{"id":17803,"date":"2019-11-29T09:30:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-29T09:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playright.be\/rencontre-avec-nicky-collaer-batteur-professionnel\/"},"modified":"2019-12-03T08:04:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T08:04:29","slug":"encounter-with-nicky-collaer-professional-drummer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playright.be\/en\/encounter-with-nicky-collaer-professional-drummer\/","title":{"rendered":"Encounter with Nicky Collaer, professional drummer"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The instrument adapts itself to the style, the rest is common sense.” So much is clear. But how do you adapt to the music style of a band when you play in four different ones? Not to mention the studio sessions. Professional drummer, Nicky Collaer, pursues a career that is as productive as it is eclectic. This true autodidact and drummer of Alaska Gold Rush<\/em> tells us more about his course and the greatest assets of a musician who is “on the rise”. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

How did you become a\nprofessional drummer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nI was twelve, I started to listen to rock music and play on a drum set that my\ncousin had given me. I have not stopped since then. I soon realised I should\nstart playing with others instead of on my own, and that is how my first band\ncame into being when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. Everything\naccelerated when I met my friends from Negate<\/em>,\na hardcore metal band. Our band was quite successful and when I was fifteen, we\nleft on tour for the first time. That was the moment when my passion for music\nstarted and grown, as well as the desire to leave and experiment the music\nscene abroad, not only in Belgium. I then started to evolve more every day and\nI opened myself up to other genres, such as pop rock and electro rock. Shortly\nthereafter, I met Dan Klein, who proposed me to play on his tracks and join Vismets<\/em>. The band was quite busy for a\nlong time and we were able to give several big shows in France and Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vismets,\nAtome<\/em><\/strong>, and now also Alaska Gold Rush, Kid Noiz<\/em>e and, more\nrecently, Les Garçons<\/em>… Plus your\nstudio sessions. How do you manage to accumulate all these collaborations?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, as a musician, and more specifically as a drummer, it’s important that you diversify. At a given moment I became aware of the necessity to be able to play different styles and try out as many things as possible, so I really started playing “on the market”. I had known Kid Noize<\/a><\/em><\/strong> from a very young age, because he was also a part of Negate <\/em>and because I had played with him during the Joshua <\/em>era. He invited me to take part in a part of the live tour that ended on November 22 last year, in the Ancienne Belgique. Since he is a DJ, I did not play during the entire set and I intervened with a rather percussive performance. Nowadays, I play with Alaska Gold Rush<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, more folk rock, Kid Noize<\/em>, fully electro, and since recently also with les Garçons<\/a><\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> where I do the music arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you position yourself “on\nthe market” as an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social\nnetworks are of primordial importance in this regard. But above all, it’s\nimportant that you gain experience by, for example, starting a band, talking to\nas many people as possible, going to many concerts, and meeting as many\nprofessionals from the sector as possible, especially those who work in\nstudios. Even though being a studio drummer is not my main activity, as it is\nmuch stricter and more methodical. I prefer having real contact with the public\nand the people. With Alaska Gold Rush<\/em>\nwe recorded everything live, with guitar and drums and without a metronome. Old\nschool, which was very lively! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how did you end up with Alaska Gold Rush<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year and a half ago, when their drummer had left for Australia, Renaud Ledru (singer and guitarist of Alaska Gold Rush)<\/em>, asked me to join the band. Consequently, we started composing and recording together in the studio, and last November we released a first single. As we are a duo, the drums are fairly dominant, which gives me considerable space and freedom. The album will be released with a live presentation at the Botanique<\/a><\/strong> on the 8th<\/sup> of March 2020 and we will tour through Italy until mid-December. The visual aspect is very important for Alaska, which is why, as a band, we have put a lot of effort in making various clips.<\/p>\n\n\n