and little sound making sculptures so it’ll be interesting to see where that leads to
 
Another thing I spend a good chunk of time working on is my radio show Enquiring Minds which is hosted monthly by Noods radio in Bristol. Mainly I play stuff that loosely fits under the banner of “experimental music” but often other things get thrown in like the occasional dog bark and bird song.
 
What else have you previously been involved in (bands/shows/projects etc)?
In terms of the last few years, the main bands I’ve played in have been Lime Works (w/ Josey Kidd-Crowe and Scott McCulloch), Bearded Iris (w/ Jane Hearn, Carly Housiaux, Tania Price, Tim Wood, Joshi Jenkins, Patrick O’Brien, Michael Zulicki and Dusty Anastassiou), Secret Valley (w/ Dan Cross, Phoebe Robertson and Michael Zulicki) Black Bart (w/Eva Collins and Zena Dawson) and some other projects scattered around over time.
 
I also had a radio show on FleetFM and Transmission FM (In Auckland) with my pal, Jas. That was a heap of fun.
 
What are your thoughts on collaboration in music and in the projects you’re involved in or the projects you run?
I feel like a bit of an alien operating in society most days so collaboration with others is really important to me musically and mentally. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to put a few different heads together and co-create.
 
Who are you listening to/whose music are you enjoying right now?
I’m often searching for new sounds so this is a constantly shifting thing. Just looking at my phone right now, I have Coco Solid, Feminist improvising group, Fatou Seidi Ghali & Alamnou Akrouni and Mary Jane Leach playing frequently in my music folder.
 
Do you have any favourite drummers? Or other musicians who inspire you? why?
First of all I would say the people I know and make music with often surprise and inspire me. Specifically in terms of drummers, there are too many to mention tbh. The first time I heard Matt Earle drumming I thought yeah, that’s how it's done. Also, I love Ellen Fullmans “Water drip drum”. A dripping tap is one of my favourite percussive sounds. Also love the sound of clanking shoes on a sidewalk.. does this count?
 
How would you describe the kind of music or projects you’re mostly involved in? And what kind of unique perspective/sound do you bring to these gigs?
Punk music for dust mites and church mice
 
Do you have a particular warm up or practice routine? Or favourite exercises?
Before a gig, sharing a nice meal with people and a sip or two on a tasty beverage for a start. A walk around the area to get a sense of the sounds in the space and a few deep breaths in and out because I get nervous sometimes.
 
Does social media play a big part in how you promote yourself as an artist and your various projects? Do you promote your work in other ways?
Heh, I’m bit of a luddite and also pretty sensitive so I try to keep social media dependence to an absolute minimum. Aside from that, word of mouth and sending emails out helps sometimes.
 
Do you make a living from music? What different types of work does this comprise?
Definitely not. But I do consider music my “full-time job” as its always on my mind. Respect for those who manage to integrate the two worlds!
 
Where’s the coolest place that music has taken you?
Definitely playing the “The hiccup cure of braille satellite” festival in Lithuania last year. Also visiting and rehearsing in Tbilisi, Georgia. Both are very beautiful and special parts of the world
 
Being able to play at Real Bad Music in Brisbane a few times felt like a real special experience, too.
 
If you could give your younger drumming self some advice what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to be yourself and no need to hold those sticks so tightly. Try to loosen up, eh.
 
Other thoughts/info
Thanks for reading :)
 
Website
 
Solo tape:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mCIaC2t85w
 
Snacks group:
https://outhear.bandcamp.com/album/snacks
 
Lime works group:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYrILNyjYbg
 
Radio show:
http://www.tapeways.com/p/enquiring-minds.html
 
Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSEQQCnH1u7DgpZsUFTbqA
 

Name
Vanessa Tomlinson
 
Where are you from and/or where do you live now?
Grew up in Adelaide, spent almost a decade in California with a few stints in Germany, and then ended up in Brisbane via a few years in Melbourne.
 
How long have you been playing drums? And what initially drew you to the instrument?
I started playing xylophone when I was 10, looking for something „different“ (I was playing piano and violin at the time). Within a couple of years I started understanding that calling yourself a percussionist gives you permission to play almost anything! I love that percussion can be louder than anyone else – you cannot be ignored – but also really subtle and beautiful.
 
Do you play any other instruments?
I still play piano a bit.
 
