Hey - Battles! I remember them... Some other groups I dug in that vein (well, sorta) are Maps and Atlases, Pterodactyl, and Parts & Labor.
Speaking of "toying with the beat" and drums as a melodic instrument, it made me think of some polyrhythmic stuff I saw Chris Dave doing in a trio here with Foley (ex Miles piccolo bassist, and pretty accomplished drummer in his own right). This is a sonic mashup of a Thelonious Monk song, and bass ostinato was from some rap song (Jurassic 5 was the band, but I forget the song name...):
I've also been into Dave King lately. He's done some cool stuff with The Bad Plus too- jazz covers of Aphex Twin, Pixies, etc...
Drums are actually my favorite instrument. Maybe comes from so many years of being glued to a drummer in bands? My ears always go straight to the drums. (...oh and I do like Ian/DP for the record, just to remain in good standing here
)
Oh- and welcome aboard, drummer5359!
