On December 29th, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen will return to New York City’s famed Pier 94 for the first time since Pier of Fier 2012, bringing along with them the 20-year-old Heldens. Now, we say we never saw this unlikely pairing coming, but the truth is we’ve known something was brewing between the Australian duo and Heldens for quite some time. Back in May, Heldens posted on Instagram that he and Swire had spent a long day together in the studio. No further updates from that studio day have come about, so perhaps that time has come. Could you imagine the crowd reaction if they reveal a Knife Party/Heldens collaboration at their show together? We can’t either.
Fans of Knife Party and fans of Oliver Heldens come from almost opposite ends of the dance music spectrum, but oddly this show makes perfect sense. Akin to a festival, whether Heldens precedes Knife Party or vice versa, you’re certain to get what you paid for. If Knife Party opens, you can bang your head around until your neck hurts, and bring the night to a close with a nice Heldens shuffle session. Or, if it’s the other way around, use that shuffle as a warmup before Knife Party hits you with the heaviest drum n’ bass around. Either way, you’re going home with a body full of sore muscles, having heard the best variety that dance music has to offer.