Appropriately for a record named after an institution for the insane, Kasabian’s third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum displays the full symptoms of the multiple personality disorder that comes from the head-on collision of rock’n’roll and electronic dance music. It has the anthemic choruses of rock, powered by beats that sound equal parts machine and man.

The human part of the equation comes from Ian Matthews, a drummer who grew up behind the kit, playing with his dad’s band and spending his teens working in jazz bands and orchestra pits in the theatres of Bristol.

On the eve of the band’s fourth LP Velociraptor! (due for release in September 2011), we’re revisiting Rhythm’s interview with Ian Matthews about the West Ryder recording process, Kasabian’s hip-hop connection, and to take a closer look at Ian’s DW drum setup...