''Knower Forever'' is the fifth studio album by American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

duo Knower. It was

self-released Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

on June 2, 2023. Recording was done sometime in 2023 at the house of member

Louis Cole Louis Maxwell Cole (born December 5, 1986) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and video producer who is the drummer, keyboardist, bassist and occasional singer of the independent electronic jazz-funk duo Knower. He is sp ...

, who was responsible for the album's

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

. Musically, ''Knower Forever'' diverts from the duo's four previous albums, featuring an experimental sound with

avant-pop Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...

and jazz-funk whilst continuing their theme of humorous and vulgar lyrics. The album was first released exclusively on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, and was promoted with a series of home-made videos. Its success on the platform resulted in a vinyl campaign, which preceded its release onto streaming platforms. ''Knower Forever'' received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

Background and recording

The last album released by Knower was ''Life'' in 2016, an electronic record. From that year onwards, Knower expanded their lineup and began performing as a live band, with members including

David Binney David Binney (born August 2, 1961) is an American alto saxophonist and composer. Early life Binney was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Carpinteria, California. From his parents, who loved music, he was exposed to albums by John Colt ...

Sam Gendel Sam Gendel is an American saxophonist and music producer. Career With bassist Sam Wilkes, Gendel released the live jazz album ''Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar'' in 2018. Gendel co-wrote the tracks "Flower Moon" and "Spring Snow" on Vampir ...

, Thom Gill, Dennis Hamm, Jacob Mann,

Rai Thistlethwayte Rai Thistlethwayte (born 21 April 1980) is an Australian rock, pop and jazz musician and songwriter. Thistlethwayte is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter in the Aust ...

, and

Sam Wilkes Sam Wilkes (born July 22, 1991) is an American bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer. He has collaborated extensively with jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and toured as a member of jazz-funk band Knower. Wilkes has released s ...

. ''Knower Forever'' was recorded at Cole's house sometime in 2023; neither Cole or

Genevieve Artadi Genevieve Veronica Artadi (born July 1, 1982) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and video producer who is the lead vocalist and occasional instrumentalist of the independent electronic jazz-funk duo Knower. She was previously the lea ...

revealed the dates of recording or production. Unlike their four previous albums which were produced exclusively by the duo, ''Knower Forever'' features performances and production from several musicians including Binney, Gendel, Thistlethwayte and Wilkes.

Release and promotion

Knower announced the release of ''Knower Forever'' in May 2023 as a

exclusive, citing low payment from Spotify and other streaming services as their reason for doing so. "I'm the President", "The Abyss", and "Crash the Car" were released as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

that month to promote the album, alongside a series of

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s with a DIY style the band is known for. ''Knower Forever'' was released on Bandcamp on June 2, 2023, and it was followed by a vinyl campaign. It was released on streaming platforms in October of that same year.

Reception

''Knower Forever'' received positive reviews from

. Zoe Camp of ''Bandcamp Daily'' ranked ''Knower Forever'' among their best albums of the year, believing the duo "are certainly at home basking in

muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments owned by Mood Media. The name ''Muzak'', a blend of music and the popular camera brand name Kodak, has been in use since 1934 and has been ...

's creature comforts, from the hermetically sealed vocals of

city pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in popularity during the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced " new music", but came to include a wide range of st ...

to the tonal warmth of

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

." James Rettig of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' described it as "alternately squelching and smooth, and there are a whole lot of instruments backing Artadi as she talks some shit and pumps herself up." The same publication later included "I'm the President" in a "Best Songs of the Week" list, praising its "horn flourishes, a backing choir, and a completely wild song structure that leapfrogs from bass-driven funk to high school marching band to mind-bending free jazz." James Sissler of ''Live for Live Music'' praised its variety, noting its switches from "aggressively funky and unashamedly silly" to "breathtaking melodies and epic orchestration". Writers of ''Song Bar'' called the record a "jazz-funk tour de force LP of outstanding musicianship, infinite energy, humour and invention", and praised the duo and supporting band. Tony Wolski of

The Armed The Armed (often iconized as ⋈) are an anonymous American hardcore punk musical collective, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 2009. Although no official members of the group are known for absolute certain, the collective has been represented in th ...

called ''Knower Forever'' one of his favorite albums of the year, stating that "It’s no secret that Louis Cole is an absolute force on drums. But Genevieve Artadi is the unsung MVP of this, making effortless melodies that get stuck in your head for days out of such unprecious, understated staccato utterances." The duo revealed that "for the first time ever, we made a shitload of money from an album" thanks to the success of the Bandcamp campaign.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Knower Forever'' liner notes.''Knower Forever'' (CD liner notes). Knower. 2023. Musicians *

– drums, piano, keyboard, production, mixing, mastering *

– vocals *

– saxophone * chiquitamagic – keyboard *

MonoNeon Dywane Eric Thomas Jr. (born August 6, 1990), professionally known as MonoNeon, is an American bassist, experimental musician, singer and songwriter. His work, spanning multiple experimental projects and collaborations, including with American ...

– bass * Paul Cornish – keyboard, piano *

– saxophone * Jacob Mann – keyboard *

– keyboard, piano *

– bass Additional musicians * Leah Zeger – violin * Lily Honigberg – violin * Megan Shung – violin * Yu-Ting Wu – violin * Chrysanthe Tan – violin * Sabrina Parry – violin * Nora Germain – violin * Tylana Renga – violin * Tom Lea – viola * Ethan Moffitt – viola * Daniel Jacobs – viola * Lauren Baba – viola * Isaiah Gage – cello * Chris Votek – cello * Niall Ferguson – cello * Emily Elkin – cello * Karl McComas-Reichl – bass * Logan Kane – bass * Robert Murray – tuba * Corbin Jones – sousaphone * Kyle Richter – sousaphone * Jon Hatamiya – trombone * Vikram Devasthali – trombone * Mariel Austin – trombone * Nick Platoff – bass trombone * Aidan Lombard – trumpet * Aaron Janik – trumpet * Andris Mattson – trumpet * Chris Clarkson – trumpet * Rob Sheppard – flute * Amber Navran – flute * Henry Solomon – flute * Kathryn Shuman – choir * Mikaela Elson – choir * Dyasono – choir * Micaela Tobin – choir * Jessica Freedman – choir * Rayah Clarkson – choir * Alexandra Domingo – choir * Sharon Kim – choir * Linnea Sablosky – choir * Katharine Eames – choir * Glynis Davies – choir * Michael Kohl – choir * Jeff Eames – choir * VJ Rosales – choir * Brett McDermid – choir * Luc Kleiner – choir * Sean Fitzpatrick – choir

References

{{Reflist 2023 albums Jazz-funk albums Avant-pop albums Experimental music albums by American artists Jazz albums by American artists Funk albums by American artists