Morgan Ågren on drums

Did you know, Nicko has three favourite drummers in the world and Swedish drummer Morgan Ågren is one of them. And as we’re preparing to release “I’m still wondering” it’s thrilling to announce that Morgan’s doing the drums on this enchanting Celtic influenced tune. (It drops on April 14th, so soon, really soon, friends and phoenixes.)

We’ve always done our own drums, what happened? Sometimes electronic drums and drum machines get it just right and there’s no reason to change them, but oftentimes we get a feeling there’s more potential hiding in there. It’s still not like striding out into the world to hire the first best drummer doing their traditional do-bah, do-do bah style. We know our music is different, and it makes sense that drumming should be too – progressive, playful and creative. There’s a charm in hiring young aspiring talents (and I’ll tell you all about it another time), but there’s a really powerful feeling of being taken care of when you work with someone really experienced. They come in quick, do their thing and they leave you a little breathless – and the more you listen, you realise they put a lot more than you could’ve ever imagine into the dough. That’s what the right teachers do.

Don’t know who Morgan Ågren is? He’s had a very impressive career with Grammy Awards, played with artists like Frank Zappa and Devin Townsend, got voted Best Fusion Drummer in 2010 by Modern Drummer’s readers’ poll, (which might say something about his style). But it was also 2010  Morgan Ågren went viral. When Nicko and I were still kids, Morgan had a drum teaching show on Swedish television, and suddenly this song was released on youtube and spread like a wildfire – that’s when he got the Best Fusion Drummer award and Nicko got wind of Morgan’s talent.

So, working with Morgan planted a seed, one we’ve been eagerly watching grow. You did catch when I said one of Nicko’s three favourite drummers in the world, right? Yep, I know, it’s a bit of a cliff-hanger. In the meantime, you can check out our live streams on FB or our channel on youtube. There’s more drumming in the workings.

With love,
Anneli