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ROVO's Inexplicable Drumming

Most famous for ex-Boredoms guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto and having two drummers, Rovo is instrumental experimental progressive/post rock.

I became interested in the group first through the cut "Horses", released in 1999 on the album Imago, their only record released in the U.S. Anyone interested in the outer reaches of the possibilities of trap-set drumming will find this one endlessly fascinating. These rhythms are nothing anyone else would be likely to imagine on their own. The track above, Spica, is a similar concept, but you gotta go listen to this snippet of Horses to get the full effect yourself. Heck, pay the 99 cents to buy the track. I never tire of it. It's almost like the two drummers are phasing each other, like a Steve Reich composition.

They've been morphing and evolving since then, to my ears losing some distinctiveness, like a shmear of fast and frenetic electronica/world music, meant more to be felt in some way than really carefully listened to. Here's a live rendition of Nuou, from 2008:

Here's Sino, from 2001, something a bit more mellow, with it's own brand of strange and unpredictable percussion:

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Shawn's Smashing Mag review of 2005 show at Liquid Room

-Kern

Comments

Photos of Rovo at FRF '07:
http://www.fujirockexpress.com/07/report/report.php?id=693

Photos of Rovo at FRF '05:
http://www.fujirockexpress.com/05/report/report.php?id=681

Live Report of Rovo at FRF '05:
http://www.fujirockexpress.com/05/report/report.php?id=418

Their Field Of Heaven performance on Sunday night is definitely worth checking out!

Thanks for taking the top out to write this great/ topic.

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