This is a concept that I've often thought about and discussed, but have never tried to collect in print. This first occurred to me while making an album called "The American" by Angie Aparo. I played all of the final drum tracks to beats programmed on a Roland Groove Box by Angie. The other instruments were overdubbed later on.

While I was cutting these tracks I noticed that my perception of time seemed to slow down while I was recording. I don't mean that the songs seemed slower, but my perception seemed deeper and the actual size of the beats seemed longer. Almost like zooming in on a digital picture and seeing the pixels. This allowed me to play on the front, middle or back of the beat more precisely. Wherever I was playing on the beat was still "in time" with the click, but retained a different feel ie. "on top" "laid back" "right on".

I tied this in with an earlier concept that I have used. If you are playing a beat or pattern with more that one limb you can push or pull the time feel of the individual parts to get different feels. For instance Led Zeppelins’ John Bonham generally put the snare on the back of the beat and the kick drum on the front of the beat. This gives him the illusion of a larger sound. In contrast, take the Rolling Stones Charlie Watts, his snare and kick are generally both on the front or middle of the beat, giving him the illusion of a more driving feel. I see the beat now like the following illustration:

This concept also applies to the other elements Incorporated into a beat, like hi hats or ride cymbals. These subtle variations are the things give a player an individual style. Everyone feels these things in a unique way. I think this concept along with a players individual touch are the main components of creating an unique feel.