Pendulum (band)
Encyclopedia
Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass
and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth
by Rob Swire
, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.
Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict
's "Messiah" at a club
, they were inspired to enter into the drum and bass genre. They founded Pendulum with Harding, who was a veteran DJ into the drum and bass scene. In 2003 the band relocated to the United Kingdom.
While Hold Your Colour
holds true to the drum and bass genre, Pendulum have since experimented with mixing other genres into their work, as can be heard on In Silico and Immersion
. Their newer releases incorporate styles from genres such as alternative rock
, heavy metal
, dubstep
and house music
.
of the Kingz of the Rollers EP in 2003.
" and many tracks to be included in their forthcoming release, Pendulum released their debut album, Hold Your Colour
in 2005. Notably, the album has successfully become one of the most popular drum and bass albums ever sold. The album has sold 225,000 copies in the UK alone. It entered the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart
for the first time on 25 May 2008, peaking at No.29 by 16 August.
The coverdesign of the album was done by Vince Peersman of www.foldesign.com, one fo the most the most prominent graphic artists for drum 'n bass music covers.
The album was re-issued in 2007, and had a slightly different track listing. The final two songs, "Another Planet
" and "Still Grey
" were replaced by "Blood Sugar
" and "Axle Grinder
". As well as this, the re-issued version also erroneously contains gaps at the end of each track, causing the album to lose its original sense of flow.
", peaked at No.9 in the UK Singles Chart
, and brought the band mainstream success in addition to becoming a meme on YouTube. In 2008 in support of the album, Pendulum played at numerous European music festival
s and undertook their first tour of North America. At the end of the year the band filmed a live DVD on 4 and 5 December 2008, at the Brixton Academy. This was later released in June 2009.
. It was announced in December that Pendulum will be touring for their new album in May 2010. The release date of the album was announced to be sometime "in May" during the live preview party at Matter
, and was then announced to be released on 24 May.
Pendulum previewed their album Immersion at the Ear Storm night at London’s Matter nightclub on Friday 22 January, as well as streaming the material on their official website. "Salt In The Wounds", a track from their new album, was Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1 on 25 January 2010. It was stated however that it was a street-level release and was not an official single. On Zane Lowe's show, it was also announced that he wanted to join the band and the first single from the new album would be called "Watercolour
". "Watercolour" also received its first play on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 March 2010, and was his Single Of The Week for that week. The music video for "Watercolour" was released on 31 March and premiered on their MySpace page, and also in the members area of their official website, The Other Side. A day later, on 1 April, another music video was released, this time for "Salt In The Wounds". The video is unique in that it is, according to the band's website, "...the world’s first 360º interactive music video." Viewers can move the camera around in the video. Six letters are hidden throughout the video. Once these letters are found, the viewer can enter them as a code and claim a free download of "Salt In The Wounds". Otherwise, "Watercolour" claimed the No.4 spot in the UK Single Chart, making it their biggest hit to date.
On 30 February 2010, the band headlined the annual Radio 1's Big Weekend festival which was held at the Vaynol
Estate, Bangor, Gwynedd
.
The second single from the album, "Witchcraft
", was released on 18 July and charted at No.29 in the UK Singles chart, making it their third highest charted single in the UK. The third single from Immersion was "The Island
", and just missed the UK Top 40 at #41. Rob Swire had stated that if it had achieved greater success than "Witchcraft", he would have released a song entitled "Ransom", which was taken off Immersion before the album's release. "Ransom" was previewed however and became a fan favourite. As it did not do better, Swire revealed the original files for "Ransom" were corrupted, and that he has no plans to recreate them, therefore it will not be released. However, on 6 April 2011, Pendulum released "Ransom" as a single via their website with all proceeds going to the Help for Japan fund post the tsunami. "Crush
" was released as the fourth single in January 2011.
