Rob Swire

Robert Swire-Thompson (born 5 November 1982)[1] is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ, best known as the founder and vocalist of the Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band Pendulum, as well as DJ and co-founder of electro house duo Knife Party formed of Swire and Gareth McGrillen. Originally from Perth, Western Australia, he relocated to the United Kingdom in 2003 with fellow Pendulum co-founders Gareth McGrillen and Paul “El Hornet” Harding. Swire has since fulfilled a broad spectrum of roles as a member of Pendulum, ranging from songwriting to singing while performing live with an unusual guitar-like MIDI controller – Starr Labs’ Ztar Z6S-XPA. Swire also plays guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, and other instruments. He is sometimes referred to by the stage name Anscenic.

Rob Swire was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. When he was a child, his family lived in Harare in Zimbabwe for five years.[2] During his residence, he created a song which was played on a local Zimbabwe radio station. He went to Scotch College, Swanbourne, graduating in 1999, where he first met bandmate Gareth McGrillen.[3] Over the next three years he worked as a record producer for several local drum and bass, breakbeat and metal bands, during which time he occasionally used the stage name “Anscenic”. He also made a couple of independent releases with former hardcore techno label Hardline Rekordingz, including a collaboration with the label’s founder, Animal Intelligence, which was titled “Fat American Bitchcore”.[4] Only twenty lathe cut copies of the record were distributed, to help promote the label’s 2001–2002 tour of New Zealand. Swire also produced a track titled “Electrodes on the Skull” which was released alongside three tracks by other artists signed to the label at that time.[5]