I Knew Them
Encyclopedia
I Knew Them is a band that originates from Thessaloniki
, Greece. However, it is a band that differentiates itself from the Greek rock
movement, introducing elements from foreign rock
styles such as the Grunge
movement from Seattle, USA during the late 1980s and New York
's No-Wave from the early 1980s. They are one of the few Greek rock
bands that took their music way beyond the limits of Greece, more evidently by moving to the United Kingdom in 2006. It is also notable that they still retain all creative control of their creations, having non-exclusive cooperation with many indie
label
s from around the world.
, Greece, supporting Lydia Lunch
. Soon after that they recruited Wolf P. to take on Farfisa organ and bass guitar
duties. More shows were being booked everywhere, often by the side of many well known artists such as Big Sleep, Nikki Sudden
(Swell Maps
, The Jacobites), Raining Pleasure
, Dave Kusworth (The Jacobites, Dogs D'Amour
, Bounty Hunters) and many more local and international bands.
They released their first album called "Lying dead on the pavement" in November 2005 on their own label, Hairway Records. The album was distributed worldwide, under non-exclusive agreements with various labels including Abnormal Tapes & Distro (Ljubljana
, Slovenia), Hairway Industries (UK) and Alternative Records
(Greece). Soon after the physical release of this album, the band signed a contract with a digital distribution label, enabling iTunes
and Napster
users to download their album from the internet, being one of the first Greek rock
bands to ever do that.
By that time, Larry decided to drop out of the band to follow the safer path of proper university
studies, in the field of computer science
. I Knew Them soon recruited S. Joker who also dropped out to pursue a trading career so Spiraflas Skisoglou started performing on most appearances after that. Spiraflas posed as an ever present spiritual contribution to the band since they started in the first place, but was too bored to ever really participate.
I Knew Them had caught serious media attention at times but things got a bit out of hand when they played a 2006 New Year's Day
show with guest star Naked Caveman Joe, formerly of the likes of Personality Crisis
, TSOF and Five Star Hotel, who as the name implies, appeared on stage totally naked. This event was followed by phone calls by many large national TV channels, asking if the band would appear on midday trash-TV-gossip-shows for interviews. Of course, the band politely declined keeping their underground status.
Since early 2006, the band has also been busy with an experimental side-project they called I Forgot Them creating music and video from a different point of view. Their live appearances include a show with National Theatre of Greece
actors, recorded and used in an experimental theatre video for the National Theatre of Greece
called The Dead Boy and a show at a building construction site as part of an exhibition of the Fine Arts division of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
.
In the summer of 2006, after being totally sick and tired of playing the same old venues all around Greece for the 100th time, they decided to go on their first European tour. So a few months later, after completing a 8000 km road tour of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia
, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, and trying to settle in London, they decided they were not impressed by the London Underground
there and moved to Sheffield
instead. During that tour they headlined a gig in the infamous Metelkova
in Ljubljana
, performing a song by GG Allin
which they dedicated to the Inspectorate for the Environment and Spatial Planning, just a month before the demolition of the Small School took place.
During 2006, I Knew Them also finished recording their new album, called "The truth is in here", which was released in February 2007 by Hairway Records and distributed worldwide. Like their first album, this one is also featured in digital
music stores
like iTunes
and Napster
.
During January 2007, I Knew Them started their second European tour in their usual manner, driving themselves all around Europe in a small car packed with sound-gear. They started off with some UK dates, followed by some performances in the Balkans
, later continuing for western Europe and finishing off back in the UK in April. They headlined gigs in different kinds of spaces ranging from pubs to squats to large clubs, while doing some absurd interviews for TV and Radio stations and magazines. All of this, DIY, as usual.
Unfortunately, after their 2007 tour, Spiraflas Skisoglou decided to stop being an active member and return to his spiritual post. For the task, he initially moved permanently in a forest in Brighton
, where he could feel free to pursue his spiritual interests. A few months later, he returned to Greece to continue his Fine Arts studies while taking on a responsible dayjob. Around that same time and based on Spiraflas' decisions, Wolf announced that he will also need some time-off to finish highschool, as he had dropped out in 2005 to make time for the band's busy schedule. Jesus remained in their secret laboratory in Sheffield
, UK, taking up academic research in the field of Sonic Arts, while performing with the I Forgot Them side-project and his "Jesus is Angry" project.
In 2008, Jesus and Spiraflas formed the side-project "Jesus is Angry and your local god (who is hungry) proudly present: Choking Bishops", for a performance at the Noisefest
, organized annually by the DRMK collective in Ljubljana
, Slovenia. The performance featured the "Bob System", a home-made analogue
modular synthesizer
built by Jesus, and various industrial
percussion objects with piezoelectric elements. Although they do not perform as often as they used to, all three of the present I Knew Them members are constantly working individually on their own artistic projects.
