Abandon Ship (Knife Party album)

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Abandon Ship
Knife Party - Abandon Ship.jpg
Studio album by
Released24 November 2014
RecordedSeptember 2013 – July 2014
Genre
Length55:36
Label Earstorm, Big Beat, Warner Bros.
Producer Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen
Knife Party chronology
Haunted House
(2013)
Abandon Ship
(2014)
Trigger Warning
(2015)
Singles from Abandon Ship
  1. "Resistance"
    Released: 31 August 2014
  2. "Begin Again"
    Released: 23 September 2014
  3. "Boss Mode"
    Released: 27 September 2014

Abandon Ship is the debut studio album by the Australian electronic dance music duo Knife Party, released on 24 November 2014 by Earstorm Records, Big Beat Records and Warner Bros. Records. Its release in stores was postponed from the initial 27 October 2014 release date to 24 November. [1] [2] However, on 7 November 2014, iTunes Store released the album early, and the early release has been acknowledged by Knife Party themselves. [3]

Contents

Recording

Work on Knife Party's debut album started in September 2013, after the conclusion of their previous tour. [4] By 4 June 2014, progress on Abandon Ship had reached a completion of nine tracks out of a desired twelve for release, with "five [tracks] in the "maybe" pile and five in the "ideas" stage". [5] The album entered its mastering stage in July 2014. [6]

Promotion

The title of the album, Abandon Ship, was unveiled on 8 June 2014 by Knife Party through a post on social networking service Twitter, which was illustrated with the image of President Calvin Coolidge tipping his hat. [7] Knife Party appeared at the 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada on 20 June 2014 for the first show of the duo's Festival Tour during mid 2014. Their 70-minute set at EDC, which included new tracks from Abandon Ship in both demo and studio form, was streamed live over the internet. [8] On 6 August 2014, Rob Swire released a teaser for the track "Boss Mode", from the forthcoming album. [9] "Resistance" was released for free on 25 August 2014, also available for sale and supported by BBC Radio 1Xtra DJs including MistaJam. On 22 August 2014, the album was formally announced on Twitter, and is scheduled for release on 10 November 2014.[ citation needed ] "Begin Again" was released as the album's second instant grat on 22 September 2014, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 183. The song received widespread airplay from BBC Radio 1 DJs, including Zane Lowe [10] and Greg James. [11]

In a series of tweets on 11 October 2014, shortly after it was announced that the album release date had been pushed back by 2 weeks for reasons out of Knife Party's control, Swire spoke up about the decision to make the album; "So close to finishing this thing. Can't believe it. [12] Before we embarked on this thing, some people in our sphere of influence told us "don't bother, just release your previous EPs as an album. [13] EDM is dead, you should just release all your old material on one CD, fulfill the contract and then do something with Pendulum." [14] I realised that if an artist I liked released an album of old tunes, I'd be pissed off. So we wrote 12 from scratch, and it took forever. [15] But I'm so glad we did it. Even if it turns out they were right and no one buys it and we have to sell organs for food." [16]

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. "Superstar" co-written by and featuring vocals by Bryn Christopher of I See MONSTAS. "EDM Trend Machine" co-written by Richard Boardman and Simon Aldred.

No.TitleLength
1."Reconnect"1:38
2."Resistance"5:13
3."Boss Mode" (featuring Raja Kumari)3:47
4."EDM Trend Machine" (featuring Simon Aldred)5:05
5."404"4:58
6."Begin Again"5:55
7."Give It Up" (featuring Mr Vegas)4:11
8."D.I.M.H." (featuring BETSY)5:46
9."Micropenis"5:32
10."Superstar" (featuring Skaar)4:15
11."Red Dawn"6:07
12."Kaleidoscope"4:00

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [17]

Abandon Ship received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Andy Belt of We Got This Covered gave it 3 out of 5 stars, saying "Knife Party’s debut album will rouse you and get you in the mood to celebrate, at least for its thunderous first half. Its best tracks are Begin Again, Boss Mode, Reconnect, D.I.M.H., and Kaleidoscope- these tracks utilize not only EDM but also house, space and/or dubstep." [18]

Charts

Chart (2014)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [19] 20
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [20] 30
UK Albums (OCC) [21] 39
US Billboard 200 [22] 54
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) [23] 2

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
United Kingdom [24] 8 November 2014CD, vinyl, digital download
  • Earstorm
  • Big Beat
  • Warner Bros.
Australia [25]
New Zealand [26]
United States [27] [28]
Canada [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darude</span> Finnish DJ and composer

Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen, better known by his stage name Darude, is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 1995 and released the platinum-selling hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999. His debut studio album, Before the Storm, was released on September 18, 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide, earning Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards. It peaked at number one on Finland's Official List and number 6 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the United States. Darude's second studio album, Rush, reached number 11 on the Billboard dance chart in 2003 and number 4 on weekly album chart in Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendulum (drum and bass band)</span> Australian drum & bass band

Pendulum is an Australian electronic rock band founded in 2002. Pendulum originally formed in the city of Perth, Western Australia, by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul "El Hornet" Harding. The band was later expanded to include members Ben Mount, Peredur ap Gwynedd and KJ Sawka. The group is notable for its distinctive sound, mixing electronic music with hard rock and covering a wide range of genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Swire</span> Australian musical artist

Robert Swire-Thompson is an Australian record producer, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is the founder and vocalist of the drum and bass and electronic rock band Pendulum, as well as DJ and co-founder of electro house duo Knife Party formed of Swire and Gareth McGrillen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sander van Doorn</span> Dutch DJ

Sander Ketelaars, better known by his stage name Sander van Doorn or the initials SvD, is a Dutch electro house DJ and record producer from Eindhoven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haliene</span> American pop singer

Kelly Melissa Sweet, known professionally as Haliene, is an American singer of electropop and electronic dance music. She is known for her vocal collaborations with EDM artists Armin van Buuren, Seven Lions, ATB, Ferry Corsten, Aly & Fila, Da Tweekaz, and her song with Gareth Emery & Standerwick, "Saving Light", which won the A State of Trance award, "Tune of the Year," by Armin van Buuren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadmau5</span> Canadian music producer and DJ (born 1981)

Joel Thomas Zimmerman, known professionally as deadmau5, is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house and electro house music, though he also produces and DJs other genres of electronic music, including techno under the alias Testpilot. Zimmerman has received six Grammy Award nominations for his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porter Robinson</span> American electronic musician

Porter Weston Robinson is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label OWSLA at the age of 18, and released the extended play Spitfire in 2011. He appeared on Billboard's 21 Under 21 list in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife Party</span> Australian electronic music duo

Knife Party are an Australian electronic music duo consisting of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, two members of the drum and bass band Pendulum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardwell</span> Dutch DJ and music producer

Robbert van de Corput, known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by DJ Mag in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in the top 100 DJs poll by DJ Mag. He is best known for his sets at music festivals, including Ultra Music Festival, Sunburn and Tomorrowland.

Karl Thomas, better known as ShockOne, is an Australian electronic music producer and DJ born in 1982. Originally from Esperance, Western Australia, he now resides in Perth. He has been releasing music as ShockOne since 2005, producing a wide variety of dance genres including drum and bass, dubstep, drumstep and electro house.

"Internet Friends" is a song by Australian electro house duo Knife Party. It was released on 2011 as the first single from the Knife Party EP, 100% No Modern Talking by Knife Party members, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 89 due to strong sales, despite being initially available for free download. The song was featured on the fifth season of The Walking Dead. In 2013, a "VIP" remix of the song was featured on the Knife Party EP, Haunted House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Holo</span> Dutch DJ (born 1990)

Sander van Dijck, better known by his stage name San Holo, is a Dutch DJ, musician, singer, songwriter and record producer from Zoetermeer. He gained international recognition for his remix of Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode", which currently has over 262 million views on YouTube. He has released music on several record labels including Spinnin' Records, Owsla, Barong Family, and Monstercat. He also founded Bitbird, a label which has released several of his singles including "Still Looking" and "Light" and his debut album Album1. San Holo's first EP, Cosmos, was released via Heroic on 18 September 2014 and was in the Top 100 Electronic category of iTunes. San Holo's first album, Album1, was released via Bitbird on 21 September 2018 and debuted at #7 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierce Fulton</span> American DJ and music producer (1992–2021)

Pierce Collins Fulton was an American DJ, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. In 2014, Fulton's single "Runaway" topped the Billboard Emerging Artists chart. Later that year, his song "Kuaga " was listed at number 38 on Billboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and used in a Smirnoff ad campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Said the Sky</span> American DJ and music producer

Trevor Christensen, known professionally as Said the Sky, is an American electronic dance music producer, DJ and musician.

