Our short bio: We are Knife Party, the production duo aka Rob Swire / Gareth McGrillen (formerly Pendulum). We've just finished our debut album "Abandon Ship" and refuse to do any promo, thereby infuriating our managers...so we suggested that maybe we'd do an AmA instead. Ask us anything!

Our Proof: http://twitter.com/knifepartyinc/status/544899869798715392 http://knifeparty.com/news/reddit-ama http://www.facebook.com/knifeparty/posts/803003886412849

EDIT: it's nearly 6:30 AM here right now, and I have to be awake to go to the Dentist, will answer more later unless G wants to take over

EDIT 2: I just realised that double asterisks = bold

Comments: 1954 • Responses: 38  • Date: 

knifepartyAMA1892 karma

How do you feel, knowing that you're competing with Chris Rock's AMA on the front page?

knifepartyAMA2044 karma

feels bad man

Rukes659 karma

Who has a better beard between you two and me?

knifepartyAMA988 karma

pix or stfu

empw656 karma

So... how's the new Pendulum album going?


Edit: For those asking about tour dates: http://knifeparty.com/shows

knifepartyAMA1493 karma

Keep-management-and-fans-happy answer:

It's not going at all (yet). We have a bunch of unreleased material from the last two albums that we still love, and would like to finish / re-work into something new, but we're not actively working on it just yet.

Honest answer:

It's been nearly 5 years since the last Pendulum album - even if we do release new material, it will most likely sound completely different, just because...well, people change, and get bored of things, etc. I have no real desire to make drum'n'bass anymore, I have no desire to fuse it with rock, and I sure as fuck don't have any desire to tour with a live band.

Around about the time we started Knife Party, I really lost my heart for the project. I remember playing Glastonbury 2011 on the main stage - we played just before Beyonce to a crowd full of parents and their kids waiting to sing "Crazy in Love", staring at us with blank faces. I was watching the TV coverage of the show afterwards and I just thought "how the fuck did it turn into this? this isn't the kind of project I wanted to be involved in at all". It wasn't even the crowd response, I just didn't like anything about it.

On top of that, we weren't making any money since we were spending it all on crew members wages, freight costs, transport, production assistants etc (touring with a band is REALLY expensive). Now, we were never into it for the money, but as you start getting closer to 30, you start to think "oh yeah, I have to...be able to eat food n stuff" - and if your heart isn't in the project, well, there's not much point in continuing.

We're contracted for another album. I have no idea what's going to happen. I don't really want to do one - I'd prefer to work on something else with KP or perhaps a new project altogether. If I have to do it, then I will, but that's never a great place to start making music.

TL;DR - maybe. dunno.

LiamJ1082622 karma

Would you ever create a jazz album, just to piss people off?

knifepartyAMA1256 karma

probably

Crawnch335 karma

Will you ever do a coffee run with deadmau5?

knifepartyAMA894 karma

We had this great idea, where we'd pay some actors to hijack the car at gunpoint and lead Joel away, blindfolded, on our own coffee run of darkness and despair

But now that's in the open, we will never be invited

whitem4ge311 karma

can you leak this swagilicious thing so we don't have to listen to it in potato quality anymore?

knifepartyAMA877 karma

You know when you're really excited for an unreleased track, then you hear the full quality version and you're like "...oh :("?

That's what it sounds like.

PirateKilt300 karma

Welcome to reddit!

How did you guys decide on your emblem... what's the story behind it?

knifepartyAMA437 karma

Our logo was made by the talented Mr. Protski - https://twitter.com/protski

IIRC we held a competition (omg crowdsourcing, so 2011) and his designs were the best. Pretty lame story, apologies

Ryannnnnn270 karma

What's your guys thoughts on Worlds by Porter Robinson?

knifepartyAMA611 karma

its great , he's great, life is great

SheQueefedISniffed266 karma

Do you enjoy a good bonfire?

knifepartyAMA349 karma

love it

MauledByTheTigers264 karma

How does it feel having El Hornet and The Verse still performing (and making money) as a "Pendulum DJ Set" when you two were the production brains?

Even if you're still friends, them making relatively easy money whilst Earstorm lost and arm and a leg on touring the full band must sting a bit.

knifepartyAMA441 karma

[redacted]

Bioman312227 karma

What's your favorite thing that you could not do in Pendulum that you can do now?

Conversely, what's your favorite thing that you could do in Pendulum that you can't do now?

knifepartyAMA553 karma

Could not do in Pendulum: drink alcohol on stage without the constant fear that one of 12 PCs running Linux/wine VST ports might crash at any given moment, ruining everything

Could do in Pendulum: tour bus

silverevilchao243 karma

hoooooly fuck, you were running it in WINE? Massive props for never having it EXPLODE on you

knifepartyAMA385 karma

it did a few times but we ran every unit in tandem with another into a box that detected a signal fail and would switch over to the redundant receptor ;-)

ChopToxicity208 karma

Which track from Abandon Ship are you guys most proud of?

knifepartyAMA786 karma

Probably 404, because the mix turned out well and we finally found a way to make Windows errors profitable.

