ISOKNOCK - the collaborative project between ISOxo & Knock2 - release “SMACK TALK” on the heels of their acclaimed Coachella debut performance, and sold-out shows in Brooklyn and Seattle
ISOKNOCK, the collaborative duo between modern electronic music pioneers ISOxo and Knock2, are redefining the parameters of their genre. After meeting at the San Diego County Fair as young teenagers (while performing at the same local stage), the San Diego-natives struck an immediate connection, forming a bond defined by a shared desire to shake-up the foundations of dance music.
Years later, the two producers have nurtured their ISOxo and Knock2 projects while fortifying their collaborative identity through the ISOKNOCK moniker. As they’ve 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 run through multiple iterations of ISOKNOCK. Starting as a SoundCloud guest mix in 2019, the duo project has recently culminated with four consecutive sold out shows at the Shrine Auditorium last fall, their Sahara Tent-closing set 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.
As a result, the two young talents have disrupted the industry through a punk-rock attitude, dramatic visual flair, and penchant for translating controlled chaos into extravagant musical set pieces.
Today, ISOKNOCK maintain that unceasing momentum with their new single “SMACK TALK,” the duo’s first official track together since 2019’s “RADIAL” and a collaboration with trap innovator RL Grime. It’s a fitting team-up for the milestone release, as RL Grime has been an ardent champion of the two artists for years, having released “RADIAL” on his Sable Valley imprint, taken them on Sable Valley tours, featured ISOxo on his 2023 album, and gone b2b with Knock2 for a festival-highlight set at this year’s Ultra Music Festival.
After debuting “SMACK TALK” at that now-deified Ultra set (which included a surprise guest appearance from ISOxo), fans can now hear the song in all its glory - a genre-blending, stadium-ready masterclass combining hip-hop stylings with an assortment of different dance music aesthetics. Recontextualizing that 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.
Kicking off with harrowing hymnal chants, “SMACK TALK” slowly builds with orchestral percussion elements and extra-terrestrial sound design. The track then transitions into a blazing, rage beat-inspired synth chord progression - a heart-pumping section complemented by a bed of distortion and futuristic, arpeggiated synth melodies. The song then begins another build, combining an infectious vocal sample with propulsive rhythms before dropping into hardstyle kickdrums that quickly give way to the song’s monstrous trap beat.
Within this central section is a lavish display of production talent, and an excursion through a history of electronic music, combing stuttering hi-hats, trunk-rattling trap rhythms, hypnotizing metallic snare hits, gliding 808s, Jersey Club kick drums, and a mesmerizing synth melody into a cacophony of dance music euphoria.
By capturing ISOKNOCK’s spry, rule-breaking energy filtered through RL Grime’s veteran understanding of sonic scale, “SMACK TALK” combines the eclectic, refreshing sensibilities of its kindred spirit collaborators - and paves new ground for a new dance music formula in its wake.
