Knife Party

Knife Party
Knife Party in 2015. L-r; Gareth McGrillen, Rob Swire
Background information
Origin Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres
Years active 2011–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website knifeparty.com
Members

Knife Party are an Australian electronic music duo comprising Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, two members of the drum and bass band Pendulum.

Knife Party were placed at #53 on Top 100 DJs poll, #22 on thedjlist and #9 based on 2013–14 data by Topple Track and JustGo Music.[1][2] The duo have also worked with other artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Steve Aoki, MistaJam, Foreign Beggars, I See MONSTAS, Tom Staar, Pegboard Nerds and Tom Morello.

History

2002–10: Origin

The duo met and performed music since 2002 in various different bands and music projects, eventually forming drum and bass band Pendulum.[3][4] Two of the three original members created Knife Party as a side project, although it evolved into their primary project. On 25 May 2011, Swire released a short preview on SoundCloud entitled "Not Pendulum".[5] The name is derived from a Deftones song of the same name—which caused consternation at first, as it implied that they supported knife crime—although Swire stated that "...we’re not advocating any type of knife-related crime any more than Swedish House Mafia were advocating organised crime."[6]

2011–12: 100% No Modern Talking and Rage Valley

Knife Party performing Rage Valley tracks at Hove Festival, 2012

Knife Party's first EP, 100% No Modern Talking, was released digitally through Warner Bros. Records on 12 December 2011.[7] The EP originally was to feature "Back to the Z-List" but was replaced with "Destroy Them with Lazers" as the duo had decided to abandon the track.[8] The EP title refers to the lack of "Modern Talking", a wavetable in the software synthesiser NI Massive commonly used to create "talking" basslines.[8]

Their second EP, Rage Valley, was released digitally through EarStorm and Big Beat. Rob tweeted a screenshot taken on his PC showing three of the four final Rage Valley tracks, captioning the photo "3 down, 1 to go", referring to the mastering of the final track "Sleaze".[9] The title track "Rage Valley" was originally named "Fuck Em" but the title was changed "for secret shady reasons you will never know" according to Rob.[10] "Sleaze" was also re-titled, the original being called "Until They Kick Us Out".[11] Originally Rage Valley was set to be released before the end of April 2012, but due to multiple setbacks[12] the release was delayed for four weeks. It was made available for purchase on Beatport and iTunes on 27 May 2012. The song "Bonfire", released on this album, was featured on an episode of AMC's Breaking Bad in the fifth season and in the video game WWE 2K15. The EP was also Knife Party's first ever entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at #75.

2013–14: Haunted House and Abandon Ship

Their third EP Haunted House, was released on 6 May 2013 digitally through EarStorm and Big Beat. A last minute change was made to the EP and where "Baghdad" was replaced with "Internet Friends" (VIP).[13] Rob also announced the approximate release date for the new EP, the week of 22 April, with iTunes on 29 April.[14] Rob later announced the final release date would be 6 May due to issues beyond his control. The EP was leaked on 29 April and later uploaded in its entirety on Knife Party's YouTube channel on 5 May as well as a trailer video for the EP. The EP entered into the iTunes Top 10 Albums Chart and peaked at #3. It also hit number 1 Electro House Album on Beatport. The EP was also Knife Party's first Top 40 entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at #37.

Rob Swire stated that he will be taking a six-month hiatus in July from live performances in order to record new music.[15] A month later Swire released a statement that along with an announcement of a new Pendulum album, Knife Party will be recording and releasing their debut studio album.[16]

