Kevin Joseph "KJ" Sawka is an American musician, record producer, and DJ. He plays drums in the bands

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

and

Destroid Destroid were a dubstep supergroup and live dubstep band consisting of Excision (production and midi-guitars), Downlink (production and midi-guitars), and Pendulum drummer KJ Sawka, with collaboration from Space Laces and Ajapai. The band rel ...

Career

KJ Sawka started his musical career at the age of twelve. At age eighteen, he developed an interest in

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

and started producing. Citing the drumming of Phil Collins as a major influence, Sawka uses a customized drumkit configured to enable greater improvisation, tailored to the type of music he is playing. In the studio, he favors electronic drum machines, while for live performances he primarily plays drums. In 2010 he became the drummer of

as the sole American member, appearing on their ''

Immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux#Immersion, Léo Quievreux * Immersion (album), ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian gro ...

'' album. The group reunited in 2016 for a single live show at

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, ...

, Miami, and subsequently went on tour in 2017. In 2012, together with producers Excision and Downlink, Sawka founded the supergroup

, of which he is the drummer. He founded the independent record label Impossible Records in 2015. Sawka currently endorses Tama, Meinl, Evans, Vater, Hammerax, Roland and Izotope. In 2021, Sawka reunited with friend and collaborator, Blake Lewis, to form the group, "The Private Language". Their first single, a cover of the

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

classic, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was released on

Black Hole Recordings Black Hole Recordings is a Dutch record label founded by Tijs Verwest (Tiësto) and Arny Bink in 1997. In August 2009, Tiësto decided to leave Black Hole Recordings, setting up the record label Musical Freedom in association with PIAS Entertai ...

and was shortly followed up by the release of their second single, "Cali Girls".

Discography

Solo

;Studio albums * 2005 – ''Synchronized Decompression'' * 2007 – ''Cyclonic Steel'' * 2009 – ''Undefined Connectivity'' ;Live albums * 2008 – ''Live at Chop Suey''

With Pendulum

* 2010 – ''

With Destroid

* 2013 – '' The Invasion'' * 2014 – '' The Invasion Remixes''

References

External links

* *
Interview with KJ Sawka at Only the Beat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawka, KJ Living people American dance musicians American DJs Drum and bass musicians People from Seattle Pendulum (drum and bass band) members Electronic dance music DJs 1977 births