, often including light shows, dramatic performance or live video synthesizer
projections. Their instruments and line-up vary from the usual I Knew Them gear. For this task, they use home-made or heavily modified analog synthesizer
s, circuit-bending, tape loops, drum machines and treated guitars. The line-up always includes at least one I Knew Them member, but has the form of a loose collective, often joined by different performers on each occasion. They are notorious for performing in weird places such as construction sites and moving vehicles.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece. However, it is a band that differentiates itself from the Greek rock
Greek rock
Rock and roll, spread around the world in the 1950s and 60s, entering Greece in the middle of the 60s. Greek rock performers in the field include Jimi Quidd , and Pavlos Sidiropoulos, the most important representative of Greek folk-rock and rock.-1960s:Greek rock , originated in the early 1960s with...
movement, introducing elements from foreign rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
styles such as the Grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
movement from Seattle, USA during the late 1980s and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's No-Wave from the early 1980s. They are one of the few Greek rock
Greek rock
Rock and roll, spread around the world in the 1950s and 60s, entering Greece in the middle of the 60s. Greek rock performers in the field include Jimi Quidd , and Pavlos Sidiropoulos, the most important representative of Greek folk-rock and rock.-1960s:Greek rock , originated in the early 1960s with...
bands that took their music way beyond the limits of Greece, more evidently by moving to the United Kingdom in 2006. It is also notable that they still retain all creative control of their creations, having non-exclusive cooperation with many indie
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
label
Label
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....
s from around the world.
History
I Knew Them formed in early 2003 in Greece, by two former classmates, Jesus H. and Larry E. Their first big show was on December 2004, at Ydrogeios Club in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece, supporting Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
. Soon after that they recruited Wolf P. to take on Farfisa organ and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
duties. More shows were being booked everywhere, often by the side of many well known artists such as Big Sleep, Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
(Swell Maps
Swell Maps
Swell Maps were an experimental English rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.Influenced by the disparate likes of T.Rex and the German progressive outfit, Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era...
, The Jacobites), Raining Pleasure
Raining Pleasure
Raining Pleasure is an Indie / Rock band originating from Patras, Greece, often credited with spearheading the newest wave of Greek bands with English lyrics. The band was formed in September 1990 under the name "Rest in Peace". A year after their formation the band started appearing live locally....
, Dave Kusworth (The Jacobites, Dogs D'Amour
Dogs D'Amour
The Dogs D'Amour were a rock and roll band formed in 1983 in London, England. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla....
, Bounty Hunters) and many more local and international bands.
They released their first album called "Lying dead on the pavement" in November 2005 on their own label, Hairway Records. The album was distributed worldwide, under non-exclusive agreements with various labels including Abnormal Tapes & Distro (Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia), Hairway Industries (UK) and Alternative Records
Alternative Records
Alternative Records was an independent record label based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The label started in 1989, and has not released an album since 1998....
(Greece). Soon after the physical release of this album, the band signed a contract with a digital distribution label, enabling iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
users to download their album from the internet, being one of the first Greek rock
Greek rock
Rock and roll, spread around the world in the 1950s and 60s, entering Greece in the middle of the 60s. Greek rock performers in the field include Jimi Quidd , and Pavlos Sidiropoulos, the most important representative of Greek folk-rock and rock.-1960s:Greek rock , originated in the early 1960s with...
bands to ever do that.
By that time, Larry decided to drop out of the band to follow the safer path of proper university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
studies, in the field of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
. I Knew Them soon recruited S. Joker who also dropped out to pursue a trading career so Spiraflas Skisoglou started performing on most appearances after that. Spiraflas posed as an ever present spiritual contribution to the band since they started in the first place, but was too bored to ever really participate.
I Knew Them had caught serious media attention at times but things got a bit out of hand when they played a 2006 New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
show with guest star Naked Caveman Joe, formerly of the likes of Personality Crisis
Personality Crisis (band)
Personality Crisis was a punk rock band formed in 1979 in Winnipeg, Canada. Personality Crisis is widely credited with having a more complex sound than most other punk rock bands of the early 1980s while retaining the power of the early 1980s punk sound....
, TSOF and Five Star Hotel, who as the name implies, appeared on stage totally naked. This event was followed by phone calls by many large national TV channels, asking if the band would appear on midday trash-TV-gossip-shows for interviews. Of course, the band politely declined keeping their underground status.
