Planet of the Drums
Encyclopedia
Founded during the summer of 2000, the Planet of the Drums is the alliance of four of America's most popular drum and bass
DJ's: AK1200
(Dave Minner, Orlando, Florida
), DJ Dara
(Darragh Guilfoyle, Brooklyn, New York), Dieselboy
(Damian Higgins, Brooklyn, New York), and MC Messinian (James Fiorella, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
). The alliance was created to move drum and bass out of siderooms and onto the main stages of electronic dance music events.
In fall 2009 the Planet of the Drums embarked on their Tenth Anniversary Tour. The Planet of the Drums is the longest-running annual national electronic dance music tour of any genre.
In 2010 The Planet of the Drums switched to performing one-offs, the first played at U Street Music Hall in Washington, DC in December 2010.
"We all ended up playing the same place at the same time in New Orleans on the Moonshine Over America tour in 1999," says Dara. 'Damian said we really ought to do a tour to promote dnb because we're supposedly the three biggest draws, to prove to promoters that dnb is a viable proposition.'
"Dieselboy explains, 'I had this epiphany. It would be cool if people could see three big dogs together, and it would be a sign of unity in the scene. 'The first tour with MC Dub2 was a success,' says Dieselboy. 'The second year we attempted to get MC Rage from England but he had a visa problem. Messinian came on because he'd MC'ed for me at Platinum in Philly.'
"Messinian (James Fiorella, Philadelphia), then part of the Substitution crew, describes the call from DSL, 'I always came to Platinum strapped with a mic, just in case. I got a call out of the blue that their MC couldn't make it. I said, 'Hells yeah, I'll pack my bags!'
"'We realized we could use our collective weight to lean on promoters to get our music on the main stage," Dieselboy admits. 'I felt like kids were getting ripped off paying full price and having to listen to dnb on the shittiest sound system while the other kids got to hear trance, techno and house on the big system. We've come a long way in elevating respect for dnb.'
"'At first we did individual sets and tag-teamed at the end,' says AK1200. 'It evolved into a multi-setup where we do spontaneous routines. Damian usually starts and Dara or I go on after him. Then we go three records, three records, three records, with the whole night ranging from two to five hours. Our main setup is two Technics 1200's and two Pioneer CDJ-1000's with an Allen & Heath mixer, a separate Pioneer mixer with another turntable and another CDJ-1000 hooked up to an auxiliary of the main mixer. Two people are on at all times and the other is standing by.'
"'Stylistically,' says Dara, 'We're complementary. Damian plays the hardest, myself I play the mellower tunes, and Dave is somewhere in between.'
"Messinian says, 'I try to take the energy of the club to that next level, get everybody on the same page, sparking that fire that makes it go fucking bananas. We're a strong unified force.'"
[note: preacher friend of AK1200 recorded in DJ Icey's studio;
For the 2008 POTD intro, Dieselboy hired Julianne Moore
, the disembodied female voice in the movie thriller "Eagle Eye
", with sound design by SPKTRM and Dieselboy]
The POTD created their first video intro for their 2009 10th Anniversary Tour, script by Dieselboy and AK1200, sound design by Venezuelan producer Zardonic.
Dieselboy created the audio intro for the Planet of the Drums 2010 reunion at U Street Music Hall in Washington, DC on December 9, 2010. For the first time in a Planet of the Drums performance Dieselboy incorporated dubstep
and drumstep into the mix. Opening for them in this Steez Promo production were Grime Syndicate, Cannon Boyz, and Headhunterz Inc..
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
DJ's: AK1200
AK1200
AK1200 is the stage name of a Florida-based musician Dave Minner working in the jungle and drum and bass genres.He started DJing in 1989 playing mainly Electro, and in 1990 he opened a record store in Orlando, Florida called The Hottie Shop. His early working relationships were with record labels...
(Dave Minner, Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
), DJ Dara
DJ Dara
DJ Dara is an Irish drum and bass DJ operating mainly in North America. He is a member in the D'n'B group known as the Planet of the Drums...
