When Phil Jordan sits down behind the kit for his band, UK rockers The Music, he has one goal in mind: making people dance. Jordan says the secret is in the dynamics. “You want to build, get the tension, and then release,” he says. “You play something over and over again. And then you take something away, like the kick drum, and you play it for a while like that. And when you put the kick drum back in, everyone releases.”

Jordan, of Leeds, England, began drumming when he was thirteen years old. Great rock drummers including John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell, and Dave Grohl provided early inspiration, but soon Jordan turned to dance music makers like The Chemical Brothers for musical ideas. Just a few years later, while still in school, Jordan and his friends formed The Music. The band debuted with a self-titled album in 2003, and they’ve recently released their sophomore effort, Welcome To The North.

Jordan calls the third track, “Bleed From Within,” the most important drumming song on the new album. Several magazine writers have tried to identify the groove, assuming it’s an ethnic rhythm. However, Jordan says it’s the result of he, bassist Stuart Coleman, and producer Brendan O’Brien lining up three drumkits and jamming. The groove they developed became the basis of the song. Advertisement

‘this is a democracy when it comes to songwriting,” Jordan says. ‘somebody will start with a loop or a groove, and everyone will chip in and build to see where we can take it.”