What bands/projects/collaborations are you involved in right now?
I am one half of Clocked Out (a duo with piano), I just finished making the Opera of Objects for three performers (myself, Cathy Milliken and Erik Griswold), I organise shows for Early Warning System (a percussion quartet), I am the drummer in Water Pushes Sand (with the Australian Art Orchestra) and run BaDaBoom Percussion at the Queensland Conservatorium.
 
What else have you previously been involved in (bands/shows/projects etc)?
These days I make a lot of work as a curator/artistic director. In the last year I made The Listening Museum 3 (music in a working factory), co-director Tyalgum Music Festival, participated in an arts residency Because of Her We Can out on Gungarri land, gave the Australian premiere of a new Steve Reich piece, made work for an Ephemoral Arts Festival in Poland and began consultancies at the Smithsonian in Washington DC – all as a drummer/percussionist!
 
Do you write music or develop your own shows? What are they about/how have they come about?
See above. My main interest in percussion these days has to do with listening inside sound. My recent solo album (well, cassette tape) has two pieces on it – one for solo tamtam and the other solo bass drum. They are long drone pieces, but the interesting thing is that the sound is constantly changing and transforming – like the ocean or the sky, or light.
I have also been obsessed with Chinese Opera Percussion. The grooves in this music were really foreign to me at first – they dont sit in the pocket, and it has been really fun to work out how to play these almost lilting grooves. This project has been going on for 20 years now, and started accidentally when I visited Sichuan Province and heard the Opera music for the first time. It is recorded as The Wide Alley (Clocked Out) and Water Pushes Sand (Jazzhead).
And then the Opera for Objects came about after 15 years obsessed with found objects – kitchenware, tiles, wood, bottles etc. This is probably my biggest joy in percussion – that there are no limits. So the Opera became something of an ode to objects, including text, stories, and musical interludes. Ist just been made into a radio play – another new thing for me.
 
What are your thoughts on collaboration in music and in the projects you’re involved in or the projects you run?
Collaboration is essential for me. It is how I get out of my head and test ideas in a different way. It is where I find resonance with ideas, and get permission to go deeper. I am not a good solitary music-maker. I feed off energy and activity. So the more that is happening the better life is.
A recent collaboration was with my favourite percussionists Louise Devenish and Leah Scholes playing a new work by Kate Neal, and also putting together the Australian premiere of a music theatre work by Mauricio Kagel – a staged action-based piece for 3, generally male, percussionists. I learnt so much in this process. In both pieces there is nowhere to hide, and trust becomes really important. Maybe that is what I like –people relying on me, but also having to rely on others. It is a beautiful thing on stage when that balance is just right – a willow in the wind, grounded but flexible.
 
Do you have any favourite drummers? Or other musicians who inspire you? why?
Susie Ibarra is amazing, Robyn Schukowsky is inspiring, and with the Queen revival I am newly inspired by Roger Taylor.
IN Australia I am blown away by so much serious talent – especially female percussionists. The list is long, I will not go through it, but from a global perspective, what we have here is really special.
 
How would you describe the kind of music or projects you’re mostly involved in?
Experimental, contemporary, fringe, inter-disciplinary, post-genre, environmental, exploratory music.
 
And what kind of unique perspective/sound do you bring to these gigs?
My sound!
Ceramic bowls, bells transformed by water, tamtams and gongs, crazy hihat investigations, drones, skittery chatty high pitched melodies, slightly-off grooves…..
 
Where’s the coolest place that music has taken you?
That would have to be Iceland (double cool).
 
If you could give your younger drumming self some advice what would it be?
Dont be afraid of who you are. Dont be afraid if you stand out. Dont be afraid if you are doing something noone has done before.
 
 
 
 
Website
 
www.vanessatomlinson.com
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Name
Shoeb Ahmad (also known as Sia in day to day life)
 
Where are you from and/or where do you live now?
Canberra, Australia
 
How long have you been playing drums? And what initially drew you to the instrument?
I have had a drum kit for around 10 years now but I had always wanted to play the drums since I was in primary school. I used to tap away on my desk and bed with pencils and pens (sometimes making drums and cymbals out of small tubs and books) but my mum wasn’t so into the idea of me playing drums so I learnt the tabla instead, which was a great percussive instrument to learn and taught me about the intricacies of sound and texture on a single drum skin.
 
Do you play any other instruments?
I am better known for being a singer-songwriter and improviser who mainly plays guitar but I also do a lot of electronic experimentation with analogue synths, old keyboard, dictaphones and guitar pedals.
 
