This month, we have a hugely exciting release from our co-founder, Richard Harvey. Richard is a renowned English Film and TV composer, and we had the absolute pleasure of joining him for his recording at the legendary Air Studios in North London for his new WOM release, Drums of Thunder.
We recorded across two days in the iconic Lyndhurst Hall. The studio’s history is just as impressive as the space itself, founded by the celebrated producer of The Beatles, George Martin. Originally a Church and missionary school, the grand hall was designed in 1884 by Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse. It’s one of a handful of studios worldwide with the capacity for a full orchestral recording. It has been crucial in many Oscar-winning scores, such as Atonement, Grand Budapest Hotel, and countless other productions, including Love Actually, Harry Potter Interstellar, Casino Royale, and more.
It was a sensational two days with a myriad of drums from across the world, which Richard has collected over the years, that made the session even more special. Richard’s vast collection of drums were exclusively used on this album, with the expertise of six talented percussionists.
With cues ranging from sports-focused to high action and a fanciful twist, the tracks heard on Drums of Thunder serve as a worldwide voyage of drumming music.
We sat down with Richard to discuss this epic recording and his composition journey on Drums of Thunder…scroll down to read the interview.
A WORD WITH RICHARD HARVEY
Where did the concept for ‘Drums of Thunder’ come from? Were you inspired by anything in particular?
I’ve worked on many movies that required big drums, and I’ve found that only the biggest and most popular recording rooms will get you where you need to be in terms of “Epic quality”, so I thought I’d cover most of my previous filmic needs in one set of big sessions!
Can you describe your composing process?
I start by playing patterns that inspire me on a single drum. Then, I programmed a guide track using the “standard” sample collections. Then, I wrote it all down and created scores and parts, always looking forward to how powerful, organic, heavyweight, and frankly better (!) these real tracks, drums, and real players would be, all in the majestic acoustics of Air Studios!
For this album, you used over 50 drums worldwide. Can you tell us a bit about some of the drums? For example, where do they come from, and are there any special ways of playing them?
I have always had a serious interest in Drums and percussion, having studied them at school in my youth! Somehow, I have amassed a large and probably unique collection of large drums worldwide over the years.
Thinking that the time had come to finally get them all recorded simultaneously, where better to do this than in one of the world’s largest and most amazing recording spaces, Air Lyndhurst Hall in London.
I decided on a mixture of experience and youthful exuberance for the ensemble of players, so I assembled a group of award-winning percussion graduates led from the front by top session player Dan Ellis.
Why was recording in AIR Studios an important part of recording the album?
One of the unique qualities of this set of 53 large drums is that there are no artificial heads on any of them…this gives such an organic sound, but this impressive sound is heavily dependent on the way the drums excite the amazing acoustic of the Hall – one that rouses film composers and producers from all over the world!
Where, ideally, do you see this music being synced?
We’ve opted for a really varied programme of new tracks, ranging from hypnotic drum circle meditations to thumping Sports stadium riffing! All these tracks have historic, world, epic, sporting, and decidedly virtuoso elements. I hope this is a true compendium of what over a ton of hand-made big drums can produce!
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