Pendulum: Swinging back to Australia

[ITM] You’ve come out of a drum and bass scene in Perth that Eastern Seaboard junglists can only dream about. For those not in the know, is it really as big as everyone says it is?

About 2 years ago the Perth scene was at its peak. You had a gig basically every night of the week. With a saturation of nights all competing against each other and a few of these closed. I’d say now the Perth scene has reinvented itself. I think the all-ages scene is terrible now in terms of drum and bass, it’s all gone very ‘candy raver’. The eastern states shouldn’t be envious of Perth; each city has its own scene and its own globally recognised producers.

[ITM] The move to UK must have been risky but it seems to be paying off. How are you finding life there? Is it a semi-permanent move, or will you be returning to Oz after recording your first LP and establishing your name a bit more?

Moving to the UK is generally a financially destructive thing to do. We were lucky in the sense that we have the full support of Breakbeat Kaos and managed to pick up a lot of DJ work, playing in London or Europe every weekend since we arrived. The move is fairly permanent. We have 2 LPs to record and we’re well into the first one. It would be great if we could make the same living we are now but still live in Australia, but sadly I can’t ever see that happening while we’re producing drum and bass. It would be fantastic to have local support outside of the drum and bass scene, because as artists we’re out there flying the flag for Australian music in general.

[ITM] While the critical acclaim that ‘Vault’ achieved must have surprised you, ‘Another Planet/Voyager’ climbing into the top 50 of the UK’s mainstream chart must have blown you away. Did you ever feel when writing those tracks that you were onto something special, or were you clueless as to how they would be received?

Another Planet was something we spent a ridiculous amount of time on. We didn’t have any idea it was going to do anything chart wise, we just wanted to create a drum and bass tune that would surprise people. It was supported well by all the major players within drum and bass but then all of a sudden it was playlisted on Radio One. Then the record was released and sales pushed it into the charts which was completely unexpected. Hopefully it’s something we can repeat.

[ITM] Your first LP is rumoured for release on Breakbeat Kaos sometime this year, around October. What plans have you got for the album? Will it comprise the singles you’ve already released, or will it be completely new material?

The LP will be all new material. It will released in 2 formats, vinyl and possibly a double CD, one CD of the vinyl tracks themselves and another which will be a mix of the album tracks and possibly some other tunes that didn’t make it to vinyl. It won’t be a DJ mix however; it’s a mix that we’re doing from scratch that plays like one long track with the tunes morphing in and out of each other.

[ITM] Over the past two years drum and bass has had what could almost be called a rebirth across the world. New artists such as yourselves have played an important part in this rejuvenation. What other producers/DJs do you think are essential listening for the young junglist?

I think everyone should sit down and listen to these producers and/or albums:

T Power – The Self Evident Truth of an Intuitive Min
Reprazent – New Forms
Breakbeat Era – Ultra Obscene LP
Teebee – Through the Eyes of a Scorpion / Black Science Labs
Photek – Form and Function
Polar – 23 Degrees and Falling
Hidden Rooms 1, 2 and 3 on Certificate 18
The whole of the Good Looking / Looking Good back catalogue
Ed Rush and Optical – Wormhole
Stakka and Skynet – Clockwork

This list could go on forever.

[ITM] Being at the heart of the drum and bass scene in the UK you must hear a multitude of fresh sounds from little known DJs and producers. Any up and coming artists we should know about that have caught your ear and are perhaps “doing a Pendulum”?

One person who has recently made me freak out is an English guy called Sub Focus. He has some forthcoming stuff on RAM and Frequency. Production is amazing and the ideas are fresh. Then there’s the American drum and bass scene which is simply exploding now and you have to check out the whole European movement going on as well. There are too many places and too many producers to name.

[ITM] Clownstep: Has it gone too far? Seriously though, the swingbeat element of newer drum and bass tracks, such as Vault, has added a fresh new take on the music, but do you feel that the sound has all of sudden become played out recently?

I guess it’s what your definition of clownstep is. Swingbeat was probably the beginning of that label, although I’m not sure how the clown comparison came about. The strange thing about clownstep is that it seems like an extreme bastardisation of a sound that was already prominent. I understand some people’s frustration at this style, but there’s no point in focussing on music you don’t like. I think it’s probably on its way out. There are so many new producers out there now that aren’t getting the props they deserve, with a resurgence of drum heavy tunes and people getting creative with synth work again; to me that is the way forward.

[ITM] I’ve heard your production methods are somewhat of a trade secret, yet it’s a known fact you use little to known little to no hardware. Is it possible to get a brief rundown on what you use for production purposes?

We’re PC based and we sequence with Cubase SX2. In the past we’ve used Logic and other sequencers but now we’re happy in SX. We’ve recently started using a bit of hardware as well as software.

[ITM] With a background in metal and punk, how has this influenced your sound? Did any of you play more rock-based musical instruments such as guitars before you got into dance production? If so, what influence does this lend to your music?

I was a drummer, Rob (Anscenic) played drums as well as bass and guitar and vocals and Gareth (Speed) was a bass player. You could say we’ve incorporated a bit of the freestyle percussive element of band music. A lot of people rely on stagnant loops for drum and bass cutting up amens and other breaks and this wasn’t really something we wanted to do. It’s all about pushing the sound forward rather than relying on things that have been done already.

[ITM] Your upcoming tour of Australia is your first. What should we expect from a performance? Will all three Pendulum members be present?

This time it’s going to be Anscenic and myself touring. Expect a traditional DJ set from us but with a few new things from ourselves to showcase, some of them being forthcoming album tracks.

[ITM] Live drum and bass sets seem to be rising in popularity these days (London Elektricity, Shapeshifter, Reprazent), do you see yourselves as ever having a live element to your performances sometime in the future?

Definitely, but not the same way any of these acts have done it in the past. I don’t want to say much more than that. Hopefully by mid next year you’ll see what I mean!

[ITM] Lastly, and I have to ask this, since the laws of physics preclude a pendulum from ever swinging to the beats of drum and bass, why the choice of name?

I wish I had a cool story to tell about this one. If we had have sat down and thought about it better we probably would have remembered the early 90’s trance act from Melbourne. After all, they did win an ARIA. That may cause problems for us in the future, but for now it’s just a name that seemed right when we formed.

Pendulum’s current 12”, ‘Another Planet/Voyager’, is out now through Breakbeat Kaos, distributed locally by Inertia.

You can catch Pendulum while they’re back in Australia for a visit at the following venues:

Friday April 16, Ambar – Perth
Saturday April 17, Moving Through Air – Sydney (BUY TICKETS)