Anika Nilles

Anika Nilles is a German drummer, composer, solo musician, and musical educator. She launched her career on YouTube during the early 2010s, and has released two full-length albums to date, both with backing band Nevell: Pikalar in 2017 and For a Colorful Soul in 2020.

Anika Nilles
Born (1983-05-29) 29 May 1983[1]
OriginGermany
GenresProgressive pop[2]
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, drummer, educator, composer[3]
InstrumentsDrum kit
LabelsSakurai Records
Associated actsNevell
Websiteanikanilles.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Subscribers160k+
Total views16,369,869
Updated 30 October 2018

Early life

Nilles was born into a family with multiple drummers, and started drumming herself at age six. When interviewed by South Africa Drummer, she mentioned having two uncles, one cousin and a father who are drummers. Her father "taught me the first grooves as he realised I was interested in drumming."[4]

She secured degrees in popular music and music business from the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim.[3] Afterward, Nilles had a career in social education, which she stepped down from to pursue drumming full-time.

Career

Nilles' posted her first original compositions "Wild Boy" in 2013, followed by "Alter Ego" in 2014. These and other music videos usually contain a visual recording of her drumming alongside previously recorded music. In such videos, she has historically cooperated with producer and guitarist Joachim Schneiss. Afterward, Nilles began acquiring work and viral attention outside of her native Germany, such as with a tour of Europe,[5] the United States, and China in 2015.[4]

In 2017, Nilles' debut album Pikalar was released, consisting of 10 instrumental tracks. In promotion of the album, Nilles was the cover artist and interviewee for the June 2017 edition of Modern Drummer Magazine. In this interview, Nilles stated that she coined the word "pikalar", which is intended "to stand for things that happen in life that you can't describe".[3]

Nilles embarked on a six-date United States clinic tour in October 2018, and performed at venues such as the Chicago Music Exchange, Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Indiana,[6] and Salt City Drums in Salt Lake City, Utah.[7]

Influences

Toto member and career session drummer Jeff Porcaro is a primary influence for Nilles.[8] Other influences include Carter Beauford, Jojo Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Joe Satriani, Dave Matthews Band, Joss Stone, Stanton Moore, and Prince.[4]

Equipment

Nilles uses and endorses Meinl Cymbals,[9] Tama Drums,[2] and Evans Drumheads.[10] Meinl released a custom 18" Artist Concept Model Deep Hats cymbal that was conceptualized by Nilles.[11] She also uses Promark sticks, and formerly Mapex Drums.[12]

Technique

Nilles tends to incorporate alternate time signatures, such as with quintuplets and sextuplets, over a 4
4 backbeat.[8]

Awards
Year Contest Award
2014 Hit Like a Girl Contest Runner-up[13]
2015 Drummie Awards Rising Star[14]
2016 Drummie Awards Rising Star[15]

Personal

Nilles currently lives in Mannheim, Germany.[3]

Discography
  • Pikalar (Sakurai Records, full-length, 2017)
  • For a Colorful Soul (Linear Studios, full-length, 2020)
gollark: <@319753218592866315> Stop being so ribonucleic.
gollark: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/433676879363309569/812751474181275718/Fk3bsBCEgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg.png?width=844&height=422
gollark: Some kind of generalized totient thing?
gollark: What's PCO? I couldn't find information about this on the internet very easily.
gollark: It even tests C submissions in a non*-accursed way.

References
  1. "Anika Nilles". drummerworld.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  2. "Anika Nilles Joins TAMA As Signature Artist, Releases Debut Solo Album". Drum Magazine. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  3. Dawson, Michael (June 2017). "Anika Nilles: Welcome to the New Age". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  4. "Anika Nilles Interview". South African Drummer. December 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  5. McMullan-Jones, Thea (11 May 2015). "Anika Nilles Drum Clinic at Drumshop UK!!". drumshop.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  6. "Tama Star Drums & An Evening with Anika Nilles". Sweetwater. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  7. "Tama Star Drums & An Evening with Anika Nilles". tama.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  8. Haid, Mike (March 2015). "Up & Coming – Anika Nilles". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  9. "Anika Nilles". meinlcymbals.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  10. "Anika Nilles". daddario.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  11. "18"/18" Artist Concept Model – Anika Nilles – Deep Hats". meinlcymbals.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  12. Robbins, Nick (8 April 2015). "Anika Nilles: Viral virtuoso". iDrum Magazine. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  13. "Anika Nilles: Hit Like A Girl 2014 Winner Takes Drummies! Award". Hit Like a Girl Contest. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  14. Doerschuk, Andy (27 February 2015). "Drummies! 2015 Artist Awards: Tim Alexander Wins Big". Drum!. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  15. "Drummies 2016: Drum Set Categories". Drum!. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.