In May 2014 Swire stated that the debut Knife Party album was near completion and that they were in their final stages of finishing it.[17] In June it was announced that the album would be titled Abandon Ship, however it was explained that its release date will be announced once the album itself is finished. On 6 August 2014, Rob Swire released a teaser for the track "Boss Mode", from the forthcoming album.[18] On 15 August 2014, the release of a single titled "Resistance", was announced, to be released for free on 25 August 2014 through SoundCloud, with the album to follow shortly after. On 22 August 2014, the album was announced, scheduled for release on 24 November 2014.[19] On 22 September 2014, "Begin Again" was released as the second promotional single from the album. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 183.[20] On 7 November 2014 iTunes leaked the whole album.[21] Knife Party's Rob Swire mentioned in a tweet that he was happy with the album leaking, but that he felt it made "months of arguments about release dates and watermarks pointless."[22]

2015–16: Trigger Warning and Battle Sirens

Evidence of a possible new EP made itself known during their performance at Ultra Music Festival 2015 where they debuted three new tracks: Parliament Funk, PLUR Police and Kraken ft. Tom Staar.[23] On 3 June Knife Party tweeted they would be officially announcing their new EP within the next few days.[24] On 24 July Knife Party tweeted their new EP "Trigger Warning" would be released within 6 to 8 weeks.[25]

On 13 November Knife Party tweeted on their official Twitter page that they will be releasing the EP along with Plur Police (Jauz Remix) on 20 November 2015.[26]

At Kingsday Festival 2015 they premiered a brand new song featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine fame. They also announced the song would be included on what was then to be the Trigger Warning EP.[27] However after the announcement that the Jauz Remix of PLUR Police was the final track of the EP, Rob replied to a fan asking that the song would be on Tom Morello's upcoming solo album.[28] On the final day of Ultra Music Festival 2016, Knife Party closed the festival out with Tom Morello with a live performance of the ID, which was finally named "Battle Sirens". They also played a new pair of VIPs: LRAD and Bonfire, the latter of which was accompanied by Tom Morello playing guitar. On 5 September 2016 Knife Party posted a GIF with the words "Coming Soon" on top of a static background.[29] This was followed up on 7 September with another GIF of a cartoonized Tom Morello in shadow with the words "9th September".[30] Their collaboration, Battle Sirens, was released worldwide on 9 September 2016[31] with remixes by Brillz and Ephwurd following shortly after as well as a Live version cut from the Ultra performance. They were collected together in an EP release on 2 December 2016.

2017–present: New music, Pendulum's return

Since Ultra Music Festival 2016, Knife Party have opened their sets with a brand new track tentatively titled "You're No Saint". The track remained without a drop, instead transitioning into Parliament Funk, until NYE 2017/18 where they debuted it at The Bangkok Countdown.[32] At Ultra Japan 2016 they premiered another new track their fans have titled "Chickenstep" after the lead synth line.[33] At EDC Japan 2017 they played yet another new track, this time featuring Rob on vocals, tentatively titled "Fade Away".[34] This came after a hint that Rob would return to singing after he commented on how he similarly said the words "nothing" and "muffin".[35] Also at the Bangkok Countdown NYE show they debuted a Jungle Terror-style track that included samples from JD's Revenge, something they had sampled previously in the Pendulum track, "Slam".[36]

At Life in Color Festival Manchester on 3 February 2018 they previewed their first remix since 2012's "Last Time" by Labrinth: a remix of Pendulum's "Blood Sugar" that is to be released with the group's Reworks album launching 16 March and releasing in full on 29 June 2018. Rob also confirmed that as well as new Pendulum music there would be a Knife Party EP released in 2018, although he did not state which would come first.[37]

On May 10th Rob revealed the existence of a Pegboard Nerds collaboration on Twitter. [38] This collaboration was eventually titled "Harpoon" and released as part of the Pegboard Nerds' Full Hearts EP in July.

In a Reddit AMA on July 13th Rob re-confirmed a Knife Party EP for 2018[39], revealing that "You're No Saint" and "Chickenstep" were "pretty much finished" but would be refreshed slightly before release. He also revealed that "Nothing For Free" (formerly "Fade Away") would probably be reworked into a Pendulum track and the Jungle Terror track from NYE 2017/2018 may be revisited or scrapped entirely.

