Even by drumming standards, debuts don’t get more bombastic and dramatic than that of Hannah Montrose. Beaming into TV screens around the world - as one of the drummers providing the vital rhythmic backbone to Danny Boyle's lavish, arguably music-first London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony - gigs don't get much better.
The Olympics were just the beginning of her journey as a now sought-after drummer - who has since performed for names like Lizzo, Cat Burns and the Nova Twins - but set the tone for what came next. We sat down with the friendly Lutonian beatsmith - days before she set off on tour with (fellow 2012 Olympics trailblazer) Emeli Sandé - and talked spiral cymbals, celebrity manifesting and serving the song.
As we sat down for our conversation, one particular anecdote that Montrose had recently recounted on an online Q&A was ringing in our ears.
The somewhat depressing tale harks back to Montrose's days as a scholarship student to London's ICMP music college. Having developed her chops in gospel church music in Luton, this young drummer knew her way around her kit. She even had her own column in the now defunct Drummer magazine.
Entering the gauntlet of auditions and self-promotion that awaits even the most talented musicians, she was aware that talent alone was not always enough. But one audition in particular stood out for the ludicrous hoops that were considered normal for session artists to jump through at one point in the industry.
Coming back from stretching her legs after a performance she felt had gone pretty well, she sensed something was in the air when the A&R man shuffled towards her. “He said to me, ‘You know, I want to let you know that you did nothing wrong’. When he said that, I was like OK, I get it. Like a dog whistle for ‘you haven't got it’. [Then] he said to me, ‘Right now, to be honest, we're kind of looking for a Beatles-type visual’. I left there feeling like ‘OK, this is not gonna happen, this is not gonna happen’.”
It was a dispiriting exchange for a number of reasons, but as Montrose explains, this was not the first time she'd been underestimated. In some cases, the problem was seen as the instrument itself she chose to play.
"In high school, playing drums was everything [to me]. But when it came to me picking my GCSEs, the head of music told me, 'Hannah, you don't want to do that. You know, I don't think you'll do well in music'. They wanted me to steer away from the music path. And it was because I wasn't classically trained. There was this hierarchy in terms of, OK, that's what we see as making it in music. And your little drumming thing is not what we see as being reputable."
From Luton to Lizzo (and back again)
Happily, Montrose's light was not to stay under a bushel for long. After years of hard - but from the sounds of it, thoroughly rewarding - graft, she graduated from ICMP with glowing reviews from tutors, and started her session career in earnest.
But on top of all that hard work there were also sprinklings of magic on her trip to the top of her game. Take, for example, the serendipity of her encounter with flute-playing US superstar Lizzo.
"It was the end of the year, around Christmas time, and I was going through YouTube and one of Lizzo's performances comes up,” Montrose recalls. “Now as I said, I'm a working class girl from the UK - I have traction in terms of drumming, but I'm not really known or anything. [But] I just said to myself, I would love to play for this lady. I said, I would love to play for her. A few months later, I get a call from a really good friend of mine, and he says, 'Listen, Lizzo is coming to the country and do you want to drum for her?' And I was like, whoa.”
While it's worth noting that not all of Lizzo's collaborators have spoken so positively of their experiences (involving a notorious lawsuit by some of her former dancers), Montrose lists her time being Lizzo's go-to UK drummer as one of her career highlights.
But it wouldn't be the last: the doors were starting to open. "[Then] getting the Emeli Sandé call was like, oh my gosh, OK, this is serious business now. Just being able to work with her and her genius has been a dream come true."
Montrose notes the shared bond that she and Sandé have - that they both first experienced their time to shine in the setting of the 2012 Olympics: "That was her big introduction to the world and [it was] kind of full circle, 10 years later from that, working with her."
Crowning her trifecta of "sentimental" moments was a joy-filled appearance on-stage in the familiar surroundings of Luton alongside Cat Burns, for the BBC Radio One Big Weekend: “For the first time, you know, in my whole drumming career, I got to play a gig in my hometown".
How important, we ask, is it that big artists like these put their money where their mouths are in terms of championing talent?
"Well, with Lizzo, she kind of had a clear plan – that she would like to have women of colour when she came over. Just as something different. And at the time, we didn't know that was [one of] the first times that had ever been done in the UK for an artist of that stature."
But Montrose singles out Sandé for particular praise in terms of her human approach to recruitment and auditioning - worlds away from the coldness of her early experiences. "She was there in person and I wasn't expecting that. In normal auditions it's yourself and the MD going through some tracks. That's how it goes. But with having Emeli there it kind of showed that she [was] very much invested in it, to be sure that she picks the right people for her."
Walnut wishes
When describing Hannah's credentials for having been selected for an endorseeship, drum-maker Natal raves about her "strong pocket grooves". She is currently playing one of its Walnut kits in a Natural Walnut finish. However, she has recently had a new Natal kit made: a Walnut Cerulean Blue kit with 20” bass drum, 8” and 10” tom, 14” and 16" floor toms and 13” snare. Plans are in the works to present the kit in coming months.
Getting down to the nuts and bolts of things, what are her prized tools of the trade, we ask. What would she save if (God forbid) a fire engulfed her studio? "If I could only take one piece of my drum kit, I would take my snare drum. The snare is my heart. Even though the foot pedal is your heartbeat, anytime I hear the snare, I get excited basically. I just love the different tones. I love the snap of it. I love that it can call people to attention. Once you hear a snare, that is getting anybody's attention."
Take one look at a video from Hannah’s portfolio of gigs and you’ll basically see living proof of why good touring drummers will never be made redundant – but she gamely gives her opinion on the AI question nonetheless.
“Let's get into it,” she laughs. “[It’s worth noting that] a lot of us drummers, we kind of have triggers on our drum. So I have a bass trigger, snare triggers. We get the electronic pads, SPD and stuff like that, trigger bars and stuff like that. And sometimes that stuff can be really cool because you don't have to have so much on the track. It doesn't need to infringe on what you're playing in the performance, if you get what I mean? On gigs, we use click tracks. On some gigs. On other gigs, you know, you don't. I am about the flow of music. I'm not a robot. I believe that as musicians, we must play. And we play with feeling, which, you know, AI can't do. I don't think it should take away from anybody's actual feel when they play. When it comes to electronics and kind of acoustics, I kind of feel like the two can be in a marriage with each other.”
Like many a seasoned session musician, Hannah prides herself on being someone who prioritises what the song needs above her own blueprint, but it's fair to say that as she's progressed that MO has changed. "The reason why I play drums is literally to serve music,” she says. “I always say that I'm in love with music, and drums is just the vehicle to serve in that.”
“But at the same time, you know, people are wanting to hear who Hannah Montrose is [beyond that].”
With her range on full display in her work with the varied projects she's worked on - from Sandé's mellow pop grooves to heavy hitters for Rina Sawayama and Nova Twins - where does her musical heart actually lie, we wonder?
"My drumming style is very much in the pocket. The power of the one is amazing. But at the same time, I do believe in inflection. So, for example, when I am playing, even though, yes, I'm playing in terms of pocket, there's a power that I like to add to that. In terms of, when I play, I want people to feel it right here. [Signals to her chest.]
"You know, a good friend of mine said, as a drummer, our job is to make people dance. That is my [goal] first and foremost. I want to make you move your head. I want to make you, you know, tap your feet. I want to make you move or dance through my drumming."
