In Silico we trust
Pendulum managed to take one of dance music's most unpopular genres - drum'n'bass - to the top of the charts in both Australia and the UK
By Dan Stapleton
Their new album isn't about drum and bass - it's just music, says the group
Pendulum's story is remarkable for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the group (originally a duo, now a five-piece) emerged from the Perth music scene - not traditionally known as a hotbed of electronic music talent. Secondly, they managed to take one of dance music's most unpopular genres - drum'n'bass - to the top of the charts in both Australia and the UK. The group's blend of traditional d'n'b and instruments from the rock'n'roll pantheon has been a surprise crossover hit, and has made their debut album, last year's Hold Your Colour, one of the biggest-selling drum'n'bass releases of all time.
The group's big break came in 2005 when they were commissioned to remix ‘Voodoo People', a track from fellow genre-benders The Prodigy. The Pendulum remix was a radio smash, introducing a large audience to the group's distinctive sound. "We did cop a lot of hate from the purist drum'n'bass fans," admits drummer Kodish.
"But on the whole, for every one drum'n'bass purist who turned against us, 500 indie rock kids got into us."
Pendulum are now being taken just as seriously by rock fans as they are d'n'b heads. Their new album, In Silico, takes their crossover sound to the next level, and early tracks have found favour on rock-based radio stations like Triple J locally and Radio 1 in the UK. "We want the rock people to think it's electronic and we want the electronic people to think it's rock," says Kodish. "But I can understand why some people aren't happy with it. You can't blame drum‘n'bass people for not liking guitars. Drum‘n'bass people don't really like guitars. It's fair enough."
In Silico is a more ambitious effort than its predecessor - it was pieced together over two painstaking years and sounds as big and glossy as the name implies. "It's not drum'n'bass any more," declares founding member Gareth McGrillen. "It's just music."
Kodish concurs. "It's about writing good tunes," he says. "There's a lot of people out there who are great at the technology, but you've got to write good tunes to go with it."
That's not to say that In Silico doesn't feature its share of studio trickery. The key difference, says McGrillien, is that the band creates all the sounds itself. "We'll play all the instruments live and chop them up in the computer later. In a way it's like you've got your own samples."
With Warner Music backing Pendulum to the hilt and a sold-out run of rapturously received preview shows already completed, In Silico's success seems assured. But for Kodish, it's still all about the music. "There was never any plan to get to the top of the charts or be rock stars," he says. "Even the way the music has gone - it's been a natural progression. We all just want to go with the flow."
In Silico is out now through Warner.