Los Angeles- Knower is a Los Angeles-based band whose core members are Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi.
Knower’s music can be classified as indie electronica, but when they have the players jam with them on stage, there’s nothing electronic about it.
Knower kicks ass.
Any questions?
I’ve been following Knower ever since I saw them open for Thundercat at The Regent back in 2015. I was intrigued with their complex musical arrangements and the sheer ferocity with which Louis Cole smashed his drum kit. Catchy melodies served as the earwig which got me hooked to their musical output, and over and over again they proved to me then that they were no generic indie electronic group. These guys knew music. Period.
The show at The Regent was decidedly more “electronic” in that Louis and Genevieve performed “solo” using, for the most part, “pre-taped” backing tracks. Their recent performance at The Federal was decidedly the antithesis of that gig.
Boasting a ridiculously skilled set of players to join them on stage at The Federal, Knower manifested their complex sonics live in real-time. With Sam Wilkes (Pratley, Avi Buffalo, Jacob Collier and Rozzie Crane) on bass, Sam Gendel (Atticus Ross, Inga, Inc.) on saxophone and Jonah Nilsson (Dirty Loops) on keys, they played with a skillful intensity that accentuated the sheer genius of the underlying music. Jazz … funk … progressive R&B … fusion … I can’t really quantify the music because it was an amalgam of so many different genres, and just too dope. Can that be a genre? “Too Dope”?
Louis served as the ringmaster, and once again his ferocious exuberance behind the drum kit shone through. Guiding the group with his frenetic yet perfectly timed rhythms, his playing was the heartbeat of the performance. His wild man aggression behind the kit resulted in drumsticks flying out of his hands at certain points during the performance, and if you didn’t have adrenaline coursing through your veins by the end of the show, I would have determined you to be less than human.
Genevieve had announced to the audience early on that she was under the weather, but perhaps the adrenaline that was pulsing through my system was concurrently flowing through hers as she sounded strong (and in tune) on vocals. Her excited demeanor on stage, accompanied by huge smiles and fervent dancing to the beat that Louis played was definitely not that of someone who was possibly bedridden a few hours earlier.
If Knower has another gig coming up, ee highly recommend that you check them out.
Follow Knower on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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LIVE CLIPS
Knower at Federal Bar 3/7/17. Review and photo gallery coming to @BlurredCulture soon! pic.twitter.com/cAGVCZMA9Z
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) March 21, 2017
Knower at Federal Bar 3/7/17. Review and photo gallery coming to @BlurredCulture soon! pic.twitter.com/rS5SA71lr0
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) March 21, 2017
Knower at Federal Bar 3/7/17. Review and photo gallery coming to @BlurredCulture soon! pic.twitter.com/lmADiWdwmP
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) March 21, 2017
Knower at Federal Bar 3/7/17. Review and photo gallery coming to @BlurredCulture soon! pic.twitter.com/nYSRHGAJ5R
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) March 21, 2017
