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MUSIC FEATURE

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they smile. “The Porcaro Shuffle – [Jeff] Porcaro, the drummer from Toto. That was one of the grooves.” Drummer isn't just a study of rhythm, however – get a few minutes in and you'll realise G has pressed their voice to places they've never touched before. On Rough (“We forgot the safe word for our love”), gorgeously layered harmonies give way to G's absolutely aerial ad libs at its end; on the heart-wrenching Good Enough , we hear more clearly than ever the rasp which occasionally rears its head in G's voice. “[On] my last album and other music I’ve released, I haven’t really projected my voice as much – seeing how high I can sing, and how low I can sing,” G explains. “Across Drummer , there’s times where I hold notes for an extended amount of time; that was me experimenting, seeing how long I could hold a note. I definitely have a growl in my voice,” they add. “I need to speak to a vocal coach to see if I'm destroying my vocal cords, 'cos I actually have no idea! That song starts so vulnerable and ends with me absolutely screaming. I have some control of [the rasp], but when I hit those higher notes I'm not sure what's going to come out, or what I'm doing." If you turn your speakers up at the very end of the record, you'll hear G declare, “I bet the neighbours are p-ssed now!” It's a familiar sentiment for anyone who's whacked the skins in their lifetime. “I have really sh tty neighbours, and normally they like me to pre-warn them when I’m going to play drums,” they explain. G let the couple know they needed to record a final outro, and was given a meagre one-hour window in which to do it. Having gone overtime by half an hour, G dropped their drumsticks and made the comment aloud. “So then I thought, that’s the best way to end this whole album,” they smile. “I’ve never had one set of neighbours my whole life that’s ever been okay with me drumming. I just thought it was a beautiful way to end an album called Drummer : with me still complaining about the neighbours..."

Drummer by G Flip is out August 11 via Future Classic.

I thought it was a beautiful way to end an album called Drummer : with me still complaining about the neighbours

Filled to bursting with vivid, insightful tales of love and life, Drummer is G Flip's declaration of kit-centric pop prowess – and proof they've made good on their goal to be the musician missing from the musical landscape they experienced growing up.We spoke to the Oz-born, LA-residing multi instrumentalist about the new album. Words Zoë Radas TURNING THE BEAT AROUND WITH G FLIP

T here are a few ways musicians can add a bit of filigree to their songs – those decorative, distinctive cherries on top that make the music stand out. You can splash your melody with intricate vocal confetti, like Mariah or Beyoncé. You can throw a bunch of noodly electric guitar lines in there, à la Jack White or John Mayer. Or you can play with fire, and fiddle with the instrument that's the backbone to all songs: the drums. But you can't overdo it, because our lizard brains want to know where the beat is, and

that the song has our proverbial back – and this balance is what makes the bright, smart pop of G Flip's new album Drummer so special. “It’s definitely how I write music,” G says of their putting the kit at the forefront of the record. “This album was very intentional with drums. I wrote a list of grooves that I wanted to be incorporated in this album, and then I got to fulfil that.” Funny they should say that... we got distinct Rosanna energy from the brilliant Didn't Mean To . “Do y'know, that's where it came from!”

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Katy Perry's howl of rebirth echoed around the world this time ten years ago, as Roar – the lead single from the artist's fourth album Prism – went absolutely feral on the charts (hitting number one in 17 countries). The following year, world number one tennis player Serena Williams selected the track as her entry theme song for the US Open Championships; she ended up winning the comp while adorned in a leopard print dress. The year after that, in a critically acclaimed and double-Emmy-winning appearance, Perry performed Roar atop a fully articulated, 4.5 metre tall, 725-kilo animatronic lion – operated by 13 puppeteers on the ground – at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show (yes, the one with Left Shark).

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Katy Perry performing Roar at the Super Bowl (2015)

AUGUST 2023

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