At midnight on September 20th Rob and Gareth streamed the first episode of "Knifecast", an online radio show that is "halfway between a podcast and just playing music".[40] They said if it was successful they would include guest DJs that were friends of the duo to come on in future episodes "and rant about how much they hate something." They also premiered a new Dubstep ID at the conclusion of the first episode; a satirical take on Excision's Dubstep and bass music festival, Lost Lands. It is speculated that this will replace 'Nothing For Free' on their new EP, which Rob mentioned was almost titled "13.5% No VR Tables".

Production

Knife Party use the digital audio workstation application Nuendo for production. In an interview with Sound on sound Swire mentions he used to use Logic Pro, but switched to Nuendo, mainly due to the linking system and workflow environment.[41] Most of the sounds emulated are virtual instruments (VST).[42] They also use outboard gear such as Tube-Tech SMC 2B Stereo Multi-Band Compressor.[43]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[44]		 UK US US
Dance
Abandon Ship
  • Released: 24 November 2014
  • Label: Big Beat, Earstorm
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 2039542

Extended plays

Title Details Peak chart positions[45]
AUS
[44]		 CAN UK[46] US US
Dance
100% No Modern Talking 31————
Rage Valley
  • Released: 27 May 2012
  • Label: Earstorm, Big Beat
  • Formats: Digital download
 95—7175—
Haunted House
  • Released: 6 May 2013
  • Label: Earstorm, Big Beat
  • Formats: Digital download
 77 17 — 37 1
Trigger Warning
  • Released: 20 November 2015
  • Label: Earstorm, Big Beat
  • Formats: Digital download
 —————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[44]		 AUT BEL FIN IRL NLD SWE SWI UK
[46]
"Antidote"
(with Swedish House Mafia)		 2011 100303513394917704 Until Now
"Resistance" 2014 ————————— Abandon Ship
"Begin Again" —————————
"Boss Mode" —————————
"Battle Sirens"
(with Tom Morello)		 2016 ————————— Non-album single
"Harpoon"[48]
(with Pegboard Nerds)		 2018 ————————— Full Hearts
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[44]		 BEL FIN UK Dance UK
[46]
"Internet Friends" 2011 31106—983 100% No Modern Talking
"Rage Valley" 2012 95——1471 Rage Valley
"Bonfire" 809618745
"Centipede" 82——1986
"Power Glove" 2013 77——1343 Haunted House
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Remixes

Title Year Original artist(s) Release
"Save the World" 2011 Swedish House Mafia Save the World (The Remixes)
"Unison" Porter Robinson Spitfire
"Crush on You" Nero "Crush on You"
"Last Time" 2012 Labrinth "Last Time"
"Blood Sugar" 2018 Pendulum The Reworks

Production credits

Title Year Performing artist(s) Release
"Apex" 2012 Foreign Beggars The Uprising

Awards and nominations

DJ Magazine top 100 DJs

Year Position Notes Ref.
2012 33 New Entry [49]
2013 25 N/A
2014 53 N/A
2015 100 N/A

