Demystifying Trilok?

[Gaddabout]

Anyone care to explain to me the wonders of Trilok Gurtu? I have tried for year to understand what it is he does that has so many drummers entranced. I've concluded that, like so much fine art, I must not have the smarts to wrap my brain around it. I just don't get it. I've noticed a correlation between those that like Vinnie and those who like Trilok, so I thought I'd ask here. Please do. I'm very open-minded about this topic, especially considering his vast popularity.

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[jonthibault]

The dude's a rhythm machine. It's like even his toes move in time. Very weird. Creepy, even.

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Jack

[MethodAir]

Vinnie and Trilok are two of my favorite drummers. When drummers or musicians have the ability to superimpose different time feels on top of each other, there are a lot of ideas that can be heard.

MethodAir www.electricmountain.com

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[Steve Holmes]

I heard Triloks solo on John McGlaughlin's "Live At The Royal Festival Hall" and was totally amazed. Musically the CD is a MUST HAVE.
But getting to Trilok, his command of the subdivisions is just ridiculous. This goes way beyond triplets here though. Hes just as comfortable playing quintuplets as he is sixteenth notes. This means using that subdivision for phrasing with any orchestration and adding accents where ever he wants. Its pretty sick because thats so uncommon in out pop-culture, or even Jazz for that matter.
He is a mixture of eastern and western musical cultures which combines for a pretty unique style.
Check out Zildjian Day London vid, hes on there as well.

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webmaster,
www.houseofdrumming.com

[Gaddabout]

Thanks for the video tip, Steve. I've been worried what to buy, because I was so disappointed by the last one. Maybe I was expecting too much. My bigger fear is I'm such a dimwit I can't hear genius when it's in front of me!

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[Clintuplet]

Gadd,
I would definitely agree with Steve on the McLaughlin CD. Trilok's earlier solo work is very impressive as well. I would say his latest stuff is a little less adventurous than the older material. Modern Drummer ran an informative article not too long ago talking about Trilok and his music. It's in the August 2000 issue with Jimmy Chamberlain.

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[This message has been edited by Clintuplet (edited October 09, 2001).]