A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT between some of the greatest drummers in rock history and a visual art team in Los Angeles has captured rhythm on canvas.
“This is a really exciting new medium,” says Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Art of Drums is the latest offering from Los Angeles art collective SceneFour, which is working with the likes of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Chad Smith, Guns ‘N Roses’ Steven Adler, Def Leppard’s Rick Allen and Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction to make art from the drummers’ hard hitting power and skillful jazz techniques.
SceneFour uses long-exposure photography and lighted drumsticks to create the work. A camera captures 30 seconds of the drummer’s performance in one frame. Following artistic input from the drummer and some post-production back in the SceneFour’s studios, the drum movements are enhanced.Each image is heightened by increasing or reducing light, effecting hidden elements within the color channels and controlling the color spectrum to bring out the abstract nature of the work.
Music recording revenues have been declining sharply over the past decade.SceneFour’s musical art collaborations have been growing at a record pace with collections such as “Rick Allen’s Angels and Icons” featured at Wentworth Gallery, a leading fine art retailer. Carl Palmer and SceneFour just released a First Edition, comprehensive coffee table book “Art In Rhythm” which quickly sold out. They’ve given the musician a new stream of revenue, a new way to express themselves and connect with their fans.
SceneFour is unveiling a new division in 2016 focused on releasing vinyl records. These albums will spotlight artists discussing their body of works, track-by-track, with music creatively woven in between their narration, thus engaging the reader and amplifying the audio experience. Inspired by the read-along children’s books from Disney Records in the 1970’s, the narration featured on these recordings will guide readers through the book, page-by-page.
