Hi all,
Since searching for André Duracell here leads to nothing, I thought it might be good to let you know about him.
Andrew Dymond aka André Diamant later known as André Duracell is/was a english-born french amazing one-man chip-tune drum-trigger genius.
He played drum triggered to north lead synth: bass on bassdrum and lead to snare, and toms, allowing him to play with tempo and groove of the tunes he was playing.
He was mainly interested in old video games soundtracks. He was also heavily influenced by Lightning Bolt (the band) and avoided stages to play directly in front of the public like them. His shows used to be very loud.
A few years later, he lost hearing and stopped music.
He never released anything. What's left of his work are a few youtube videos.
This is the one act I always bring up when conversations lead to chip+instruments. It's shocking how unknown his work has remained, so thanks for collecting all of it one place 
also here is proof of someone trying to understand what he's doing and accepting it https://youtu.be/AUqvYKLA0Y0?t=147
He lost his hearing??? That's horrible. I loved him.
I love the guy in the second video that has absolutely no idea what he's looking at. That's exactly how I feel. As a drummer, I find this incredibly cool yet totally confusing. Can someone explain to me what exactly he's doing? I would love to try something like this myself. Thank you so much for posting!
i too recently searched andre out. the trail has gone cold. up until about 2011 i was in contact with him through email but it came up not working the next time i wrote him back. unfortunately it seems like he probably doesnt want to be contacted. as for how his setup works, its like this:
He lost his hearing??? That's horrible. I loved him.
Yeah, I also heard the sad story when I tried to book him in France for a chiptune night. Never seen him live, and that's a big disappointment.
catskull : I believe that he launches programmed notes sequences or chords with his drumkick. At least that's what a friend's who was at one of his show understanding.
The nord modular is really cool. Basically you can use the two inputs (and he somehow made more than two, I think there is a patch for this in the nm mailing list archive) to step advance the built in sequencers on every external trigger. You are stuck on a linear path but you can control the tempo of the pulses with your playing.
http://electro-music.com/forum/viewtopi … mp;t=31330
http://blog.sebastian-arnold.net/2011/0 … ger-setup/
edit: or maybe he just used a midi brain like the examples above.
Last edited by herr_prof (Jun 27, 2015 5:30 pm)
Yes! I saw Duracell play a few years back in Aberdeen. I remember at the end of his set the crowd applauded like he'd just achieved some Herculean feat, or defeated an extremely difficult Boss in real life. That was how it felt, such a physical performance!
Sorry to hear he's stopped making music. That's a real shame.
I think the basic idea of his kit is like he's consistently feeding a tap tempo and that helps keep the sequencer in time with his playing, allowing him to slow down or accelerate parts by banging the drums. I hadn't seen a video of his in years, had totally forgotten what his name was. Glad this got posted, he totally rocked that shit. Sad to hear he lost his hearing 
I was lucky enough to see him in Liverpool - I messaged him a few times back in the day for a ChipFest show, but nothing ever came of it. Sad to read of his hearing issues
i do a lot of the same kind of stuff that he does in terms of volume and combining chip and drums and its definitely taking its toll on my hearing, then again ive been tracking vgm albums with drums and headphones on for 15+ years now and that didnt do me any favors im sure.. he had told me his hearing was fucked but he didnt get into detail, did he say if it was a confined incident or what. i stopped wearing earplugs in 2008 and i take much more than a full stack when i practice a few times daily so it makes me wonder about the details, maybe he had some amps super hardcore loud.. when you combine live drums and chips, you have to be really really careful. thankfully i have, but the longterm exposure has still killed my hearing, i wont lie. i counteract it by getting a lot of magnesium and potassium and it does help a good bit, but i dont let up at all so while i probably dont have hearing loss, i definitely have some hearing damage.
Thanks for the explanations everyone! I still feel like the guy in the space harrier video though! That part at the end is the most metal thing of all time.
I think the basic idea of his kit is like he's consistently feeding a tap tempo and that helps keep the sequencer in time with his playing, allowing him to slow down or accelerate parts by banging the drums. I hadn't seen a video of his in years, had totally forgotten what his name was. Glad this got posted, he totally rocked that shit. Sad to hear he lost his hearing
The way the nord mod sequencer works isnt a tap tempo (constant average of incoming clock that averages into the a constant tempo) but something that advances a step every drum impulse. This is kinda more impressive than a tap tempo because if dude stops playing the song stops, making the whole thing an impressive act of physical will and stamina (albeit one on a pretty linear path).
Can't stop listening to this guy, such a fascinating concept. It's rare that these types of setups are more than just a novelty, but this guy goes so far above and beyond. It's a damn shame about his hearing, but at least he got to do this at all.
heres his collab with dj scotch egg