Anika Nilles

I think it is completely unfair to even bring her gender to the equation guys. She's a fantastic player, period. Tasteful too, imho that is.
 
Man, there we go with the girl thing again.

Anik is a good drummer, so is Emanuelle. They are educated and on a completely different level than most of these youtube wonders playing note-for-note metal tunes. They are experienced players, too.

Tama. She's now with a brand that's bigger, more well known, in company with Peter, Simon, Kenny etc... Not a bad place to be.

My taste as a player. Well, not many really are, but doing your own thing and putting in the work to get out there is to be respected.
It's an old thread Odd-Arne, and the poster that brought it back hasn't mentioned
anything concerning gender, has he?

People changing endorsement brands has most probably more than anything
to do with personal relations to distributors, and how things work with the
individual support any(ka :) ) artist needs.
 
I have lots of respect for Anika as a drummer. She works VERY hard at becoming the best drummer she can be. She puts in the long hard hours practicing all those boring exercises that drive you crazy and make you want to smash everything to pieces. She has made herself famous through hard work. Nobody did it for her like one of those "boy bands".

The only thing I don't like, & it's a personal preference, is her taste in cymbals. I can't stand all those "trash" sounding cymbals she plays. I think it's mostly a fad of solo drummers like her because I don't think most other artist would have their songs ruined with that awful noise. They were meant to be used as an "effects" cymbal & used sparingly. Luke Holland is another drummer that over uses trash cymbals. They are both good drummers that I rarely listen to because the sound irritates me.

That's actually one of my favorite things about her playing, and a few others like Matt Garstka. The older bright, long-sustain Zildjian/Paiste has mostly been the standard for quite a few decades at this point, so the dark, trashy, shorter, but still complex and aggressive tones are quite distinctive. There have been a number of drummers over the years that have incorporated those sort of sounds into their kits, but this is probably the peak era so far for their more regular incorporation into kits. I think it may help to think of them in these contexts not as effects cymbals so much as extra-crunchy hi-hat alternatives. They're more often used for variations on driving the pulse rather than just the occasional splay of color or texture. It's just a different way of thinking about the function of the cymbals in music.
 
That's actually one of my favorite things about her playing, and a few others like Matt Garstka. The older bright, long-sustain Zildjian/Paiste has mostly been the standard for quite a few decades at this point, so the dark, trashy, shorter, but still complex and aggressive tones are quite distinctive. There have been a number of drummers over the years that have incorporated those sort of sounds into their kits, but this is probably the peak era so far for their more regular incorporation into kits. I think it may help to think of them in these contexts not as effects cymbals so much as extra-crunchy hi-hat alternatives. They're more often used for variations on driving the pulse rather than just the occasional splay of color or texture. It's just a different way of thinking about the function of the cymbals in music.

That’s a cool way of looking at it. I used to like odd-sounding gear and tried to incorporate it all the time, and it’s cool Anika is in a position to use those kinds of sounds. But over time I have discovered, as many other would-be-envelope-pushing drummers have, I just get hired to play Mustang Sally ;)
 
I've been following her for a while, but will admit when I first heard her, I didn't like how her beats and fills seemed contrary to the music being played. Her fills seemed choppy & unorganized (like she just made them up at the last second & rushed to fit it all in).
Then I actually LISTENED to her part & how it sounded as a whole & it just clicked. Her musicality was over my infantile head and I had to grow to her level to know what she was doing.

Now that I hear better musically, I love her ability to play with the time & still make it all work. Her Piklar album is very good & she's one of the few drummers I've seen get to where she is thanks to YouTube.
 
I looked at some of her videos playing and none I looked at was the video and music actually the same. The sound was added later. Kinda disappointing and sounds way too polished. Alt-rock kinda bland and boring. The music had no soul it's completely bland and predictable. And, she plays wayyyyy too much drum. If I notice the drummer on every frickin' song then the drums are a distraction not an addition to the ensemble sound. It like Joe Bonnamassa shredding guitar on every Muddy and Howlin' song he does.
 
I looked at some of her videos playing and none I looked at was the video and music actually the same. The sound was added later. Kinda disappointing and sounds way too polished. Alt-rock kinda bland and boring. The music had no soul it's completely bland and predictable. And, she plays wayyyyy too much drum. If I notice the drummer on every frickin' song then the drums are a distraction not an addition to the ensemble sound. It like Joe Bonnamassa shredding guitar on every Muddy and Howlin' song he does.

It's ok. She sells the Tama drums. Which is the most important thing, right?
 
IMO Yamaha and Tama are producing amazing drums, I don't know who's better, both are really really good. Both are top brands. Everybody knows them for sure. And thousands of drummers love their drums and hardware. But others might not like them. That's okay.

In 2010 there was a discussion about the "best brand". It almost ended in WWIII.

We get much too passionate about what we choose. I suppose there’s that “I have to prove to myself I’m right thing.” There are so many quality drums out there, the selections seem endless. I’ve been trying to narrow things down for over a year with no luck. Each has something I’d miss on another. Wish I could have one of each for how the mood strikes me each day...oh, yeah! Then I woke up! LOL!!!

So far as Anika’s playing, it’s her music, she over plays like crazy, but sells you the drumless version of her stuff too. You can’t find some of the odd timed stuff around, so if you’re just looking for something to build your skills, they work well.

Im sure she says the same thing as she laughs her way to the bank.
 