In January 2011, Pendulum released a Deluxe Edition of Immersion via iTunes
which contained the album's original 15 tracks and a collection of remixes of "Watercolour", "Witchcraft" and "The Island" by other artists including deadmau5
, Tiësto
and Chuckie
. Both the UK and US store were also given the music videos of those three tracks in the release. However, more remixes were released in the UK store along with extra videos, including a trailer of footage from their live show at Wembley Arena
that took place on 28 May 2010.
influenced. The next album is expected to be a significant departure from usage of drum and bass tempo, for a faster tempo in the form of punk
, and a slower tempo in the form of dubstep.
On 29 March 2011 via Twitter, Swire revealed that there would be no "new album" for a while. He added that there would be "def new material" later in the year.
Pendulum opened for Linkin Park on several selected dates during the band's 2011 "A Thousand Suns" North American tour., also headlining their own tour and being supported by Innerpartysystem
.
Pendulum played at the 2011 Download Festival
, Oxegen
, The Eden Sessions, Glastonbury Festival
and T In The Park
, V Festival, Global Gathering
, an exclusive London show at South West Four and finally headlined the first night of Bestival on the Isle Of Wight.
On 5 April Pendulum announced via Twitter and the band's website that a previously unreleased track from Immersion, titled "Ransom", would be released on Pendulum's website, with 100% of the proceeds going to help disaster relief efforts in the wake of the 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Pendulum will be headlining at Rhythm & Vines 2011 in Gisborne, New Zealand. The band are planning to take a break from touring during 2012 in order to take part in side projects.
Pendulum is part of major Headliners on Main Stage lineup at LovEvolution 2011 Dance Festival & Parade in Oakland, California, which has over 50 DJs and 15 or more parade floats.
, Dubstep
and other club genres.
When Pendulum was formed, their musical style was considerably more drum and bass sounding than the work they are known for today.
Signature tunes such as "Masochist", "Vault", "Back 2 You
" and "Voyager", which were released on labels such as Uprising Records
, 31 Records, Renegade Hardware
and Low Profile Records, have a darker, more amelodic air to them which is substantially absent from their later productions. The band's newer work is regarded as generally leaning heavily towards a mainstream, dance-driven sound. Early work such as "Another Planet" seems to indicate an early affinity with a more global sound, similar to other Breakbeat Kaos
artists such as DJ Fresh and Adam F
.
The group has produced various remixes of other artists also; the best-known being the remix of "Voodoo People", originally by The Prodigy
. In 2008–2010, they covered/remixed songs including Led Zeppelin
's "Immigrant Song
", Linkin Park
's "The Catalyst
", Calvin Harris
's "I'm Not Alone", Coldplay
's "Violet Hill
", and Metallica
's "Master of Puppets
". Pendulum's versions of "I'm Not Alone" and "Master Of Puppets" both exist as studio recordings but have not been officially released, and are only previewed during DJ sets. The original live version of "Master of Puppets" was played as an instrumental introduction for "Slam
", and was featured on their first live album/DVD. During their American tour as the supporting band for Linkin Park, the song was played in its entirety, with Rob doing vocals. Pendulum have also remixed their own music and, on occasion, television theme songs, such as Australian television's "ABC News Theme" in May 2010. The remix proved to be immensely popular with listeners of Australian youth radio station triple j
, polling at number 11 in the 2010 Triple J Hottest 100
countdown.
Pendulum's current musical style consists of a fusion of Drum and Bass
(along with other electronic genres), alternative rock
and heavy metal, with the inclusion of acoustic instruments. This creates a sound reminiscent of industrial metal
, albeit with much more prominent drum and bass and, more recently, dubstep influences. Some songs, such as "Slam", "Propane Nightmares" and "Witchcraft" are synth-led, whilst others, such as "Showdown", "The Tempest" and "Comprachicos", are guitar-led. Bassist Gareth McGrillen stated in an interview on Channel 4
that they use 13 computers during the live performances, all of which are mixing the sounds produced by the instruments in real time. Rob Swire stated in issues of TJECK magazine and Rock Sound magazine
that he would like to begin producing songs with a punk style to them, excluding the inclusion of electronic sounds in the near future. Pendulum are known to be fans of progressive rock
and progressive metal
bands, which may have inspired them to fuse multiple genres of music together, which is standard practice in those genres.
