Gnarly Grooves that will BREAK your Brain

Exploring some BRAIN-breaking rhythms off of Sungazer's Perihelion.

0:00 Intro
2:06 1. Metric Modulation
6:46 2. 5:3 Morphing
12:19 3. Triply Nested Tuplets

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Peace,
Adam

[Beastintheomlet]

I just have to point out how insane of a drummer Shawn is, he’s playing the type of complex nested rhythms that I’d normally have to out into Finale to know what they sound like.

[WritingOnGames]

Just wanted to say that it's very neat to hear that System of a Down inspired the same rhythmic curiosity in someone else—both Soil and Streamline were pretty eye-opening for me when I was younger.

[kitto]

Shawn Croder's skill is beyond my understading, honestly.

[skrounst]

As a drummer for the past 20 years, I can say that playing two different time signatures with the right and left side of your body is not normal, or easy. Quite the contrary, it's impossible for mortal drummers. I could probably replicate what he is doing after some practice, but being able to write a song with that in mind is very impressive.

[Team_Recorder]

Woooah, opening with System of a Down!
Boring brain: *yeah, it's kinda cool that Peephole is in 12/8*
Adam galaxy brain: *SOIL IS 7/8+4/4*

[xyzyzx]

Shawn crowder is honestly a rhythmic god, beyond comprehension. Honestly just feel blessed to hear his ideas

[brycewalburn]

This is a case study in how to self-promote in a humble and meaningful way. You make it clear that your intention is to promote your album, but it's also clear that your intention is to educate your audience and engage us in something that has implications well beyond your music. Love the video, and love the album!

[dreamwever]

Your videos, in short, are the exact thing that will send budding musicians over the proverbial edge in years to come. You offer collegiate level information at the click of a finger, for free, and you put these concepts into arguably better practice and demonstration than any professor I've ever had the pleasure of taking a lecture from. Thank you for all that you do, you set the bar for Youtube Musicians.

[GresSimJa]

Adam could talk about ballpoint pens for 20 minutes straight and I'd listen to it.

[yoverale]

That 5:(2:3) nested tuplet sounds really similar to the bolivian Huayno groove, traditionally written in 2/4 but usually played freely feeling it in this way. Oh god I love music

[The_Ubiquitous_They]

I LOVE that you said "squint your ears"

I use this all the time in rehearsals and listening sessions and always get weird looks from people

[BetterMonsters]

I really appreciate being walked through this album like this. I've got a pretty untrained ear, so just being told what musical ideas are being explored really gives me a stronger base for directing my attention and lets me enjoy things that would ordinarily leave me lost.

[Mis.tresss]

“Something that breaks your brain, but your body feels inevitable” is an amazing and profound line. I’m going to repeat it

[idiotsmonthly]

I love this "behind the scenes" feel for Perihelion. I sincerely hope you make more stuff on your album!

[Seltyk]

As a drummer myself, watching Shawn play Machina is… _intimidating_

[iankahn]

A brain-breaking thing I LOVE: When I'm hearing a song a certain way – usually an intro of a new song I don't know well, and then the beat comes in and I realize the one-beat isn't where I thought it was or my brain heard the up-beat as the down-beat. I don't know if any songs do these beat-turnarounds on purpose or if it happens by accident depending on how the listener perceives the music, but it's as satisfying as when the twist is revealed in a suspenseful movie. Any thoughts or examples? Love your stuff!

[mosesve]

Got it! You have to watch this video on three different devices simultanously and set the playback speeds to 0.75 / 1.75 and 2.0 while listening to the album in reverse! That way everything you hear is 4/4 and becomes super-easy to understand.

[alexwebmch]

Congrats on the record! I usually listen to pop/rock/R&B/soul based music, where anything that goes into 5/4 or 7/8, or drops a beat, is out of the ordinary and requires extra concentration and application from me as a listener. You can imagine how much effort it's taking to get my head around stuff like this, but I'm enjoying expanding my horizons through your music 🙂

[lightspiritblix]

Hey, Algorithm.
Adam was talking about some music I like, and the video content was engaging and enjoyable. Please share this video with other people.
Thanks, Blix

[thumbslapper]

Bill Bruford was the master of doing this - taking a rhythm and then taking a polyrhythm of that as the new tempo... great video Adam & Shawn!