In a world where percussion is often an afterthought, especially when we look at music from the classical foreground-middle ground-background approach, I’m always intrigued by music created by drummers. So I was excited when I came across Al Buchanan, a drum prodigy from Middlesbrough in the UK, who’s released a new single “Undivided Light.”
Genre-wise, “Undivided Light” is a little hard to pin down, there are many aspects of dance music present (pulsing synth, light-effected vox, and forward motion rhythm) but it’s also pretty prog-rocky in other aspects, such as changing motifs and themes throughout. Overall, it’s an extraordinary well composed if not a little quirky song. Just in case you were wondering, we are treated to some of Buchanan’s drum chops towards the end of the tune.
Al has been a prolific producer of his own music for the last few years, he’s released several singles since 2022. Before that he was a widely sought-after percussionist eventually landing a gig with Elaine Palmer and playing on her album “Fire and Flames.” Of course, with that kind of pedigree it might be something of a leap-of-faith going out on your own. But the quality of his work really does speak for itself.
Al Buchanan has an up-to-date Facebook page, right now focusing on “Undivided Light.” Here, listeners can see the lates news including shows and his releases. A couple dashing pics of him with a guitar makes for some personal sentiment and I imagine as his page grows there will be more content.