released an album containing a 2-year-old Pendulum DJ mix without their permission, resulting in group member Rob Swire later denouncing the album on public internet forum Dogs On Acid
. This issue has since been resolved; DJ Fresh is included on the list of acknowledgements in the Immersion booklet, and Pendulum is now working with Breakbeat Kaos again, on the vinyl release of the singles "Witchcraft" and "The Island".
Electronic musician Goldie
has criticized Pendulum's single "Granite" for being what he calls a "sh*t single", and accused the band of not acknowledging the drum and bass scene from which they came. For the band's part, in an interview with The Times
Swire cited "Goldie making concept albums about space and his mum" (in the words of The Times reporter) as one of the reasons why he was not initially keen on the genre; he claims to have been more into “breakbeat, straight up house and hardcore” before Gareth McGrillen, who is Pendulum's bassist and was Swire's bandmate in Xygen, introduced him to "more electronic" areas of the genre. This issue has since been resolved as well, according to Gareth McGrillen in an interview on The Age
.
Former members
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
by Rob Swire
Rob Swire
Rob Swire , is an Australian record producer, singer and keyboardist. Swire is best known as lead singer and producer of Australian electronic band Pendulum and is sometimes referred to by the stage name Anscenic...
, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.
Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict
Konflict
Konflict, also known under their separate artist names Kemal and Rob Data, were a musical duo that composed Drum and Bass music, consisting of Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers. Their music had a strong techno influence and it was influential in the shaping of the neurofunk sub-genre...
's "Messiah" at a club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, they were inspired to enter into the drum and bass genre. They founded Pendulum with Harding, who was a veteran DJ into the drum and bass scene. In 2003 the band relocated to the United Kingdom.
While Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour is the debut full-length album by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. It was released in 2005 and reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos...
holds true to the drum and bass genre, Pendulum have since experimented with mixing other genres into their work, as can be heard on In Silico and Immersion
Immersion (album)
Immersion is the third studio album from Australian electronic rock/drum & bass band Pendulum. The album was announced in early 2009, with the name being confirmed in December 2009. The album was released 21 May 2010 in Australia and Ireland, and 24 May for the rest of the world, followed by a UK...
. Their newer releases incorporate styles from genres such as alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
.
Formation and early years (2002–2004)
Pendulum formed in Perth, Australia and released their first song, "Vault", as the A-sideA-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the Kingz of the Rollers EP in 2003.
Hold Your Colour (2004–2007)
After releasing several singles such as "Spiral" / "Ulterior MotiveSpiral / Ulterior Motive
"Spiral" / "Ulterior Motive" is the first single by drum and bass band Pendulum. It was initially released on 10 July 2003, while the band were still based in Perth, as a promotional single by Kog Transmissions' sublabel Low Profile...
" and many tracks to be included in their forthcoming release, Pendulum released their debut album, Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour is the debut full-length album by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. It was released in 2005 and reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos...
in 2005. Notably, the album has successfully become one of the most popular drum and bass albums ever sold. The album has sold 225,000 copies in the UK alone. It entered the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
for the first time on 25 May 2008, peaking at No.29 by 16 August.
The coverdesign of the album was done by Vince Peersman of www.foldesign.com, one fo the most the most prominent graphic artists for drum 'n bass music covers.
The album was re-issued in 2007, and had a slightly different track listing. The final two songs, "Another Planet
Another Planet / Voyager
"Another Planet" / "Voyager" is the second single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 23 February 2004 by independent label Breakbeat Kaos, and was their first single to use the 12" picture disc format...
" and "Still Grey
Back 2 You / Still Grey
"Back 2 You" / "Still Grey" is the third single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 22 March 2004 by independent label Timeless Recordings, and was their first and only release with the label...