References

  1. ↑ Jackson, Glenn. "Here's the actual top 100 DJs, based solely on data". Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Top 100 DJs by Topple Track & JustGo.com". Topple Track. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Pendulum Interview - August 2005". BeatCulture.com. BeatCulture. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Pendulum Hold Your Colour [2005]". AllMusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Swire, Rob. "Not Pendulum". Soundcloud.com. robswire. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Green, Thomas. "Knife Party: Start the Party". MixMag.net. MixMag. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Knife Party: 100% No Modern Talking (releases)". AllMusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Knife Party – 100% No Modern Talking". Mark. Details of my Life. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Twitter / rob_swire: 3 down, 1 to go #tunemarathon". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  10. ↑ "Twitter / knifepartyinc: Oh yeah we renamed "Fuck Em"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  11. ↑ "Twitter / mistajam: Last nite was pretty pretty". Twitter.com. 2011-11-26. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  12. ↑ "Knife Party - Hey peeps We've missed a couple deadlines..." Facebook. 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  13. ↑ "Twitter / knifepartyinc: Last minute EP change: we don't". Twitter.com. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  14. ↑ "Twitter / rob_swire: @JBrownElectro eh. it's the". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  15. ↑ Edgerly, Brett. "Rob Swire Taking Time Off From Playing Live". Youredm.com. Your EDM. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Sachs, Elliot. "Knife Party Confirm New Album". Youredm.com. Your EDM. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  17. ↑ Dickens, Wesley. "Rob Swire Announces Knife Party and Pendulum Albums Almost Complete". Youredm.com. Your EDM. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Knife Party - Boss Mode teaser". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  19. ↑ Codd, Nathan. "Knife Party's 'Abandon Ship' Delayed Again, Streaming Premiere Date Announced". lessthan3.com. lessthan3.com. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Knife Party 'Begin Again'". YouTube. 22 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "iTunes Leaks Whole Album". iTunes.com. iTunes. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Rob Swire take on whole album leaking". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Knife Party @ Ultra Music Festival Miami 2015". YouTube. 30 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "Knife Party EP Announcement". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Knife Party - Trigger Warning". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  26. ↑ Official Tweet about EP
  27. ↑ "Knife Party - ID ft. Rage Against The Machine (Tom Morello??) [New Song] [Kingsday Festival]". YouTube. 28 April 2015.
  28. ↑ "Rob explaining Tom Morello Collab to be on his solo album".
  29. ↑ "Coming Soon"
  30. ↑ "9th September"
  31. ↑ Knife Party & Tom Morello - Battle Sirens
  32. ↑ "Knife Party - You're No Saint (Live @ The Bangkok Countdown)".
  33. ↑ "Knife Party - Mad As Hell ID (Live @ Ultra Japan)".
  34. ↑ "Knife Party - Nothing ID (Fade Away)".
  35. ↑ "That moment when you realise the word "nothin" sounds like "muffin" in your vocal take".
  36. ↑ "Knife Party - ID (Live @ The Bangkok Countdown)".
  37. ↑ "Rob Swire on Twitter: "yes. although pend album may be split into EPs, and before that will be a badass remix album."". Twitter. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  38. ↑ "O shit, @knifepartyinc + @PegboardNerds collab".
  39. ↑ "r/electronicmusic - Rob Swire - Producer / Songwriter / DJ / Vocalist, of Pendulum and Knife Party - AMA". reddit. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  40. ↑ Knife Party (2018-09-20), Knifecast: Episode 001, retrieved 2018-09-26
  41. ↑ "Pendulum". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
  42. ↑ "In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  43. ↑ http://equipboard.com/pros/knife-party
  44. 1 2 3 4
    • Top 50 peaks: Steffen Hung (2014-11-23). "Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
    • Rage Valley/"Rage Valley": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 25 June 2012" (PDF) (1165). Pandora Archive. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
    • "Centipede": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 2 July 2012" (PDF) (1166). Pandora Archive. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
    • "Antidote": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 March 2012" (PDF) (1151). Pandora Archive. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
    • "Bonfire": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 20 August 2012" (PDF) (1173). Pandora Archive. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
    • Haunted House/"Power Glove": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 20 May 2013" (PDF) (1151). Pandora Archive. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  45. ↑ "Haunted House - Knife Party | Awards | AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  46. 1 2 3 "Knife Party singles". OfficialCharts.com. Official Charts. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  47. ↑ "Swedish House Mafia Vs Knife Party – Antidote" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  48. ↑ Meadow, Matthew (26 July 2018). "Knife Party & Pegboard Nerds at Last Unleash Their Electrifying Collab, "Harpoon"". Your EDM. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  49. ↑ https://djmag.com/top-100-djs/poll-2015-knife-party
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