Knower (duo)

Knower, also stylized as KNOWER, is an American independent electronic jazz-funk duo. The group primarily consists of Louis Cole (bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, vocals) and Genevieve Artadi (bass, keyboards, vocals); their full band includes saxophone, bass and keyboard players. They have gained success releasing music online.

History

Early years and formation

Louis Cole studied music in Los Angeles, California, graduating from the jazz studies program at USC Thornton in 2009. He became good friends with fellow musician Jack Conte in 2006. Both composed and recorded some songs, which are present on Conte's YouTube channel. Conte suggested Cole start releasing his music online. Genevieve Artadi also studied music in Los Angeles. She received her bachelor's degree in jazz studies at California State University (CSU) Northridge and did post-graduate studies at CSU Long Beach.

Cole and Artadi met through the LA-based saxophonist Robby Marshall. In 2009 Cole and Artadi joined forces.

Career

Knower released their first album in 2010. In early 2010, the group began to upload their music to YouTube. Their first video, a cover of Britney Spears's song "3" got a lot of hits quickly thanks to Jack Conte promoting it on YouTube. Another early video release, "Window Shop" (originally recorded on Louis Cole's first album) also got a lot of hits thanks to a front page YouTube feature. In this same year, they released their debut album, ''Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi''.

In 2011, their second album ''Think Thoughts'' was released. Songs such as "Around" and "I Remember" presented some heavy funk grooves. Soon after the release of this album, the group collaborated with Pomplamoose to release a single, "It Goes On." Sporting the group's distinctive electro-funk sound, the single brought increased visibility to the duo.

''Let Go'', Knower's third album, was released in 2013. They followed the release of ''Let Go'' with a performance at Bonnaroo Festival with Soul Khan, Jenny Suk, and Black Violin. Knower also went on a tour of the east coast United States with duo WeYou, consisting of Nate Wood and Jesske Hume.

In 2014, Knower released the non-album single "I Must Be Dreaming", and toured the East Coast and the South. They were also presented by Quincy Jones in a new artist concert series in Los Angeles. Their song "Fuck the Makeup, Skip the Shower" was featured on ''FlyLo FM'' (hosted by Flying Lotus) on the next-gen version of ''Grand Theft Auto V''.

In 2015, Knower recorded with Snarky Puppy on their ''Family Dinner – Volume 2''.

In 2016 they released their fourth album, ''Life'', and formed a 5-piece live band as an alternative lineup. Apart from the core members, the band at various points included Tim Lefebvre, Dennis Hamm, Sam Wilkes, Sam Gendel, Nate Wood and Jonah Nilsson. Their European tour of 2016, as well as parts of the US tour, featured the live band.

In July 2017, Knower opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in four major European cities, and since that year they have performed in many European cities with the Norrbotten Big Band of Sweden.

In 2018, Knower toured Europe, China, Japan, and the US, continuing the live band formation and also unveiling a renovated duo set with Artadi and Cole.

In 2019, Knower collaborated with Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band for a performance at JazzFest Bonn while also releasing videos of rehearsal sessions in studio in Cologne. They also expanded their touring that year, travelling to South Africa and South America, including Rapa Nui.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair released a "living room power set" onto their YouTube Channel, which included live performances of "Overtime", "Time Traveler", "Pizza", and "It's Time", among other songs.

Their fifth album, ''Knower Forever'', was released exclusively on Bandcamp as a paid digital download and physical LP in June 2023, along with three free songs publicly available on YouTube; "I'm The President", "The Abyss" and "Crash The Car", to commercial success. Knower also included a choir, along with strings and brass sections on a lot of the songs on this album. The album was later released across other streaming platforms in October 2023.

Members

Core members
* Genevieve Artadi – lead vocals, keyboards, bass (2009–present)
* Louis Cole – drums, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
Additional and former additional members
* Adam Ratner – guitar
* Amber Navran – flute
* Aya Toyoshima – trombone
* Blaine McGurty – keyboard
* Chiquita Magic – keyboard, backing vocals
* Cory Wong – guitar
* Danielle Firouzi – piano
* David Binney – saxophone
* Dennis Hamm – keyboard
* Eldar Djangirov – keyboard
* Jack Conte – keyboard, drums
* Jacob Mann – keyboard
* John Escreet – piano
* Jonah Nilsson – keyboard
* MonoNeon – bass
* Nataly Dawn – bass, backing vocals
* Nicholas Semrad – keyboard
* Rai Thistlethwayte – keyboard
* Paul Cornish – keyboard, piano
* Petter Olofsson – bass
* Sam Gendel – saxophone
* Sam Wilkes – bass
* Sammy Stephens – vocals
* Thom Gill – guitar, backing vocals
* Tim Lefebvre – bass
* Vikram Devasthali – raps, trombone

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

*
*Knower'
Bandcamp page

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Musical groups established in 2009
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical duos from California
American jazz fusion ensembles
American electronic music duos