This rock star drummer goes completely under the radar playing for icons like Kanye West and Elton John
You've probably never heard of Matt Chamberlain before, but if you've ever listened to Elton John, Kanye West, Dido, or John Mayer, you've definitely heard his music.
New York Times Magazine recently published an interactive feature titled "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music is Going." One section, written by Jeff Himmelman, focuses on 48-year-old Chamberlain.
Himmelman describes the drummer and composer as a "below-the-radar rock star who often shows up only in the liner notes."
Chamberlain is a freelance session player, which means he'll be brought in to help compose a song, pushing it in the right direction with a skillful manipulation of different rhythms. He can also be hired to record drums for an album or single, or brought on for a live tour or late-night show performance.
Chamberlain's notoriety is due to his ability to seamlessly blend into any genre or sound, and elevate the music in a new direction an artist wishes to take. Not to mention he's still mainly crafting with instruments in a studio, not pulling from electronic samples. With music going more and more digital, talented studio musicians are becoming a rarity.
Chamberlain's minimal website features a list of the bands and artists he's recorded and/or toured with. Let's take a look at just a few of the included names:
- Tori Amos
- Bill Frisell
- Soundgarden
- David Bowie
- Fiona Apple
- Kanye West
- Elvis Costello
- Frank Ocean
- Eric Clapton
- Bruce Springsteen
- Morrissey
- Elton John
- Dido
- Pearl Jam
- John Mayer
- Regina Spektor
When Chamberlain was just 24, he spent a season drumming for Saturday Night Live's studio band from 1991 to 1992. More recently he did soundtrack work for movies like "Trainwreck," "Man Of Steel," and Disney's "Frozen."
Himmelman summed it up neatly: "In a world of dwindling recording budgets and increased automation, [Chamberlain] could well be the last one drumming before software takes over completely."
Read the full New York Times Magazine post for more insights to the world of contemporary music.