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| Monday, October 06, 2008 |
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Jungle Fever: Pendulum
By Orange Peel Moses @ 4:33 PM :: 385 Views ::
0 Comments :: Music: Artist Spotlight, Nightlife, Events, Music: Concerts
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wordplay: DJ Elroy
image: Jonathan Shoup
Bubble-gum pop and MTV hits have been haunting our generation’s airwaves for years now, and if Miley Cyrus and Soulja Boy are any indication, we’ve got a better chance of treating PETA to a steak dinner than hearing a worthy rotation on the radio dial. All is not lost, however, as rockers like Pendulum are breaking the chains of prefabricated Lou Pearlman bands and bringing something new to the speakers. The group defines their live sound as “a sonic assault; it’s electronic at the core with the aggression of rock and metal… whether the track has guitars or vocals in it or not, aggression and energy are the foundation of the sound.”
Like many adolescents, Gareth McGrillen and Rob Swire had big plans to attract the double-X chromosomes, and, aside from a letter jacket, the best way to home base is via garage band. “We'd been in other bands together but this was the first electronic project we'd teamed up on,” Gareth explains. “Rob had been producing electronic music for ages and he taught me throughout high school. When Pendulum got big, we quit our metal band and moved to the UK and have been working that way ever since.”
Pendulum’s first single “Vault” showed up in 2004 and along with several subsequent releases they gained recognition in the underground culture as “the next big thing.” Their breakout debut album Hold Your Colour followed in 2005 and, released to critical acclaim, it quickly rose to be one of the biggest-selling drum & bass albums ever. Between their original works, collaboration projects with the likes of the Freestylers and others, and remixes for hit-makers like The Prodigy, Pendulum has been busy indeed. Their most recent offering In Silico takes the music in a slightly different direction. “Recently we have reassumed our band rolls as we are now taking Pendulum live; Rob is playing keys and doing vocals, and I'm playing bass guitar.” Rounding out the live show is Peredur ap Gwynedd on guitars, Paul “El Hornet” Harding as the DJ/Producer, Paul Kodish on drums and MC Ben “the Verse” Mount. “We were so young when stuff kicked off for us we were still living at home; when we moved to the UK, however, paying bills was hard. We really had a trial by fire moving out of home and [to another continent] but eventually we started to get more and more popular; our DJ fees went up, and we actually managed to eat real food other then microwave noodles for once. Giving up and going back to Australia to flip burgers just wasn't ever going to be an option again.”
The band itself is constantly evolving and has recently come full circle. Clubbers might recognize the singles “Fasten Your Seat Belt” or “Tarantula” or some of their more underground tracks, but getting back to live shows is something they’ve wanted to do for some time.
With the release of In Silico and their packed show at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Pendulum has shed off their old skin and jumped into the globetrotter mind set, including their first ever tour of the States. Pendulum events are fast-paced, action-packed, and dripping energy. Fans say the show is “something to witness for yourself.” The group proudly proclaims “We've had mosh pits starting in 10,000 person strong audiences in Japan. Anyone who knows a Japanese audience knows that getting them to even move is a feat in itself.”
Influences are a bit tricky to pin down; Pendulum has always had a dark side and gritty attitude, be it electronic music or the more traditional shows. When asked about which bands have had the biggest impact on their sound, the group can’t agree on just one. “It can change daily. We’re influenced by almost completely different things from LP to LP; I don’t even know what our influence is going to be on the next release,” McGrillen says. “For the last record, a lot of rock and metal – both old and new – things like Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, et cetera” shaped the sound. Of course, there is the expected (electronica) and the less-expected (surf rock?!) influence stirred into the creative mix as well.
Business or pleasure, music is the one thing that everyone needs to stay sane. McGrillen says “I've started trying to listen to other kinds of music a lot, and that's been good for inspiration. We don't really do anything else other than music; music was the hobby that became the career so you pretty much find yourself immersed in it in one way or another no matter what you're doing, working or relaxing.”
McGrillen says they’ve been able to keep a level head despite the success of the music. Sure, some things have changed. More fans. More money. Bigger shows. And of course, better contracts. “Our drummer [has this contractual rider] and refuses to drink any spirits other than dark rum, which he never gets. It’s really funny to us but probably quite frustrating for the fussy guy!” But all fun aside, the band will tell you they work just as passionately now as in the beginning. “It’s become a lot more stressful, but the difference between being “nobodies” and being “somebodies” hasn’t changed things at all; it’s still a hard hustle whether you’re at the top or in the middle or on the bottom.”
October 9th @ The Bluebird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFvRsJhZ-6Y
Pendulum.com
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