Born in Wellington in 1990, Dylan started drumming at age 6. He began performing publicly, playing solo and with bands, and appearing on TV programmes What Now, Mai Time, The Good Morning Show and was a feature article on the Holmes Show aged 11 in 2001.

He has been tutored by some of NZ’s top drummers: Lance Philip – NZ School of Music Lecturer Wellington; NZ Jazz legend – Frank Gibson Jnr; Matt Collier – London College of Music graduate.

At age 9 he was the resident drummer for ‘Artsplash’ at the Michael Fowler Centre for 3 years from 1999, in an adult band accompanying massed Wellington school choirs.

Many have seen him stirring up the crowds on the streets busking since age 14 in Wellington, Hastings, Napier, Rotorua, Taupo and Hamilton. People have come to expect to see Dylan on Courtenay Place after the Wellington Sevens, adding his beats to the street party. There are a number of YouTube clips of this.

He has performed drum clinics since 2003 promoting drum products around NZ and opened for internationally renowned New York Drummer Tommy Igoe in Wellington, Napier and Auckland in 2006.

Dylan featured as a solo artist at the National Tauranga Jazz Festival in the Baycourt Theatre in 2007, 2008 and 2009 of which a video of part of the 2007 performance has had over 7 million hits on YouTube.

Other achievements: Won the 2006 National Smokefree Rockquest Musicianship Award of a scholarship to MAINZ at age 15; Won the 2004 NZ National Drum Wars Open category at age 13; Featured artist at the Bay of Islands Arts Festival 2008; Opened the 2009 AMP Annual conference in Sydney; played in band for the Colin Meads Gala Dinner in September 2011.

In the last 5 years Dylan has performed over 700 school shows nationwide, giving a motivational speech to all school ages and holding Drumming Workshops with Intermediate and College aged students.

Has also been working on projects including his own material, playing gigs with a variety of musicians including Batucada Sound Machine at the 2010 Kiwifest in Tauranga, Funk De Arvo who performed at the 2011 Tauranga Jazz Festival, DisFunktional who play at Rakinos in Auckland every 2nd Sunday and will be at Tauranga Jazz Festival this coming April, and The Kara Gordon Band who play regularly at the Occidental in central Auckland.

New Zealand native Dylan Elise honed his skills from years of busking on the streets of hometown Wellington.



Clearly influenced by Thomas Lang and Virgil Donati, Dylan Elise has studied with some of his nation's best instructors, taken awards at the 2004 National Drum Wars in New Zealand at age 13, opened for Tommy Igoe, and even done his own clinics.