PENDULUM 29
I can’t remember a time – at least since I’ve been from the scene, and the hundreds and thousands a band,” continues Rob. “So we recorded the
into drum & bass – when a group of artists has of forum and column inches dedicated to the drums separately at Olympic Studios and then
caused so much controversy or inspired such championing and/or pillorying of Pendulum. But recorded the guitars and bass here. We wanted
diametrically opposed opinions. Pendulum are despite all that the guys have been busier than to approach this album as if we were a remix of
the first such artists to have the ‘Marmite effect’. ever working on putting together their live act and ourselves as a band”.
You either love them or you hate them, and a brand new album, ‘In Silico’, which is slated for
depending on which side of the fence you sit, that release in May. I went to meet Rob Pendulum in ‘In Silico’ definitely succeeds in moving
makes you a drum & bass purist or a supporter of the studio to have a chat about it. Pendulum’s sound on in terms of direction. While
the butchery of music as we know it. their drum & bass origins are still evident, the
“’In Silico’ is a bit of a tiwst on Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ new material sits very comfortably in the sort of
All I know is that when I heard ‘Hold Your Colour’ title,” explains Rob. “It means ‘of machine’.” Ironic vocal/rock/band arena.
being played in-store as I browsed the shelves then that this latest album has taken them in the
at HMV, I ran up to the info desk to find out what direction of live performance. “Just in case people were wondering ‘what’s
it was, then I went and bought it straight away. happened to Pendulum?’, we included this track”,
Here was an outfit who were truly raising the bar “After ‘Hold Your Colour’ was released we had says Rob as he plays me a tune from the album,
in terms of production skills and who were re- a lot of people telling us they could hear a real entitled ‘Midnight Runner’. It’s the most old
setting the needle with regard to the accessibility band influence in the music,” says Rob. “Then Paul school ‘Pendulum-y’ track you’ll hear on there,
of the drum & bass sound at that time Kodish [drummer – previously with Apollo 440 and the step-change is evident, especially when
and Digital Nation to name just a couple] came heard in contrast with ‘The Tempest’ – a slow,
That’s not to do a disservice to the wide variety to us and he suggested doing a live thing would rock influenced, totally vocal song really.
of great drum & bass music that’s out there at really suit our style.”
the moment, but at a time when the genre was It makes sense, though. Rock and metal have
being a bit lazy, Pendulum came along and split “We had an insane amount of material, from even influenced drum & bass as much as early
open the cosy niche that had been occupied before ‘Hold Your Colour’ came out, that we held electronic dance music ever did. If a drum &
largely by the same D&B producers for the past on to. We wanted to use some of that to move bass artist extends their repertoire into other
five years or so, and basically made everyone us forward from where we were with ‘Hold Your genres at all, it’s usually more breakbeat or hip
shit themselves. Colour’, but the intention was also to keep the hop. However Bad Company recognised as much
elements from that first album which had worked. when they embarked on their Digital Nation
Fast forward to today and everyone knows the project, and Pendulum picked up that baton and
history surrounding the split from Breakbeat “We produced a load of shitty demos and then ran with it all the way to the majors.
Kaos, the Junglesound Gold drama, the backlash tried to record the song parts in sections as
K28-30_Pendulum.indd 29 23/4/08 12:44:03
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