" were replaced by "Blood Sugar
Blood Sugar / Axle Grinder
"Blood Sugar" / "Axle Grinder" is a single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum, released 18 June 2007 in the UK. It was the band's final single with Breakbeat Kaos, and was released in 12" vinyl and download formats only, including a 12" picture disc format...
" and "Axle Grinder
Blood Sugar / Axle Grinder
"Blood Sugar" / "Axle Grinder" is a single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum, released 18 June 2007 in the UK. It was the band's final single with Breakbeat Kaos, and was released in 12" vinyl and download formats only, including a 12" picture disc format...
". As well as this, the re-issued version also erroneously contains gaps at the end of each track, causing the album to lose its original sense of flow.
In Silico (2007–2009)
Their second album, In Silico, was released in May 2008. This release saw the band's first deviation from the drum and bass genre and incorporated more rock sounds. The second single from the album, "Propane NightmaresPropane Nightmares
"Propane Nightmares" is the second single from Australian drum and bass band Pendulum's second album In Silico. It incorporates elements of the song "Million Miles from Home" by German Happy Hardcore band Dune...
", peaked at No.9 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and brought the band mainstream success in addition to becoming a meme on YouTube. In 2008 in support of the album, Pendulum played at numerous European music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s and undertook their first tour of North America. At the end of the year the band filmed a live DVD on 4 and 5 December 2008, at the Brixton Academy. This was later released in June 2009.
Immersion (2009–2011)
Pendulum once again toured Europe in 2009. During this tour they announced that they were working on their third studio album, ImmersionImmersion (album)
Immersion is the third studio album from Australian electronic rock/drum & bass band Pendulum. The album was announced in early 2009, with the name being confirmed in December 2009. The album was released 21 May 2010 in Australia and Ireland, and 24 May for the rest of the world, followed by a UK...
. It was announced in December that Pendulum will be touring for their new album in May 2010. The release date of the album was announced to be sometime "in May" during the live preview party at Matter
Matter (venue)
Matter was a London music venue and nightclub that opened in September 2008, after three years of planning. A 2,600 capacity live music venue and nightclub, it was the second project for owners Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly, founders of the London club Fabric...
, and was then announced to be released on 24 May.
Pendulum previewed their album Immersion at the Ear Storm night at London’s Matter nightclub on Friday 22 January, as well as streaming the material on their official website. "Salt In The Wounds", a track from their new album, was Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1 on 25 January 2010. It was stated however that it was a street-level release and was not an official single. On Zane Lowe's show, it was also announced that he wanted to join the band and the first single from the new album would be called "Watercolour
Watercolour (Pendulum song)
"Watercolour" is the first single from the third album Immersion by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. This song has been remixed by dubstep artist Emalkay and by progressive house artist deadmau5. The video was shot on 16 March 2010 at a studio in East London featuring around 70 fans as...
". "Watercolour" also received its first play on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 March 2010, and was his Single Of The Week for that week. The music video for "Watercolour" was released on 31 March and premiered on their MySpace page, and also in the members area of their official website, The Other Side. A day later, on 1 April, another music video was released, this time for "Salt In The Wounds". The video is unique in that it is, according to the band's website, "...the world’s first 360º interactive music video." Viewers can move the camera around in the video. Six letters are hidden throughout the video. Once these letters are found, the viewer can enter them as a code and claim a free download of "Salt In The Wounds". Otherwise, "Watercolour" claimed the No.4 spot in the UK Single Chart, making it their biggest hit to date.
On 30 February 2010, the band headlined the annual Radio 1's Big Weekend festival which was held at the Vaynol
Vaynol
Vaynol or Y Faenol , is a country estate dating from the Tudor period, near Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, North Wales . There are of park, farmland, and gardens on the estate, with over thirty listed buildings, surrounded by a wall which is long...
Estate, Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
.