Tanner Petulla, known professionally as Getter, is an American DJ, producer, rapper and actor from San Jose, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephante</span> American disc jockey and music producer

Tim Heng Wu, better known by his stage name Elephante, is an American musician, DJ and music producer based in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegboard Nerds discography</span>

This is the discography of electronic dance music producers and DJs Pegboard Nerds.

<i>Mau5ville: Level 1</i> 2018 EP / compilation album by Deadmau5

Mau5ville: Level 1 is an extended play (EP) and compilation album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on July 13, 2018, through his record label Mau5trap. The release features "Monophobia", a collaboration with Australian singer and musician Rob Swire, with remixes, as well as original songs by DJs Getter and GTA. Two follow-up EPs, Mau5ville: Level 2 and Mau5ville: Level 3, were released in November 2018 and February 2019 respectively.

"Monophobia" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5 featuring Australian singer Rob Swire. It was released on July 13, 2018, as the first track on Deadmau5's EP and compilation album Mau5ville: Level 1. Prior to its release on the EP, an orchestral rendition of the song was featured on Deadmau5's Where's the Drop?. On release, the song charted on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart, peaking number 19. A music video for the song was released on Deadmau5's YouTube channel on July 16, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpoon (Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds song)</span> 2018 electro house single

"Harpoon" is a song by Australian electronic music duo Knife Party and Danish-Norwegian electronic music group Pegboard Nerds. Canadian record label Monstercat released it on 26 July 2018 as the first single from Pegboard Nerds' sixth EP, Full Hearts.

References

  1. Knife Party (13 October 2014). "Hi all - please read this, concerning the album release date". Twitter .
  2. Knife Party (3 November 2014). "Sorry folks after lengthy discussions with the powers that be we can't get the album in shops any quicker than Nov24". Twitter .
  3. "Twitter / knifepartyinc: Abandon Ship is now live on iTunes. Happy Friday!". Twitter.com. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  4. "Twitter / knifepartyinc: 3 shows to go. And then the". Twitter.com. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. Spada, Andrew (8 June 2014). "Knife Party reveal new album name 'Abandon Ship,' 9 out of 12 tracks completed". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. Khal (8 June 2014). "Knife Party's Almost Done With Their Album "Abandon Ship"". Do Androids Dance?. Complex Media . Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. "Knife Party drop the debut album news fans have been waiting for". In The Mix. inthemix Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. Wood, Chris. "Listen To Knife Party's Set At EDCLV Showcasing New Music". Your EDM. Your EDM, LLC. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. "Knife Party - Boss Mode teaser". SoundCloud . Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  10. Lowe, Zane (6 October 2014). "Now @knifepartyinc @BBCR1 #goodmusic". Twitter .
  11. "BBC Radio 1 - Greg James, 10/10/2014". BBC Radio 1 . 10 October 2014.
  12. "Rob Swire on Twitter: "So close to finishing this fucking thing. Can't believe it."". Twitter.com. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. "Rob Swire on Twitter: "Before we embarked on this thing, some people in our sphere of influence told us "don't bother, just release your previous EPs as an album""". Twitter.com. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  14. "Rob Swire on Twitter: ""...EDM is dead, you should just release all your old material on one CD, fulfill the contract then do something with Pendulum""". Twitter.com. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. "Rob Swire on Twitter: "I realised that if an artist I liked released an album of old tunes, I'd be pissed off. So we wrote 12 from scratch, and it took FOREVER"". Twitter.com. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  16. "Rob Swire on Twitter: "...but I'm so glad we did it. Even if it turns out they were right and EDM is fucked and no one buys it and we have to sell organs for food."". Twitter.com. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  17. allmusic
  18. "Knife Party - Abandon Ship Review". We Got This Covered. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  19. "Australiancharts.com – Knife Party – Abandon Ship". Hung Medien.
  20. "Charts.nz – Knife Party – Abandon Ship". Hung Medien.
  21. "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  22. "Knife Party Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  23. "Knife Party Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard.
  24. "iTunes - Music - Abandon Ship by Knife Party". iTunes. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  25. "iTunes - Music - Abandon Ship by Knife Party". iTunes. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  26. "iTunes - Music - Abandon Ship by Knife Party". iTunes. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  27. "Amazon.com: Abandon Ship: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  28. "iTunes - Music - Abandon Ship by Knife Party". iTunes. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  29. "iTunes - Music - Abandon Ship by Knife Party". iTunes. Retrieved 1 November 2014.