Panda-Express207 karma

To Rob: What's the story behind you singing on Deadmau5's Ghosts n Stuff..and how do you feel about where the song went?

knifepartyAMA382 karma

Story: Joel asked if I wanted to do vocals on it...so I did! V proud of it, although in retrospect I think may have borrowed the melody from Chris Isaac "Wicked Game" /lawsuit/

BlumpkinBlumpkin185 karma

Who is the smelliest DJ you've worked with? Where do babies come from?

knifepartyAMA513 karma

We do have an answer for this, but no one must ever know.

edit: the first question, I mean. We have no idea where babies come from.

myname1srico163 karma

What's the best groupie after party story you guys got?

knifepartyAMA417 karma

I once offered to post a photo of myself giving head to a statue of Obama in return for after party information.

OP delivered, but after party was not forthcoming. Sad times.

JohnyGPTSOAD35 karma

How about linking it?

knifepartyAMA63 karma

All I could find was this: http://twicsy.com/i/jHWnhb

...and the picture is missing :(

sturmen131 karma

How would you describe your roles on the studio, specifically with division of labor?

CapnSmackaHoe60 karma

Basically, who does all the work?

knifepartyAMA377 karma

RuPaul

dannbaekd128 karma

If you had to DJ anywhere in the world, where would it be?

knifepartyAMA294 karma

private island in the Maldives and the moon, done the Maldives one so...

ianheronow119 karma

What's your opinion on drugs in the edm scene? Does it bother you that people get high at your shows? Have you ever used anything personally?

knifepartyAMA347 karma

this is a hot potato, and a grey area, and many other cliched analogies

we do believe people should be free to do what they want however

Eggnog54116 karma

Who inspired you?
How did you guys know each other?

knifepartyAMA301 karma

winston churchill

highschool

Awesomistic109 karma

What are your thoughts on ghost producers like Vorwerk and their effect on electronic music?

knifepartyAMA293 karma

its a can of worms we dont want to open right now

rob edit: -opens can- Personally I have infinite respect for the guy. I think the people who USE ghost producers are...well...a fucking joke, but I have lots of respect for Vorwerk and the other ghost producers themselves. It's a hell of a business model: sit in the studio all day, sell music to talentless DJs, keep your anonymity, ???, profit...sounds fucking great to me, I wish I could do it!

JohnWad104 karma

Electric Forest this year, gents?

knifepartyAMA151 karma

not sure, hope so

TheCobras101 karma

Do you like pulled pork?

knifepartyAMA325 karma

pulled anything

Riceburner1795 karma

Gareth what is it like being the god of predicting the outcome of soccer games?

knifepartyAMA270 karma

with great power comes great responsibility

j1709199394 karma

You guys IMO are the best producers in the world right now. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask a few production questions.

On your screenshot of the resistance project file, you have 8 FX tracks, what are those? Also, how come you have 2 group channels for each group? Lastly, could you recommend any resources for some advanced mixing tips / theory?

Thanks guys, and keep on pushing the boundaries on production!

knifepartyAMA117 karma

I just have 8 FX sends set up in my default project...mostly for short reverbs, delays n stuff. Nothing special really.

The 2/3 group channels are just subgroups - sometimes I want to process parts of the drum mix together (kick, snare, toms, a break), and leave the rest (crash, sometimes hats etc) unprocessed while still being able to solo with one click.

Apologies if that doesn't make sense, it's 6 AM here.

LiftwithZyzz94 karma

Do you guys even lift?

knifepartyAMA287 karma

like so much

moham1582 karma

Hey Rob and Gareth, what are your favourite video games to play?

knifepartyAMA264 karma

we're both currently playing farcry 4, alien isolation and destiny also

djbigball74 karma

Whats the strangest thing you've ever eaten or drunk on tour, either as knife party, pendulum or solo or whatever?

knifepartyAMA237 karma

rob ate stingray in japan, gareth's eaten kangaroo and crocodile and baby seal eyes on toast

Swiiifto74 karma

Can you give us a status on the track "Baghdad" with Hardwell?

knifepartyAMA180 karma

hardwell has all the parts

epsil0n7473 karma

General opinion on neurofunk? Seems to be going strong and was wondering what the consensus is on it and I know Rob's posted a couple neuro tunes, any chance of some KP take on it?

knifepartyAMA219 karma

I love it, but I'm pretty sure the entire scene is just full of aging dnb heads who wish they could re-live 1998-2001.

Perhaps we'll produce some one day, using a scientific-sounding pseudonym like...Chemical Kastration

davidmurr4y65 karma

Any plans to play some UK festivals next summer? Perhaps two certain festivals beginning with R and L?

knifepartyAMA94 karma

Hope so! I'm pretty sure R&L is in the works...but no promises.

knifepartyAMA41 karma

yes of course

Spazzatack51 karma

Loving the new album, I just have one question. Why the bee?

knifepartyAMA166 karma

why not the bee?

GreenBean2k243 karma

When will you guys do a UK tour?

knifepartyAMA81 karma

have done and will do