What bands/projects/collaborations are you involved in right now?
I am mainly focused on my solo music, playing in the bands Tangents and Spartak while also making sluggish dance music as Alicia Sparkles. Drums-wise, I play them in the band Oranges but also sat on the stool for Singaporean duo Are when they made a record on their last Australian tour.
 
What else have you previously been involved in (bands/shows/projects etc)?
I’ve been a member of a post-hardcore band called Agency and still play with the improvising trio Sensaround. I recorded and mixed projects in my studio Brick Lane, curate and produce creative events as well as make mixed art-form installation works that revolve around time and duration.
 
Do you write music or develop your own shows? What are they about/how have they come about?
I have never learnt how to play the instruments I write music on so I only perform music that I have written myself. The ideas are quite intuitive and sit in a melodic or rhythmic place I enjoy to listen to but then I think about narrative concepts, sonic textures and arrangement ideas to weave in and out of the songwriting process.
 
What are your thoughts on collaboration in music and in the projects you’re involved in or the projects you run?
I love collaborating and either involving others in the process of interpreting my ideas or being able to respond to others in real-time improvising. I think it’s important for my own growth as a creative thinker to be able to navigate musical personalities in real-time.
 
Who are you listening to/whose music are you enjoying right now?
It’s a bit of a mixed bag – I just bought the Thom Yorke soundtrack to Susperia and also am thinking heaps about Yo La Tengo and their approach to writing songs/creating moods.
 
Do you have any favourite drummers? Or other musicians who inspire you? why?
Most influential is Mimi Parker from Low because of the simplicity of her playing and being so comfortable with a very simple kit set up. I am lucky to have played music with the drummer Evan Dorrian, who plays with me in Spartak and Tangents – seeing him play and grow as a drummer has had an influence on how I approach the drum kit as an instrument. I also loved the drumming of Jim White from The Dirty Three growing up because it just coloured their music so perfectly. When it comes to great rock drumming though, my number #1 is Sara Lund from Unwound because she hits and grooves hard!
 
How would you describe the kind of music or projects you’re mostly involved in? And what kind of unique perspective/sound do you bring to these gigs?
I’m totally all over the shop because I’m just doing whatever I want these days haha. Seriously though, I think my place as a musician is really about bringing the sound arty abstract vibes to straight up indie rock and bring the heads-down punk vibes to the avant-improv music – I think I’m good at filling in the gaps with an interesting take on proceedings.
 
Do you have a particular warm up or practice routine? Or favourite exercises?
I only ever practice playing drums so this usually revolves around sitting at the kit and then just hit them really hard for around a couple of minutes before thinking about grooves. A lot of it has to do with that primal release of energy and want to hit something hard. So much tension relief. Once I’m loosened up, I tend to think about an endless groove – nothing complicated from the start but something that has nice implied 2’s and 4’s as anchor points. This makes it easier to subdivide the beats in the bar and then start to muck around with pauses and anticipation of hits. I also like to use all of the kit while I play so I regularly will only do exercises using the drum rims and cymbal stands in place of the skins and cymbals themselves.
 
Does social media play a big part in how you promote yourself as an artist and your various projects? Do you promote your work in other ways?
It definitely does and always has – it was Myspace when I first started and now its Facebook and Instagram. I always felt it was amazing that I could connect with other musicians anywhere in the world and create my own little network for collaborating, performing, recording etc. It’s even more amazing that people can now hear yr music so easily and get going on telling others about it!
 

 
Do you make a living from music? What different types of work does this comprise?
I was working solely on creative projects since 2015 but I am now back working in arts administration, which means my day job is still immersed into a creative environment. When I was only working on music and art, I was lucky enough to be asked to curate/produce events and be commissioned to make pieces for festival programs, galleries and theatre productions. This worked well along with my regular gigs playing solo and in the various bands I’m in, which all are in a good place to pay me a little bit per performance.
 
Where’s the coolest place that music has taken you?
I think any tour I’ve done outside of Australia has been a great experience for me because it means I’m able to travel, experience new places (sight/sound/smell/taste) and meet new people whilst doing the thing I love the most.
 
If you could give your younger drumming self some advice what would it be?
Be persistent and really hassle my mum to let me get drumming lessons – if I’d started earlier, I reckon I would have better coordination!
 
Other thoughts/info
Be OK with creating yr own noise and be confident in what you bring to any musical conversation rather than feeling pressure from those around you.
 
 
Website

www.shoebahmad.com


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