Since early 2006, the band has also been busy with an experimental side-project they called I Forgot Them creating music and video from a different point of view. Their live appearances include a show with National Theatre of Greece
National Theatre of Greece
The National Theatre of Greece is based in Athens, Greece.-History:The theatre was originally founded in 1880 with a grant from King George I and Efstratios Rallis to give theatre a permanent home in Athens...
actors, recorded and used in an experimental theatre video for the National Theatre of Greece
National Theatre of Greece
The National Theatre of Greece is based in Athens, Greece.-History:The theatre was originally founded in 1880 with a grant from King George I and Efstratios Rallis to give theatre a permanent home in Athens...
called The Dead Boy and a show at a building construction site as part of an exhibition of the Fine Arts division of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest Greek university, and the largest university in the Balkans. It was named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, Chalcidice, about 55 km east of Thessaloniki, in Central Macedonia...
.
In the summer of 2006, after being totally sick and tired of playing the same old venues all around Greece for the 100th time, they decided to go on their first European tour. So a few months later, after completing a 8000 km road tour of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, and trying to settle in London, they decided they were not impressed by the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
there and moved to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
instead. During that tour they headlined a gig in the infamous Metelkova
Metelkova
Metelkova City is an autonomous social centre in the centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is located on the site of former military barracks and was squatted September 1993. The site consists of seven buildings and was 12,500 m²...
in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, performing a song by GG Allin
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
which they dedicated to the Inspectorate for the Environment and Spatial Planning, just a month before the demolition of the Small School took place.
During 2006, I Knew Them also finished recording their new album, called "The truth is in here", which was released in February 2007 by Hairway Records and distributed worldwide. Like their first album, this one is also featured in digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
music stores
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
like iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
.
During January 2007, I Knew Them started their second European tour in their usual manner, driving themselves all around Europe in a small car packed with sound-gear. They started off with some UK dates, followed by some performances in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, later continuing for western Europe and finishing off back in the UK in April. They headlined gigs in different kinds of spaces ranging from pubs to squats to large clubs, while doing some absurd interviews for TV and Radio stations and magazines. All of this, DIY, as usual.
Unfortunately, after their 2007 tour, Spiraflas Skisoglou decided to stop being an active member and return to his spiritual post. For the task, he initially moved permanently in a forest in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, where he could feel free to pursue his spiritual interests. A few months later, he returned to Greece to continue his Fine Arts studies while taking on a responsible dayjob. Around that same time and based on Spiraflas' decisions, Wolf announced that he will also need some time-off to finish highschool, as he had dropped out in 2005 to make time for the band's busy schedule. Jesus remained in their secret laboratory in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, UK, taking up academic research in the field of Sonic Arts, while performing with the I Forgot Them side-project and his "Jesus is Angry" project.
In 2008, Jesus and Spiraflas formed the side-project "Jesus is Angry and your local god (who is hungry) proudly present: Choking Bishops", for a performance at the Noisefest
Noisefest
Noisefest is an annual experimental music festival taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, since 2001. Several artists from many different countries have participated through the years and the festival has developed a cult following. It is the only festival of its kind in this part of the world and...
, organized annually by the DRMK collective in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia. The performance featured the "Bob System", a home-made analogue
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizer
The modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
built by Jesus, and various industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
percussion objects with piezoelectric elements. Although they do not perform as often as they used to, all three of the present I Knew Them members are constantly working individually on their own artistic projects.
Band members
- Jesus H. (2003 until today)
- Wolf P. (early 2004 until today)
- Spiraflas S. (never and always)
- Larry E. (2003 to early-2006)
- Joker S. (early to mid 2006)
Albums
- "Lying dead on the pavement" (Hairway Records, 2005)
- "The truth is in here" (Hairway Records, 2007)
Singles/EP's/Soundtracks
- "Robotnik" (Jesus is Angry solo album, Hairway Records, 2003)
- "Radio Hostile Session" (EP, DIY, 2004)
- "The Metal Machinery" (IFT Video, Hairway Records, 2006)
- "Abandoned Radio Stations" (Jesus is Angry solo album, Hairway Records, 2006)
I Forgot Them
A side-project that started originally by Jesus and Wolf, who would perform experimental improvisational material, ranging from Electro-acoustic music to Industrial musicIndustrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, often including light shows, dramatic performance or live video synthesizer
Video synthesizer
A Video Synthesizer is a device that electronically creates a video signal.A video synthesizer is able to generate a variety of visual material without camera input through the use of internal video pattern generators, as seen in the stillframes of motion sequences shown above. It can also accept...
projections. Their instruments and line-up vary from the usual I Knew Them gear. For this task, they use home-made or heavily modified analog synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
s, circuit-bending, tape loops, drum machines and treated guitars. The line-up always includes at least one I Knew Them member, but has the form of a loose collective, often joined by different performers on each occasion. They are notorious for performing in weird places such as construction sites and moving vehicles.