After relocating from Perth to London, Pendulum wasted no time in amassing an underground dance following. Their explosive ‘drum and bass’ sound has evolved in numerous directions, but is sure to impress audiences when they perform on the Big Day Out tour in 2009. Nick Milligan spoke to their vocalist and co-founder, Rob Swire.
Are you looking forward to coming back to Australia in 2009?
Yeah, man. It should be really good. We’re doing a home town show for New Year’s Eve, then we’re staying in Australia until the Big Day Out.
Was it daunting to relocate to England?
Yeah, it was. I was 20 at the time and Gaz was 21. We had to move all of our equipment to England and try to recreate the same studio experience, after having only worked in the one place. It was a bit weird at first, but after a year we were back into it.
Did you already have connections in England?
Yeah, we’d already met some people in the drum and bass scene and had already DJ’d over there. The guy that was running our label let us stay in his fl at for seven months without rent.
Would you recommend moving overseas to many bands?
Five years ago I would have said, ‘Definitely’, but now you seem to hear more about bands coming out of Australia – like The Presets. Five years ago you could tell someone in England about the biggest band in Australia and they wouldn’t have a clue about who you’re talking about. I think that’s happening less and less. But it depends on the band and their circumstances.
Did it take long for you to feel a stronger fan base back in Australia?
We came back after about seven months of working in England and we could feel that it was different. Especially in the Perth drum and bass scene. We used to have 20 people come and see us at a local pub, but when we came back we were already filling venues with 500 people.
Did working in England have a big impact on your sound?
I think our circumstance influenced the music, but not specifically England. The idea behind the title of our first album, Hold Your Colour, was that we were trying not to be influenced by what we were hearing at these English clubs.
What are the biggest challenges involved in bringing your recorded sound to the live stage?
The main thing is trying to get the energy across. I come from mainly a producer background, and less of a musician background, so in the studio I find it very easy to capture our energy and that ‘Pendulum sound’. But when you do that live, you have heaps of different musicians and you’re dealing with sounds that need to be miked up and done acoustically. Capturing the energy is a challenge, but with the technology we’ve got, it makes things easier.
Who are you looking forward to seeing on the Big Day Out tour?
We haven’t seen Cut Copy before, but we’ve heard their album, so they’d be great to see.
How did you want your latest album, In Silico, to compare to the previous album, Hold Your Colour?
We knew we didn’t want to repeat Hold Your Colour, and while I don’t think we planned to make an album that far removed from the first one, it just happened naturally.
What is the defining aspect of Pendulum’s sound, that’s present in every song?
I think it’s the heaviness of the sound – that might sound clichéd. But it’s the sonic intensity that carries throughout both albums.
Do you have an idea of what your third album will sound like?
We’ve got a mini studio on the tour bus, so we’ve been writing on the road. We have a lot of ideas – it’s sound a little heavier and we’ve taken a step back towards the electronic direction.
How old were you when you took an interest in writing music?
I can’t even remember – I must have been about nine years old. I was mashing my keyboard and multi-tracking into my mum’s answering machine.
Were you always drawn to electronic music?
Yeah, my cousin in Perth got me into that stuff at an early age, bringing these ‘wave’ tapes back from the UK. I got into a lot of that stuff.
Have you set goals for Pendulum in 2009?
We’ll be working towards a third album, and we’re also going to try to spend some more time in Australia and the States.
Pendulum play the Big Day Out tour in January 2009. For all info head to www.bigdayout.com. In Silico is available now through Warner.
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