The second single from the album, "Witchcraft
Witchcraft (Pendulum song)
"Witchcraft" is the second single from Australian drum and bass band Pendulum to be released from their third studio album, Immersion. It was released as a digital single on iTunes on 18 July 2010, with the CD single being released the following day. It debuted at number sixty-two on the UK Singles...
", was released on 18 July and charted at No.29 in the UK Singles chart, making it their third highest charted single in the UK. The third single from Immersion was "The Island
The Island (Pendulum song)
The Island is the third single from Australian drum and bass/electronica band Pendulum to be released from their third studio album, Immersion. It was released on 19 September 2010. "The Island" is a song split into two parts; "Dawn" and "Dusk", with "Dawn" receiving the majority of radio airplay...
", and just missed the UK Top 40 at #41. Rob Swire had stated that if it had achieved greater success than "Witchcraft", he would have released a song entitled "Ransom", which was taken off Immersion before the album's release. "Ransom" was previewed however and became a fan favourite. As it did not do better, Swire revealed the original files for "Ransom" were corrupted, and that he has no plans to recreate them, therefore it will not be released. However, on 6 April 2011, Pendulum released "Ransom" as a single via their website with all proceeds going to the Help for Japan fund post the tsunami. "Crush
Crush (Pendulum song)
"Crush" is the fourth single from Australian drum and bass/electronic rock band Pendulum released from their third studio album, Immersion. Its release was set to coincide with the iTunes Immersion LP. The official video for the song was released on 7 January 2011 by BBC Radio 1 on their website...
" was released as the fourth single in January 2011.
In January 2011, Pendulum released a Deluxe Edition of Immersion via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
which contained the album's original 15 tracks and a collection of remixes of "Watercolour", "Witchcraft" and "The Island" by other artists including deadmau5
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...
, Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
and Chuckie
Chuckie (DJ)
Chuckie, born Clyde Sergio Narain is a Dutch DJ and producer of Surinamese descent.-Biography:Chuckie grew up in Surinam and was influenced by the large number of musical genres of the country. When one of his friends started working as a DJ, his interest for DJing started at the age of thirteen...
. Both the UK and US store were also given the music videos of those three tracks in the release. However, more remixes were released in the UK store along with extra videos, including a trailer of footage from their live show at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
that took place on 28 May 2010.
Current events (2011–present)
On 26 October 2010, Swire announced via Twitter that a new record is in the works. This new record is set to be heavily punkPunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
influenced. The next album is expected to be a significant departure from usage of drum and bass tempo, for a faster tempo in the form of punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and a slower tempo in the form of dubstep.
On 29 March 2011 via Twitter, Swire revealed that there would be no "new album" for a while. He added that there would be "def new material" later in the year.
Pendulum opened for Linkin Park on several selected dates during the band's 2011 "A Thousand Suns" North American tour., also headlining their own tour and being supported by Innerpartysystem
InnerPartySystem
Innerpartysystem is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Kris Barman. The band is also well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew Nissley and videos directed by Stephen Penta....
.
Pendulum played at the 2011 Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
, Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
, The Eden Sessions, Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
and T In The Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
, V Festival, Global Gathering
Global Gathering
GlobalGathering is an annual dance music festival by Angel Music Group. Festivals are held in countries such as the UK, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and feature leading electronica artists from across the globe...
, an exclusive London show at South West Four and finally headlined the first night of Bestival on the Isle Of Wight.
On 5 April Pendulum announced via Twitter and the band's website that a previously unreleased track from Immersion, titled "Ransom", would be released on Pendulum's website, with 100% of the proceeds going to help disaster relief efforts in the wake of the 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Pendulum will be headlining at Rhythm & Vines 2011 in Gisborne, New Zealand. The band are planning to take a break from touring during 2012 in order to take part in side projects.
Pendulum is part of major Headliners on Main Stage lineup at LovEvolution 2011 Dance Festival & Parade in Oakland, California, which has over 50 DJs and 15 or more parade floats.
