Percussionist Danford collaborates with Judge Jules... again!

Percussionist Dave Danford has been back in the studio with BBC Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules recording some cutting edge dance music. Dave first worked with Judge Jules back in March 2006 recording tracks for his album Proven Worldwide which was released later that year. The success of the album led to further collaborations and the duo have just finished working on two brand new tracks.

The first started out as a track called Electronic which Jules had been playing out regularly before realising that it lacked a little something as Dave explains:

“Jules e-mailed me about his latest track to tell me that he´d been playing it in a club and had the idea to layer a load of percussion over the top of it. He wrote my name on the CD-R straight after playing it and got in touch the following day.”

The finished track, renamed Electronic Snare, is a big hard dance number and features prominent snare drum playing alongside tom fills and a triangle groove. It´s been a big success on the dance floor and has already been included on the compilation CD Judgement Sundays 2008 as well as receiving regular airplay on BBC Radio 1.

A sample can be heard here: Judge Jules - Electronic Snare

During the recording sessions for Electronic Snare Dave and Jules discussed the possibility of doing a marimba-based dance track. This was previously done with great success in Jakatta´s 2000 hit single American Dream but this unusual combination hasn´t really been explored since. The original version of the new track has an electro-trance feel although there are plans to commission a mellower trance remix. The track has yet to be given an official title but it is already making waves on dance-floors around the world.

A sample can be heard here.

Chris Barnes

I'm MusicRadar's eCommerce Editor. In addition to testing the latest electronic drum sets, it's my job to manage the buyer's guides on MusicRadar and help musicians find the right gear and the best prices. I'm a guitarist and a drummer and I've worked in the music gear industry for 19 years, including 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm, and 5 years as a freelance writer working with many of the world's biggest musical instrument brands including Roland, Boss, MusicRadar and Natal.