ISOKNOCK – the boundary-pushing duo composed of ISOxo and Knock2 – have just released their surprise debut album, ‘4EVR’, an unexpected drop that exemplifies the pair’s fervent drive to redefine the next decade of dance music.
‘4EVR’ is an eight-track masterclass on radical, runaway imagination. The album sees ISOKNOCK flip electronic convention on its head, filtering thrashing trap beats, experimental production, and vintage dance-pop through a punk rock lens – a genre-defying approach that leads to a bracingly-original body of work.
‘4EVR’ is an album for the current moment, using potent maximalism to speak to the disaffected youth. ISOKNOCK are asking their audience to embrace life’s pains and wear their hearts on their sleeves – a vivid sense of empowerment transmuted by the duo’s grungy, moshpit-inducing production. In a scene often muddled by aimless positivity, ISOKNOCK are disrupting the status quo of mainstream dance music through rare subversive expression.
Alongside the release of ‘4EVR’, ISOKNOCK have unveiled a special short film and music video for the album’s title track, both co-directed by Mitchell Mullins and Zach Okami. Exploring a mysterious relationship between a biker and a young woman falling in love at an underground party, the short film premiered at a gallery exhibit and album release event at Los Angeles’ LOT 613 on Wednesday, July 31.
The gallery exhibit traced the parallel timelines of ISOxo and Knock2’s rise from their humble beginnings, and was capped off by a surprise ISOKNOCK performance of the new LP.
The event was a fitting celebration for the rapturous album, capping years of unceasing momentum for the joint collaborative project – a duration that’s seen the long-time friends conquer the electronic music world.
The San Diego-natives first met at the San Diego County Fair as young teenagers (while performing at the same local stage), forming an immediate bond defined by a shared desire to shake-up the foundations of dance music – a passion that informed their parallel trajectories leading into this momentous debut LP.
As the two artists ascended as individuals – playing packed-out renegade shows, performing at major international music festivals, and collaborating with icons such as Skrillex and RL Grime – they’ve also evolved across multiple iterations of ISOKNOCK. Stemming from humble beginnings as a b2b SoundCloud guest mix back in 2019, the pair have recently culminated with four consecutive sold out shows at the Shrine Auditorium last fall, their packed-out, primetime Sahara Tent performance at this year’s Coachella, as well as two sold out sets at Seattle’s WAMU Theater and Brooklyn’s Under The K Bridge in May.
The gallery exhibit traced the parallel timelines of ISOxo and Knock2’s rise from their humble beginnings, and was capped off by a surprise ISOKNOCK performance of the new LP.
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Now, with their ‘4EVR’ album, ISOKNOCK share a full-length project that showcases their inextricable creative sensibilities. Reflecting the duo’s rockstar attitude, ‘4EVR’ translates ISOKNOCK’s dramatic visual flair and reputation for extravagant live musical set pieces into a raucous album listening experience. As a result, the duo circumvent expectations of what an electronic act is supposed to look and sound like, all while solidifying themselves as an iconoclastic model for a new generation of electronic music fans.
‘4EVR’ releases via renowned label/collective 88rising – the revolutionary imprint that has paved new ground for AAPI artists, making it the perfect home for these dance music disruptors.
Listeners unwittingly got their first taste of ‘4EVR’ with the surprise LP’s spontaneous single, “SMACK TALK” – a collaboration with trap pioneer RL Grime. The track follows RL Grime’s years of organic synergism alongside ISOKNOCK, including his electric b2b set with Knock2 at this year’s Ultra Music Festival (which also featured an impromptu appearance from ISOxo). Recontextualizing the classic festival trap sound, “SMACK TALK” represents a passing of the torch: a symbolic undertaking that sees ISOKNOCK taking RL Grime’s pioneering formula and revolutionizing it for a new age.
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ISOKNOCK’s genre deconstruction continues on the title track “4EVR,” which features sigilcore vocalist cade clair. Kicking off with futuristic synth melodies before introducing cathartic dance-pop bass stabs and infectious emo vocal crooning from cade clair, “4EVR” builds with Jersey Club drum rhythms and panoramic trance synth chord progressions. The track then drops into a thumping, Eurodance-inspired instrumental before transitioning into a rage-inspired trap beat and closing out with an epic, cinematic synth lead – concluding a song that twists a host of modern and vintage aesthetic tropes into a decidedly fresh, modern perspective.
The tracklist for ‘4EVR’ begins with “THRASH (PARTY STARTER),” an appropriately-titled song that kicks off with harrowing sirens and heart-dropping, euphoric synth melodies. The track then builds into its explosive trap drop, a section filled to the brim with visceral distortion, trunk-rattling kick drums, and snappy, reverberating snare hits. Continuing the album’s characteristic genre traversal, “TRASH (PARTY STARTER)” finishes with a cacophony of palpitating rave hardcore elements, wrapping the track with a warehouse party atmosphere.
The album continues with “ENERGY,” a collaboration with Zimbabwe-bred vocalist Bantu that filters bass house formulas and Afrobeat-inspired drum rhythms through ISOKNOCK’s signature maximalist approach.
‘4EVR’ is then rounded out by the propulsive, percussion-oriented “PAIN”; the futuristic, climatic trap banger “SIGNAL,” featuring vocalist Dava; and the emotional, R&B-inspired “BLIND,” featuring vocalists Araya and Sur Black.
Audacious, grandiose, and stacked with vivid production details, ‘4EVR’ positions ISOKNOCK as pop stars ready to be the face of electronic music’s future. More than that, the album acutely translates the duo’s close creative synergy – a chemistry made possible by their long-standing friendship and mutual artistic instincts. ‘4EVR’ takes listeners across a gauntlet of music genres throughout its tracklist, but it never loses sight of ISOKNOCK’s finely-tuned creative and thematic vision – a precise execution that proliferates a timeless aura around the entire project, ensuring it to inspire electronic music fans for years to come.
ISOKNOCK tour dates
9/1/24: Chicago, IL – North Coast Music Festival
9/14/24 – 9/15/24: Tokyo, JP – ULTRA Japan 2024
