Anika Nilles: “Adapting to Peart’s playing is a challenge”
The drummer Anika Nilleswhich debuted live late last month with i Rush at the ceremony of Juno Awards this year at TD Coliseum in Hamilton (Canada)talked about his predecessor behind the band’s skins, Neil Peart.
In an interview with Classic Rock there 42 year old German musician talking about drummer who passed away in January 2020 he explained: “His playing was very energetic, and I really like that. It’s something I feel very comfortable with. I also like to play very energetically. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, and it’s something I really appreciate about his playing. He also had an incredible range of timbres. He had a very melodic approach to drumming and used a wide range of sounds to achieve that. This set him apart and made him stand out in the eyes of many drummers, for whom he was – and remains – a role model. He had a very particular way of playing the ride cymbal. When you listen to his music, that cymbal always stands out prominently.”
He still continues saying: “He also had a very distinctive snare drum sound. There are certain distinctive sounds that come directly from his playing, not from the instrumentation, but from him. You recognize it straight away. Adapting to his playing is a challenge. Neil rarely repeated himself. He always brought something new to each song. Even if a section repeated itself compositionally, his drumming the second time around was different from the first. This makes it exciting and is part of what gives the songs their identity. At the same time, it’s a challenge to remember all those details, because they’re important. It’s a composition, you can’t just ignore certain parts, they’re all essential and they have to be played. It’s a challenge.”
The ‘Fifty Something Tour’ of the Rush will begin next June 7th Kia Forum Los Angelesthe same place where the Canadian band held its last concert with Neil Peart on August 1, 2015. That will be for all intents and purposes the first concert of Anika Nilles with i Rush.