(Darragh Guilfoyle, Brooklyn, New York), Dieselboy
Dieselboy
Dieselboy is the stage name of Damian Higgins, an American drum and bass DJ, producer, remixer, founder of the Human Imprint music label, and co-founder of its sublabel SubHuman : Human Imprint which launched in September 2010...
(Damian Higgins, Brooklyn, New York), and MC Messinian (James Fiorella, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
). The alliance was created to move drum and bass out of siderooms and onto the main stages of electronic dance music events.
In fall 2009 the Planet of the Drums embarked on their Tenth Anniversary Tour. The Planet of the Drums is the longest-running annual national electronic dance music tour of any genre.
In 2010 The Planet of the Drums switched to performing one-offs, the first played at U Street Music Hall in Washington, DC in December 2010.
History
As told to RINSE Magazine (now defunct) in 2007:"We all ended up playing the same place at the same time in New Orleans on the Moonshine Over America tour in 1999," says Dara. 'Damian said we really ought to do a tour to promote dnb because we're supposedly the three biggest draws, to prove to promoters that dnb is a viable proposition.'
"Dieselboy explains, 'I had this epiphany. It would be cool if people could see three big dogs together, and it would be a sign of unity in the scene. 'The first tour with MC Dub2 was a success,' says Dieselboy. 'The second year we attempted to get MC Rage from England but he had a visa problem. Messinian came on because he'd MC'ed for me at Platinum in Philly.'
"Messinian (James Fiorella, Philadelphia), then part of the Substitution crew, describes the call from DSL, 'I always came to Platinum strapped with a mic, just in case. I got a call out of the blue that their MC couldn't make it. I said, 'Hells yeah, I'll pack my bags!'
"'We realized we could use our collective weight to lean on promoters to get our music on the main stage," Dieselboy admits. 'I felt like kids were getting ripped off paying full price and having to listen to dnb on the shittiest sound system while the other kids got to hear trance, techno and house on the big system. We've come a long way in elevating respect for dnb.'
"'At first we did individual sets and tag-teamed at the end,' says AK1200. 'It evolved into a multi-setup where we do spontaneous routines. Damian usually starts and Dara or I go on after him. Then we go three records, three records, three records, with the whole night ranging from two to five hours. Our main setup is two Technics 1200's and two Pioneer CDJ-1000's with an Allen & Heath mixer, a separate Pioneer mixer with another turntable and another CDJ-1000 hooked up to an auxiliary of the main mixer. Two people are on at all times and the other is standing by.'
"'Stylistically,' says Dara, 'We're complementary. Damian plays the hardest, myself I play the mellower tunes, and Dave is somewhere in between.'
"Messinian says, 'I try to take the energy of the club to that next level, get everybody on the same page, sparking that fire that makes it go fucking bananas. We're a strong unified force.'"
Planet of the Drums Intros
In 2005? the Planet of the Drums began a tradition of creating dramatic science fiction-style audio introductions to kick off their shows.[note: preacher friend of AK1200 recorded in DJ Icey's studio;
For the 2008 POTD intro, Dieselboy hired Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
, the disembodied female voice in the movie thriller "Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
", with sound design by SPKTRM and Dieselboy]
The POTD created their first video intro for their 2009 10th Anniversary Tour, script by Dieselboy and AK1200, sound design by Venezuelan producer Zardonic.
Dieselboy created the audio intro for the Planet of the Drums 2010 reunion at U Street Music Hall in Washington, DC on December 9, 2010. For the first time in a Planet of the Drums performance Dieselboy incorporated dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and drumstep into the mix. Opening for them in this Steez Promo production were Grime Syndicate, Cannon Boyz, and Headhunterz Inc..
Major Events
- Electric Daisy Carnival, June 26, 2011, Las Vegas, NV
- Nocturnal Festival, September 26, 2009, San Bernardino, CA
- Ultra Music Festival (Winter Music Conference, Miami, FL, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007)
- Detroit Electronic Music Festival, May 2006, Detroit, MI
- Electric Daisy Carnival, June 26, 2004, Los Angeles, CA
- Starscape, September 27, 2003, Baltimore, MD