Growing up in Adelaide, Alexander Flood was exposed to his parents’ taste for Bee Gees, Abba and 1970s disco. He took to the drums, and later began studying jazz. When his teacher gave him a USB stick containing music by guitarist John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, and drummers Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd and Billy Cobham, he was hooked.
The Australian drummer, who will perform at the Studio Theatre of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) on February 8, now specialises in jazztronica or nu jazz. Blending elements of house, UK garage, drum n’ bass and broken beat with jazz technique and improvisation, his music involves taking electronic styles shaped by machines, and rebuilding them live, in real time.
The India tour, which also covers Bengaluru, Chennai and Goa, also features Erica Tucceri on flute, Jake Amy on keyboards and Dylan Paul on bass. At the NMACC, flautist Shriram Sampath will appear on some tracks. Says Flood, “The set will sit at the intersection of club culture and contemporary jazz. We’re going to try and make people move. I’m bringing in a mix of dance tunes and jazz tunes, though we have been doing more dance tunes in our recent shows in Australia. And with the Indian flute on some tracks, there will be a fresh dimension.”
The set will also cover tunes from Flood’s last album Artifactual Rhythm, besides his upcoming single Breadfruit from the EP Cut It Up. He says, “Artifactual Rhythm was released in April last year. It was recorded in Melbourne in early 2024, and released on the Atjazz Record Company. The basic concept was to take all my electronic influences and put a jazz spin on it, specially the improvisations and spontaneity which would blend with a dance music aesthetic.”
Pic: Will Hamilton Coates
Flood says playing live is specially exciting because each time, he puts a different spin. He explains, “Sometimes, we tailor things as per the particular show or audience or the dynamic of that evening. The music really lives and breathes on stage. The band has performed a lot together. Erica and Jake are from Melbourne, and Dylan Paul is an old friend from Adelaide.”
The album Artifactual Rhythm, Flood says, has helped him find the sound he was actually looking for. He points out, “It is my fourth album and I am working on the next one now. The first three albums were more of experiments with recording and with working with some wonderful artistes to produce globally-influenced music. There is a track Circadian Taal on the first album Heartbeat which uses Indian music and vocals, and the album The Space Between has a lot of West African and Middle Eastern influences.”
Flood has always been curious about listening to different types of music. He even studied the tabla for three years from Salar Nader, a student of Zakir Hussain. He says, “I grew up in a family of very adventurous travellers. So from a young age I was travelling to the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt. This really sparked a hunger and passion for digging beneath the surface. The global influences are definitely still there, though they aren’t so prevalent in what one hears.”
On his tour of India, Flood also intends to meet many other musicians and talk of collaborations. He says, “We’d like to immerse ourselves in the local scene. We have some time in Mumbai so we’d like to meet a few people and hear their music, and talk of joining hands for future projects.”
Interestingly, Flood points out that his family had a connection with cricket too. His grandfather was an umpire and his father a coach. He recalls, “I played for fun till my teenage years, before music studies and commitments with orchestras and percussion ensembles happened, and I decided to focus on music.” His music has a different swing and spin, for sure.