Knife Party
Rob Swire and fellow member Gareth McGrillen announced in various interviews and on Rob Swire's Twitter that a side project called Knife Party has been created. The side project will not be linked in any means to Pendulum and will consist of Electro HouseHouse music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, Dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and other club genres.
Musical style
Signature tunes such as "Masochist", "Vault", "Back 2 You
Back 2 You / Still Grey
"Back 2 You" / "Still Grey" is the third single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 22 March 2004 by independent label Timeless Recordings, and was their first and only release with the label...
" and "Voyager", which were released on labels such as Uprising Records
Uprising Records (NZ)
Uprising Records is a record label formed in 2004 by Matt Harvey and Evan Short of drum and bass band Concord Dawn. The label was originally created for releases by Concord Dawn, but has since made releases for several other drum and bass acts, including Australian band Pendulum and Norwegian duo...
, 31 Records, Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware is one of the major record labels in the drum and bass music industry.-History:Creatively born in 1995 Renegade Hardware has without question cemented itself as one of the most pioneering Drum & Bass labels in the world....
and Low Profile Records, have a darker, more amelodic air to them which is substantially absent from their later productions. The band's newer work is regarded as generally leaning heavily towards a mainstream, dance-driven sound. Early work such as "Another Planet" seems to indicate an early affinity with a more global sound, similar to other Breakbeat Kaos
Breakbeat Kaos
Breakbeat Kaos is a British independent record label based in London, UK that specialises in drum and bass. It is jointly owned by Fresh and Adam F, who founded the label in 2003 by merging Fresh's Breakbeat Punk with Adam F's Kaos Recordings. The label's first release was a 12" double A-side...
artists such as DJ Fresh and Adam F
Adam F
Adam F is an English jungle and drum and bass DJ, and film actor.-Career:An early album was the techstep effort, Metropolis/Mother Earth, released in 1997 on the Metalheadz record label. His other early successes were the tracks "F-Jam" and "Circles"...
.
The group has produced various remixes of other artists also; the best-known being the remix of "Voodoo People", originally by The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
. In 2008–2010, they covered/remixed songs including Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's "Immigrant Song
Immigrant Song
"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.-Overview:...
", Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
's "The Catalyst
The Catalyst
"The Catalyst" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. Released on August 2, 2010, it is the first single from their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 8, 2010...
", Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris is a Scottish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. His gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the top ten singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls"...
's "I'm Not Alone", Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's "Violet Hill
Violet Hill (song)
"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
", and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's "Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets (song)
"Master of Puppets" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the title track and was released as the first single from their album of the same name....
". Pendulum's versions of "I'm Not Alone" and "Master Of Puppets" both exist as studio recordings but have not been officially released, and are only previewed during DJ sets. The original live version of "Master of Puppets" was played as an instrumental introduction for "Slam
Slam / Out Here
"Slam" / "Out Here" is the fifth single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 19 September 2005 by independent label Breakbeat Kaos, and was their third release with the label. It peaked number 34 on the UK Singles chart...
", and was featured on their first live album/DVD. During their American tour as the supporting band for Linkin Park, the song was played in its entirety, with Rob doing vocals. Pendulum have also remixed their own music and, on occasion, television theme songs, such as Australian television's "ABC News Theme" in May 2010. The remix proved to be immensely popular with listeners of Australian youth radio station triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, polling at number 11 in the 2010 Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100, 2010
The 2010 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced and played on Australia Day, 26 January 2011. It is the eighteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J....
countdown.
Pendulum's current musical style consists of a fusion of Drum and Bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
(along with other electronic genres), alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and heavy metal, with the inclusion of acoustic instruments. This creates a sound reminiscent of industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, albeit with much more prominent drum and bass and, more recently, dubstep influences. Some songs, such as "Slam", "Propane Nightmares" and "Witchcraft" are synth-led, whilst others, such as "Showdown", "The Tempest" and "Comprachicos", are guitar-led. Bassist Gareth McGrillen stated in an interview on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
that they use 13 computers during the live performances, all of which are mixing the sounds produced by the instruments in real time. Rob Swire stated in issues of TJECK magazine and Rock Sound magazine
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
that he would like to begin producing songs with a punk style to them, excluding the inclusion of electronic sounds in the near future. Pendulum are known to be fans of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
bands, which may have inspired them to fuse multiple genres of music together, which is standard practice in those genres.
