How to make the sounds from Genesis 'The Brazilian' with DRC
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The modern miracle of the electronic drum kit is a godsend to the parents of children who decide they want to be a drummer. Before such tech existed, learning to become a percussionist was a noisy business for all involved. These days, the likes of Roland and Alesis have perfected the sound and feel of electronic kits to such a degree, that as a listener you could easily think it was a real acoustic kit being played before your ears.
Back in the 80s, very much the dawn of electronic percussion, realism wasn’t quite such a concern, and instead, the unmistakably synthetic nature of digitally produced drum sounds was a cool, stylistic choice that defined an era of electronic music. When it comes to distinctive style, the OG of English electronic drum kits ‘Simmons’ certainly had ‘hex’ appeal with its 6-sided percussion pads, designed to stand out, in its own robotic, and at the time futuristic way.
If it were not for Dave Simmon’s visionary piece of kit, we may have never got to hear today’s featured DRC Sound Design Tutorial track, and with the following pun 100% intended, you could say that the Simmons drum kit was the genesis behind the track ‘The Brazilian’. (By the English prog-rock band Genesis, obviously!)
Instrumental (again, pun intended) to the creation of the track, it was while playing around seeing what kind of interesting sounds the kit could produce, that the foundations of ‘The Brazilian’ were laid. This experimental, percussion-heavy, final track on the band’s 1986 album ‘Invisible touch’ goes from clockwork to crashy climax, building tension throughout, and slipping in some great guitar solos and catchy synth melodies too.
Today Lucas takes on a quartet of classic Genesis synth patches as shows you how to create the sounds from one of the best instrumental tracks of the 80s; ‘The Brazilian’ by Genesis.
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