Tullio De Piscopo

The holy grail of all the drum-breaks library LP, a true "cult" among DJ and producers, is available again in a faithful replica of the original gatefold sleeve and remastered from the original master tapes. Tullio De Piscopo is a drummer extraordinaire, a constant in Italian music, moving effortlessly between pop, jazz, rock and progressive modes. This record from 1974 could be thought of as the ultimate promulgation of his talent and versatility as a musician, though maybe not quite the ‘Practical Guide’ it professes to be on the sleeve!

“Suonando la Batteria Moderna” has long been considered as the ultimate drum breaks record. If you’ve heard Unkle’s “Drums of Death”, that’s Tullio’s hard-hitting style and octopus-like ability you hear as the foundation to Kool G Rap’s characteristically aggressive flow. The relentlessly enthusiastic Gaslamp Killer also cites this, and The Group’s “The Feed-Back” LP, as his most cherished possessions. If like us, the feel of the drums are often the dealbreaker when sizing up the worthiness of the obscuro excavation of the moment then you might want to meditate in “Suonando la Batteria Moderna”’s polyrhythmic heartbeat.