The Story of DRUMS OF DEATH

Papa Djim doesn’t like techno, doesn’t like Kool Keith and certainly doesn’t like people sleeping with his daughter. Papa Djim does however like tribal Drums and the overall concept of Death. It’s not particularly surprising – Chief Papa Djim is a Haitian warlord. And Haitian warlords tend to be sticklers for tradition. But all this came as particularly bad news for one Colin Bailey as the repercussions of his whiskey-fuelled night with Princess Zara on his Haitian holiday became clear: Papa Djim was not best pleased, promptly placing an ancient voodoo curse on the young Glaswegian before ripping out his beating heart and replacing it with a broken drum machine! Colin awoke in his hotel room the next day with no memory of the previous night but soon discovered mysterious scars on his chest. And the pounding inside that chest didn’t sound like a heart… It sounded like drums.

Confused, Colin returned to the UK just in time to play his first ever live show at an infamous GRECO-ROMAN party alongside GROVESNOR, BOOJI BOY HIGH and HOT CHIP in an old mill on the outskirts of Manchester, but the venue was hit by a long, mysterious power-cut the minute he went on stage. A young Mancunian barman dived into the power-socket armed with little more than an anorak, a gurn and a screwdriver and managed to restore the power by publicly electrocuting himself to death in a puff of blue smoke. Despite this noble self-sacrifice the show was an electrifying success. But something was clear: there was a strange magic in the room. Colin’s voodoo curse had been unleashed. They should never have let him go on after midnight.

Mildly aroused by his virginal notch on the bedpost of Death, but haunted by the realisation that Papa Djim’s curse had followed him home, Colin turned for salvation to the holy trinity of Acid House, Black Sabbath and Grime. The voices told him to write his first confessional material: 'Breathe' (the first gasps of the reborn), 'Cursed By Magick' (the tale of Papa Djim's enduring curse) and 'Midnight Stalker' (what happens to his soul when the sun goes down). AND THUS DRUMS OF DEATH WAS BORN. This debut E.P. tells the story with old school techno piano stabs, throbbing distorted bass and lyrics that blend voodoo magick with references to Mozart, punk rock and 80s excesses. It comes complete with a sub-bass-heavy remix of 'Breathe' from DRUMS OF DEATH'S close friend New York City producer de jour DROP THE LIME.

But despite his best efforts the curse remains intact. Colin Bailey’s fate is to endure his inner drummer demon and to roam the earth reeking acid voodoo havoc after midnight as… DRUMS OF DEATH!

Aug 15th: Old Blue Last, London Sept 5th: Bestival (w. Greco-Roman Soundsystem)
Aug 22nd: Scala, Berlin Sept 6th: Contort Yourself, Manchester
Aug 29th: Barfly, London Oct 4th: Studio B, New York
Aug 30th: Broomfields Festival, Essex
Oct 18th: Matter, London (w. Greco-Roman Soundsystem)

And thus DRUMS OF DEATH steps – nae, bursts - out of Glasgow's nascent basscore scene and into the GRECO-ROMAN wrestling ring formerly held by 8-bit upstart DAVID E. SUGAR, electro balladeer GROVESNOR and fiery Portugese Kuduro trio BURAKA SOM SISTEMA. His first Long Player ‘Generation Hexed’ is to be released on GRECO-ROMAN in the darkest depths of winter, early '09.