The Knocks

The Knocks are an electronic music duo consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson. They are known for their own releases on labels like Kitsune, Neon Gold and A&M Octone-Interscope and for their remixes which feature prominently on HypeMachine, Beatport and various DJs.

History

The duo's name, "The Knocks," refers to the early days in their career when neighbors would knock on their door for playing music too loudly.^[1]

NME Magazine named The Knocks as one of the "20 hottest producers in music," and the group was featured frequently in NY Post's "Popwrap."^[2][3][4]

Before focusing on their own music and remixes they were producing beats and remixes for the likes of Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Marina & the Diamonds, Rihanna, Flo-Rida,^[5] Sky Ferreira, Theophilus London, Ellie Goulding and Others.

Releases

Their single "Make It Better", released on Neon Gold Records^[6] was used for a nationally televised Corona campaign.^[7] Philadelphia hip-hop band, Chiddy Bang, sampled The Knocks' "Blackout" for their single "Here We Go (Feat Q-Tip)" off their release, Chiddy Bang: The Preview.^[8] Chiddy Bang subsequently sampled The Knocks' "When You've Got Music" and "Dancing with the DJ" for their mixtape, Peanut Butter and Swelly.^[9]

Their single "Dancing With The DJ" was an instant online success. Their cover of "Midnight City" by M83 uploaded to SoundCloud, featuring vocals by Mandy Lee. In its first week alone, the song had 10,000 downloads.^[10] In June, the duo took the number one spot on HypeMachine with the track "Learn to Fly," which reached 100,000 plays on SoundCloud within a week of its release.

"Geronimo," a collaboration with French-Producer Fred Falke, was released on Kitsuné Records.^[11]

2013 brought another successful single as "Modern Hearts" earned the group another number one on HypeMachine and reached the 100,000 plays mark on SoundCloud in just four days.

Touring

The band have actively encouraged fans to set up after parties following their shows where they DJ. Typically these are at colleges, dorms, late night spots or anywhere available.

The Knocks’ first US tour was opening for Ellie Goulding. Opening for Dragonette's American/Canadian tour in 2012 they also played alongside Diplo, Justice, Boys Noize, and Knife Party on the Holy Ship!.[11] Through 2013 The Knocks began touring with Alex Clare [citation needed] and commenced a College tour with Grouplove.

The Knocks have shared the stage with artists such as Deadmau5, Skrillex, Big Boi, M.I.A., Sleigh Bells, Tiesto, Martin Solveig, Weezer, Die Antwoord, Two Door Cinema Club, and Calvin Harris.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

Controversy

Ahead of Daft Punk’s 2013 album release the band were accused of unmasking Daft Punk with photos of the band playing beer-pong with champagne glasses in Columbia Records’ offices.^[17] The band responded outlining they did not take the photos which were in fact a re-post from another user, and furthermore many pictures of Daft Punk without masks freely and openly exist.

Remixes

• The 1975 – “Girls”
• Grouplove – “Ways To Go”
• Tegan & Sara – “Closer”
• Monsieur Adi feat * A*M*E – “What’s Going On”
• Haim – “Forever”
• Goldroom – “Only You Can Show Me”
• Two Door Cinema Club – “Sleep Alone”
• Of Monsters & Men – “Little Talks”
• Youngblood Hawke – “We Come Running”
• Santigold – “The Keepers”
• Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
• Ellie Goulding – “Starry Eyed”
• Dragonette – “Let it Go”
• Katy Perry – “I Kissed a Girl”

References

External links

• HeavyRoc Music
• Muxtape
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Facebook