Hi, I’m Matt Whittington, a London, UK based percussionist and drummer known for incredible versatility and my huge collection of esoteric percussion and drums.

Having always been fascinated by the recording process, I set up RealPercussion specifically to solve the most common problems composers, producers and artists run into when recording percussion and drums:

Costly Porterage and Studio fees – hiring a studio then getting drums and percussion into it can be incredibly expensive, especially larger instruments that may only be required for a few notes. I’ve seen so many composers frustrated by having to use samples instead of real instruments, compromising their ideas just to fit a budget.  With RealPercussion EVERYTHING is ready to record all the time:

  • no studio fees 
  • no porterage (cartage/transport) fees
  • your percussive orchestration ideas are never limited by your budget

**Create parts and tracks from a variety of sources – Whether you have written a score, programmed some MIDI demos or know that you need some drums and percussion but aren’t sure what’s required, working with me to bring your music to life I’ve got huge experience, working in whatever medium you feel most comfortable with: 

  • record from traditional written parts or guides
  • replace MIDI tracks with real instruments
  • recreate audio demo tracks
  • create parts from your written or aural description
  • working to your picture**

Flexible Instrumentation – on a recent film session, a call from the director whilst recording meant that the composer to change from using African instruments to Japanese and Korean ones. Because all my instruments are here ready to go, it took just a few minutes before we were recording again, as opposed to a regular session which would have been written off. I can often make suggestions for instruments and parts once I’ve heard an artist’s music, and get out exactly the right instrument for their music. RealPercussion gives you huge amounts of flexibility:

  • all instruments available for you instantly at all times
  • orchestration decisions don’t have to be made until you’ve heard the available options
  • get my professional feedback on your orchestration

Technical Issues – Technical issues – poor monitoring, computer glitches etc are the bane of modern sessions. They can be a huge waste of time, and stop musicians giving their best performance. With RealPercussion, you:

  • Import great performances of your music straight into your project
  • Don’t waste your time on tech problems.

Spill – when audio from one instrument bleeds down the channels of other instruments on a session it’s known as spill. Whilst it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it can limit your options when mixing so on many sessions it’s now commonplace to record stems of individual instruments or sections separately, and to have drums and percussion in a separate booth. Whilst this minimises spill, these are often cramped and don’t sound ideal, particularly for some of the larger instruments. 

RealPercussion tracks are:

  • recorded in a room set up specifically for drums and percussion
  • have no spill into or from other tracks
  • you get a fantastic amount of control at the mix stage

ABOUT ME:

A graduate of Royal Academy of Music, I’ve performed and recorded with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestras of the Royal Opera House and English National Opera, the Academy of St Martin In The Fields and the City of London Philharmonic Orchestra.

I’ve also worked with Elmer Bernstein, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Jackman, Josh Groban, Laura Mvula, Idina Menzel, Kerry Ellis,  Hurts, Rumer, John Barrowman, Alfie Boe, The Nolans, Jimmy Osmond, Marti Pellow, Michael Ball, Bonnie Langford, Russell Watson, Jane MacDonald and Maria Friedman.

My West End career started on the groundbreaking and award winning Jerry Springer – The Opera I’ve worked on a huge number of musicals, including The Sound of Music, A Chorus Line, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Passion, Urinetown, The Producers, Scottsboro Boys, Legally Blonde, We Will Rock You, Lion King, Wicked, Mary Poppins, Lord Of The Rings, Stephen Ward, Thriller Live and Dirty Dancing.

Since starting RealPercussion in 2011 I’ve recorded for a wide range of musicians, from singer-songwriters to composers for film and television. Some come to me with very specific written parts, some with MIDI tracks and others with a completely blank slate – either way I still get a huge buzz from helping making their music sound as good as possible! To find out more please take a look at some Case Studies.

GET IN TOUCH TO DISCUSS HOW I CAN HELP YOUR NEXT PROJECT!