DRUM ECSTASY

DRUM ECSTASY is a unique musical project, an unprecedented power of sound defined by the band's compositions and instruments. Four musicians playing steel-shelled drums create a sound that explodes the audience right from the very first beats. The band is a frequent guest on various shows and at presentations.

Drum Ecstasy also has another sound - hard dance music. Three drummers backed by a massive wall of bass wired through a string of arrangements, samples, and electronic percussion. For some compositions, electric saws and drills are used to create acoustic and visual effects. An average Drum Ecstasy performance lasts for 40-80 minutes.

For large shows, we invite two additional drummers with 18" and 20" drums, plus percussion. No fewer than four band-members play drums simultaneously. Apart from drums, the other two musicians also use electric saws, drills, carbon-dioxide fire extinguishers, barrels, car brake-discs, and other industrial junk (which can be found beforehand in nearby junkyards). During performances with flags, one of them brandishes the flag (a traditional Italian technique) while the other shines a searchlight.

Promo video

DRUM ECSTASY was formed in 1993. It plays at alternative and dance clubs, as well as larger shows and presentations, yet the band also takes part in illegal parties. Up until 2005, they held an annual illegal concert under a bridge in Minsk (Belarus), complete with a bonfire and pyrotechnics.

The band has played concerts in such legendary clubs as Tacheles (Berlin), Eimer (Berlin), Stubnitz (Rostock), Effenaar (Eindhoven), TPO (Bologna), 44 (Kiev), B2 (Moscow), etc. They have toured in Belgium, Germany, Holland and Italy.

A 9-minute performance "Oh! Empire!" with a flag and a searchlight was shown during such events as city festivals (in Novogrudok, Turov, Mir, Minsk, etc.), opening ceremonies for Euroline advertising festivals, the White Festival in 1995, etc.

Drum Ecstasy has taken part in many international festivals, such as SKIF 2000-2002 (Russia), Shine Festival (Holland), Industrial Music Festival (Germany), be2gether (Lithuania), Kryl'ya 2005 (Russia), etc. They have also played support for concerts by Robert Plant, Dub FX and The Prodigy.

Drum Ecstasy is involved in joint projects with other bands, musicians and DJs: Igor Olovnikov (cello), Dmitriy Lukyanchik (a vocalist from Troitsa), Troitsa, Dror Feiler (saxophone), Lokomotiv Konkret, Traktech Attack (industrial project), TT-34, wind trio VVV, etc.

Since 1996, Drum Ecstasy has collaborated with advertising and presentation projects for brands such as Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Gauloises, Orbit, Volkswagen, Mazda, Castrol, Gallina Blanca, Revlon, Microsoft, Orange, TNK, etc.

The band has taken part in the following shows: the opening of a bike-centre in Moscow, Moscow Bike-Show 2002, Kaliningrad Bike-Show 2005 and 2007, NHL demonstration games in Moscow, the opening ceremony of the 6th Stunt Cinema Festival Prometheu, the opening of the Lithuanian National Basketball Championship in Vilnius, the opening of the European Calisthenics Championship in Minsk, the opening ceremony of the Russian architectural awards Arkhip 2006, and a ceremony to mark the closure of RAOEC Co, in the Red Bull X-Fighters show (Tbilisi). Drum Ecstasy has also played shows at the following commercial exhibitions: Minsk Motor Show, Kyiv Motor Show, Tibo (Minsk), AgroBel (Minsk), Intercom 2003 (Moscow), etc.

The band's music was used in the movies "Night Watch", "Day Watch", "Hitler Kaput", "Best Film" and "Dark World", as well as the series "Men Don't Cry" and commercials for Baltika beer.

Drum Ecstasy also plays an active part in civil society. The band is a member of the youth organisation New Faces. They have participated in a number of social projects ("Stop AIDS", "Protect Yourself ", "Say Yes To The Children"), cultural exchanges between twin-cities, and ecological projects.

Dates

March 1997 The first album "Odds And Ends" consists of studio and live material from different periods (released on cassette by Pan Records Studio).

1997 A music video of concert footage is produced, and it stays at No.6 in the national hit parade for the whole of June 1997.

1996-1997 Club-owners rate the band's show and dance music as the best in Belarus.

August 2000 Release of the music video "Oh! Empire!"

September 2000 "Oh! Empire!" is at No.2 in the national hit parade (leaving Rammstein and other pop music behind).

November 2000 Recording of the "Songs" project: authentic Belarusian songs performed by Dmitriy Lukyanchik (ex-vocalist and drummer of the folk group Troitsa).

2001 The CD "Songs" is released as a 100-copy gift edition for Atlant-M Co.

March 22, 2002 A CD-ROM is released, including videos, photos and MP3s of various projects.

November 11, 2002 Drum Ecstasy participates in a joint Minsk Cinema Club / Goethe-Institut project "Retrospective of German Silent Cinema": silent movies accompanied by live music from Minsk club bands. The group plays music for the film "Faust" (directed by Murnau).

August 2003 16 tracks are recorded for the film "Night Watch" (Nochnoy Dozor).

October 2003 A CD is released as part of a UNDP project aimed at involving people with HIV and their relatives in programs to promote HIV- and AIDS-prevention. It includes six new tracks, plus all the information from the CD-ROM.

April 2004 The CD is re-released with a new design, plus a new version of the song "Football".

August 2004 A CD "Drums Only" is released in Russia, including 10 tracks recorded in 2003, and three tracks from 1997. As a bonus, eight tracks specially written for the Russian blockbuster "Night Watch" are added in MP3 format.

August 2004 August 2004 - Drum Ecstasy represents Belarusian contemporary culture at the Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona.

September 2004 The CD "Drums Only" is released in Belarusian music shops.

September 2004 After playing at a Belarusian opposition-organised rally to mark the tenth anniversary of Lukashenko's presidency, Drum Ecstasy is declared a banned band, prohibited from making any public appearances, and boycotted by the official media.

December 2005 The CD "H.D.M." (Heavy Dance Music) is released in Belarusian music shops.

November 2007 The band decides to stop releasing CDs and distribute their music free of charge via the Internet instead.

March 2008 Changes in the band's line-up.

August 2008 Technical upgrades and a new sound concept.

April 2010 Release of a new online CD "Play Loud" in Belarus.

July 2010 Changes in the band's line-up: one of the best Belarusian drummers, Dmitriy Kharitonovich, joins the band.

September 2010 With the support of the Swedish Embassy in Belarus and the Swedish Institute (Stockholm), Swedish choreographer Sybrid Dokter stages the ballet "Where Water Flows Uphill" with the Minsk dance group "Karakuli" and music by Drum Ecstasy.