Australian drum & bass luminaries Pendulum are on the up-swing with a new album and their first national live tour in eight years.
Their new record, 'The Reworks', is due at the end of June and will feature a selection of Pendulum tracks that have been remixed by some of the band's closest friends and collaborators.
'The Reworks' is Pendulum's fourth album and first since 2010's 'Immersion', which was a further deviation into the band's penchant for blending elements of rock music with drum & bass.
Pendulum released their debut studio album 'Hold Your Colour' in 2005 and have consistently remained at the forefront of drum & bass and electronica since.
As well as producing original material, Pendulum have also made a name for themselves as world-class remixers, lending their distinctive creative vision to reinterpretations of 'Voodoo People' by The Prodigy and the unmistakable strains of the opening theme from ABC's seven o'clock news bulletin.
To say 'The Reworks' has been a long-time coming would be the severest of understatements; it's an album that for a while seemed like was never going to happen.
In a Reddit AMA from December 2014, founding member Rob Swire stated that he wasn't personally interested in making another Pendulum record, having lost interest in the project and instead wanted to focus on the group's unrelated project Knife Party.
In 2015, three years after announcing an indefinite hiatus, Pendulum celebrated the tenth anniversary of 'Hold Your Colour', performing a series of festival dates including a return to their home town of Perth for Origin NYE in 2016.
At the beginning of last year, the band announced their official return and left Warner Music UK to create music under their own label Earstorm.
Now, to celebrate the release of 'The Reworks', Pendulum will undertake their first Australian headline tour in eight years, playing a limited run of no-holds-barred live performances in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney.
As their legions of fans scramble to secure show passes (Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth shows have already sold out) and eagerly await the release of 'The Reworks', we speak with Pendulum about the album and tour.
What's been happening for Pendulum in the past year or so?
[Rob Swire] We’ve been putting together the new album - ‘The Reworks’. It’s a collection of 13 of our singles remixed by some really good friends. We’ve also revamped the live show and we’re approaching everything differently this time, including re-imagining how the old songs would now come across on stage.
What can you tell us about the remix album 'Reworks'?
With ‘The Reworks’, we gave the artists free reign to be able to go in any direction they wanted. So what you have is people tearing the songs apart and giving us their own, unique interpretations.
What has changed for the band since 'Immersion' was released in 2010?
We knew if we came back we’d have to make changes – the live shows in particular, we’ve completely redone that from scratch. I think we’re feeling much less restricted by genres these days, which is exciting.
How are you and the rest of the group feeling about the upcoming Australian live shows?
It’ll be good to get back. It’s our first Australian tour in eight years.
What sort of audio-visual spectacle can audiences expect from these shows?
We’ve revamped the technical side of the show, which should mean audiences are going to hear us better than ever before. On the visual side – apart from LED screens and lights – Gareth [McGrillen] will be wearing a hat and I have a beard, which is enough of a visual spectacle if you ask me.
Was there a time when you thought Pendulum wouldn't release another album or play another live show?
Definitely... our management raised the idea, not very romantic, but there was always a voice in my head that said you have to do it at some point. It’ll be fun and that’s why I said yes.
After this tour, what's next for Pendulum?
‘The Reworks’ is out 29 June and we have some big festival dates, which will be fun; we’re working on some music and we’ll have to see how it goes.
'The Reworks' is released 29 June
Pendulum Tour Dates
Tue 26 Jun - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane) - SOLD OUT
Thu 28 Jun - Forum Melbourne - SOLD OUT
Fri 29 Jun - AEC Theatre (Adelaide)
Sat 30 Jun - Metro City (Perth) - SOLD OUT
Tue 3 Jul - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