Amazing how playing fast/playing too much = good player these days. Like I would have never heard of this Anika without this thread. Maybe the OP is Anika or her mother or boyfriend or ??? I mean, who really pays attention to Internet-drummers??? Now we have 3 pages of it lol.
 
Amazing how playing fast/playing too much = good player these days. Like I would have never heard of this Anika without this thread. Maybe the OP is Anika or her mother or boyfriend or ??? I mean, who really pays attention to Internet-drummers??? Now we have 3 pages of it lol.

I think it’s more likely you are just out of touch a bit. No offense but Anika’s videos have millions of views and so do a great number of other internet drummers. Readership to drum magazines are down and dvd sales are practically non existent. The internet is where people take in their information regarding the current drum landscape.
 
Amazing how playing fast/playing too much = good player/good musician these days.

I think it’s more likely you are just out of touch a bit. No offense but Anika’s videos have millions of views and so do a great number of other internet drummers. Readership to drum magazines are down and dvd sales are practically non existent. The internet is where people take in their information regarding the current drum landscape.
 
Amazing how playing fast/playing too much = good player/good musician these days.

Really, so you post the same thing twice. It's ok to dislike her music, you posted that before. I don't see what other point you are trying to make.

I think that if anyone can find a new way to pay the bills playing music, I say all the power to them.

A drummer playing and composing drum centered music? What a shock. Krupa, Rich, Peart, Weckl, I can list 100 names of people that fit in that category. I guess Satriani and Vai should be critisized for writing guitar-centric music too then, eh?
 
Not everything Krupa did was "drum-centric". Lots of good jazz ensemble music he wrote or arranged that doesn't feature drums. Seems all she does is play a lotta drum too much drum on most every song. I don't like Joe Bonnamassa either. His blues-shredding guitar licks just drive me up the wall. Too much guitar there. I enjoy a good ensemble sound with all the musicians listening to each other.


My point is IMHO she's a drummer who plays fast and plays too much. If she pays the bills doing that, then great. Doesn't make her any better or make me enjoy her music, though.

Really, so you post the same thing twice. It's ok to dislike her music, you posted that before. I don't see what other point you are trying to make.

I think that if anyone can find a new way to pay the bills playing music, I say all the power to them.

A drummer playing and composing drum centered music? What a shock. Krupa, Rich, Peart, Weckl, I can list 100 names of people that fit in that category. I guess Satriani and Vai should be critisized for writing guitar-centric music too then, eh?
 
I guess Satriani and Vai should be critisized for writing guitar-centric music too then, eh?

Plenty of people do.

These conversations go on all over the place.
On bass forums you'll see people ripping into Stu Hamm or Victor Wooten for the 'technique over emotion' playing.

I try not to write a player off because they have a lot of technique.
Nor do I if they don't.

My interest is 'do I like the music' or 'do I feel like I've connected to them'?
 
..I looked at some of her videos playing and none I looked at was the video and music actually the same. The sound was added later. Kinda disappointing and sounds way too polished. Alt-rock kinda bland and boring. The music had no soul it's completely bland and predictable. And, she plays wayyyyy too much drum. If I notice the drummer on every frickin' song then the drums are a distraction not an addition to the ensemble sound. It like Joe Bonnamassa shredding guitar on every Muddy and Howlin' song he does..

..It's ok. She sells the Tama drums. Which is the most important thing, right?..

..I mean, who really pays attention to Internet-drummers??? Now we have 3 pages of it lol..


I sense a weird sort of sarcasm in posts like this..

I think is safe to say that basically no member on this forum (including myself..and..i am not speaking about members like Gavin Harrison..) comes even close to her level of playing..And that includes the amazing time-feel she has..

Then why speak about her like she is 'just a this..' or 'just a that..'..?
 
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I don’t think it’s a matter of playing too much. I don’t think anyone will have too many drum companies chasing them down if all they play is the money beat. Drumming has changed. Drummers are now getting more attention than before, so more power to them if they go from being Youtube drummers to viable musicians who drum companies feel are worthy enough to promote their brand.
Start your own Youtube channel, offer lessons, tips etc and see where it takes you. Nothing like hard work!
 
From the Drummerworld website:

Anika is a german female Drummer, Songwriter and Producer.

After studying Popmusicdesign B.A. at the University of Popular Music and Music Business in Mannheim, she is now focusing on writing and producing her own songs which will be published on her Youtube channel.

The most important thing in her tracks, that stylistically belong in the pop/rock genre, is 'the groove!' Anika doesn't use her drums only for rhythm, but much more as an independent instrument. Hereby she manages to avoid unnecessarily putting the focus on herself and leaves room for extravagance. Her fine technique, the distinctiveness of her sound, and her strong groove characterize her songs and her way of playing.
 

Very honored and happy to join the legendary Jeff Beck on drums for his UK and EU Tour this summer! Make sure to get your ticket. 👉🏼All available through Jeff’s website! 💥Happy eastern everyone!

27 May Cardiff, UK
29 May Sheffield, UK
30 May London, UK
31 May London, UK
02 June Gateshead, UK
03 June Glasgow, UK
04 June Manchester, UK
06 June Birmingham, UK
07 June York, UK
24 June Oslo, NO
25 June Kristiansund, NO
27 June Stockholm, SE
28 June Copenhagen, DNK
29 June Randers, DNK
14 July Saint-Julien, FR
17 July Perugia, IT
18 July Gardone Riviera, IT
20 July Pordenone, IT
23 July Vitrolles, FR
24 July Marciac, FR
25 July Paris, FR



I'll be seeing them in Kristiansund.
 
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