Controversy
In 2006, Pendulum's old label Breakbeat KaosBreakbeat Kaos
Breakbeat Kaos is a British independent record label based in London, UK that specialises in drum and bass. It is jointly owned by Fresh and Adam F, who founded the label in 2003 by merging Fresh's Breakbeat Punk with Adam F's Kaos Recordings. The label's first release was a 12" double A-side...
released an album containing a 2-year-old Pendulum DJ mix without their permission, resulting in group member Rob Swire later denouncing the album on public internet forum Dogs On Acid
Dogs On Acid
Dogs On Acid , is a UK-based electronic music website, established in 2001.-History:Dogs On Acid began life as a community on Bad Company's website, bcrecordings.com, back in 2000. One of the group's members, Dan Fresh, intended the community to be a place to discuss up-and-coming releases, mixes...
. This issue has since been resolved; DJ Fresh is included on the list of acknowledgements in the Immersion booklet, and Pendulum is now working with Breakbeat Kaos again, on the vinyl release of the singles "Witchcraft" and "The Island".
Electronic musician Goldie
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
has criticized Pendulum's single "Granite" for being what he calls a "sh*t single", and accused the band of not acknowledging the drum and bass scene from which they came. For the band's part, in an interview with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Swire cited "Goldie making concept albums about space and his mum" (in the words of The Times reporter) as one of the reasons why he was not initially keen on the genre; he claims to have been more into “breakbeat, straight up house and hardcore” before Gareth McGrillen, who is Pendulum's bassist and was Swire's bandmate in Xygen, introduced him to "more electronic" areas of the genre. This issue has since been resolved as well, according to Gareth McGrillen in an interview on The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
.
Members
- Rob SwireRob SwireRob Swire , is an Australian record producer, singer and keyboardist. Swire is best known as lead singer and producer of Australian electronic band Pendulum and is sometimes referred to by the stage name Anscenic...
– vocals, synthSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, producer (2002–present) - Peredur "Perry" ap GwyneddPeredur ap GwyneddPeredur Wyn ap Gwynedd is a Welsh guitarist. He was born and raised in South Wales and currently resides in London. His brother, Rheinallt ap Gwynedd, was the bassist for the band Apollo 440 and his sister, Llinor ap Gwynedd, is an actress....
– guitar (2006–present) - Gareth McGrillen – bass guitar, backing vocals, DJ (2002–present)
- Kevin "K.J." Sawka – drums (2009–present)
- Paul "El Hornet" Harding – DJ (2002–present)
- Ben "The Verse" MountBen MountBenjamin Mount, also known as Verse, Ben the Verse, The Verse and Pendulum Man, is an English rapper, producer and record label owner best known as the MC in Australian drum and bass group Pendulum.- Biography :...
– MCMaster of CeremoniesA Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
(2006–present)
Former members
- Paul KodishPaul KodishPaul Kodish is a professional drummer born and raised in Willesden, London. Kodish has performed with several other artists including hip hop act Whodini in 1986, and drum and bass group Bad Company. He was also one of two drummers for electronica band Apollo 440 between 1997 and 2005 and the...
– drums (2006–2009)
Discography
- Hold Your ColourHold Your ColourHold Your Colour is the debut full-length album by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. It was released in 2005 and reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos...
(2005) - In Silico (2008)
- ImmersionImmersion (album)Immersion is the third studio album from Australian electronic rock/drum & bass band Pendulum. The album was announced in early 2009, with the name being confirmed in December 2009. The album was released 21 May 2010 in Australia and Ireland, and 24 May for the rest of the world, followed by a UK...
(2010)