Sleep Token's II Shares Four Drumming Influences First Video Chat

The masked members of Sleep Token have largely maintained their air of mystery while frequently staying away from media interviews, but Sleep Token drummer II (two) has granted his first video interview with Drumeo. He goes in depth on his drumming techniques and influences while showcasing some of his playing as well.

In keeping up the mystery, II’s voice is also masked, but he does offer a few more details surrounding his musical background, specifically where it comes to his drumming influences.

The drummer notes, “I’ve always personally taken lots of inspiration from the U.K. dance music scene, and listening to various subgenres of drum and bass specifically allow me to incorporate stylistic traits from those genres into my vocabulary as a drummer.”

Getting into specifics, he name checks four different drummers as being influences. At one point, when speaking about his drumming style, he cites Eric Moore, the 2003 Guitar Center Drum Off champ who has toured with Bobby Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Infectious Grooves and Suicidal Tendencies, but it was his work with a more gospel style of drumming that caught the ears of II.

The drummer stated, “I’ve always been a big Eric Moore fan and gospel drummers in general. But I’ve taken a lot of influence from Eric’s licks and they find their way into my playing.” He then shared an example dissecting a triplet phrasing that leaves the drummer three notes short of resolving itself, thus forcing him to be creative to fill out the remainder.

He also shared three other drummers on the heavier side that caught his attention, explaining, “When I first started playing, I, like many others in my generation, were heavily into drummers such as Joey Jordison, Matt [McDonaugh] from the band Mudvayne, as well as the more extreme speed players such as Derek Roddy.”

Check out more of II’s interview with Drumeo below.