Pendulum Biography

Pendulum are a drum and bass/rock group with the original members, Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul Harding, from Perth, Australia. Paul Harding is a veteran DJ while Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen had an acclaimed rock band called Xygen but after hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a rave they made the decision to produce drum and bass instead. In 2003 they relocated to the United Kingdom and are now one of the top drum and bass producers. While Hold Your Colour held true to this intent, they have since experimented with mixing rock influences back in, with the rock-heavy sophomore album In Silico, and the upcoming third album, Immersion, being slightly less so. Their newer efforts also incorporate styles from other genres, such as dubstep, heavy metal and electro house. Pendulum are now better known for their energetic live shows, with live band setup and advanced visual displays and incorporating their rock background with drum and bass.

Musical style

The Pendulum sound is typically heavy beats accompanied by low, buzzing basslines, overlaid with synthesized leads. When Pendulum started out as producers in Australia, their sound was considerably more drum and bass-influenced than the work they are known for today. Over time, this led to a change of audience and listeners from underground to mainstream listeners.

Pendulum's current musical style consists of a fusion between electronica and rock, with the inclusion of acoustic instruments. Songs such as Propane Nightmares and Granite continued to be synth-led, whilst others, such as Showdown and The Tempest, were guitar-led. Gareth McGrillen stated in an interview on Channel 4 that they use 13 computers during the live performances, all of which are mixing up the sounds produced by the instruments in real time.

Signature tunes such as "Vault", "Back to You", "Voyager" and "Toxic Shock", which were released on labels such as Uprising Records, Renegade Hardware and Low Profile Records, have a darker, more amelodic air to them which is substantially absent from their later productions, which are generally leaning heavily towards a mainstream, dance-driven sound. Early work such as "Another Planet" however, seems to indicate an early affinity with a more global sound, similar to other Breakbeat Kaos artists such as DJ Fresh and Adam F. Their new track "Ransom" was played at their Noisia set at WMC.

The group has produced various remixes of other artists also; the most well-known being their remix of "Voodoo People", originally by The Prodigy. Pendulum have also remixed themselves. In 2006, their collaboration with the Freestylers - "Painkiller" - was remixed by NOISIA and released on Against the Grain Records. In 2008-2010, they covered songs including Led Zeppelin "Immigrant Song", Coldplay's "Violet Hill", Metallica's "Master of Puppets", Calvin Harris' "I'm Not Alone" and remixed Plan B's "Stay Too Long". Currently, only The Prodigy remix, Plan B remix and a Radio 1 recording of the Violet Hill cover have been released to purchase, although a full studio version of the Master of Puppets remix does exist.