Electronic dance outfit Knife Party started as a side project featuring the two founding members of Perth, Australia's long-running drum'n'bass act
Pendulum. Emerging in the early 2010s, the pair made an early splash on a collaboration with
Swedish House Mafia, the multi-platinum "Antidote." They went on to release a handful of EPs that charted across the globe, issuing their official debut full-length, Abandon Ship, in 2014.
In late 2011, Gareth McGrillen and
Rob Swire debuted their aggressive electro-house/dubstep guise with 100% No Modern Talking, released digitally through the
Earstorm label and provided as a free download on the duo's website. They also matched up with
Swedish House Mafia for the
Virgin-issued "Antidote," billed as
Swedish House Mafia vs. Knife Party. The track was certified triple-platinum and charted in at least nine territories. Remixes of tracks by
Swedish House Mafia ("Save the World"),
Porter Robinson ("Unison"), and
Nero ("Crush on You") trickled out around the same time. In mid-2012 the duo released their second EP, Rage Valley, again digitally on
Earstorm, followed just a year later by Haunted House, which landed at number one on the Billboard Dance chart. With three EPs in the bag, the duo issued their first official full-length, Abandon Ship, in 2014. The set featured Simon Aldred ("EDM Trend Machine") and
Bryn Christopher ("Superstar"), charting just outside the Top 50 of the Billboard 200.
After the release of fourth EP, Trigger Warning, McGrillen and
Swire switched focus to other areas, only releasing a pair of collaborations with
Tom Morello (2016's "Battle Sirens") and
Pegboard Nerds (2018's "Harpoon"). In 2018, they also premiered a radio show they dubbed Knifecast, unveiling a previously unreleased track titled "Ghost Town." That song wound up on their fifth EP, 2019's Lost Souls, which also featured
Harrison on "Death & Desire." ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Andy Kellman