Harpoon (Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds song)

"Harpoon" is a song by Australian electronic music duo Knife Party and Danish-Norwegian electronic music group Pegboard Nerds. Canadian record label Monstercat released it on 26 July 2018 as the first single from Pegboard Nerds' sixth EP, Full Hearts.

"Harpoon"
Single by Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds
from the EP Full Hearts
Released	26 July 2018 (2018-07-26)
Genre	Electro house
Length	5:52
Label	Monstercat
Songwriter(s)	Rob Swire Gareth McGrillen Alexander Odden Michael Parsberg [1]
Producer(s)	Rob Swire Gareth McGrillen Alexander Odden Michael Parsberg
Knife Party singles chronology
"Battle Sirens" (2016) "Harpoon" (2018) "Lost Souls" (2019)
Pegboard Nerds singles chronology
"Escape" (2018) "Harpoon" (2018) "Steel" (2018)
Music video
"Harpoon" on YouTube

Background and release

Alexander Odden and Michael Parsberg of Pegboard Nerds initially sent a concept for the collaboration to Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen of Knife Party, which Swire immediately recorded vocals for. Odden and Parsberg liked the vocals and flew to London for a week to work on the collaboration with Swire and McGrillen in the latter's studio. The song title comes from the main melody used in the song, which Odden and Parsberg described as a harp or middle eastern instrument. Odden briefly saved the melody as "Superharp", though he disliked the name and changed it to "Harpoon".^[2]

On 9 May 2018, Swire announced a collaboration between Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds. In a Twitter post, Swire wrote that Odden and Parsberg "reminded me that house music is better when you use cool synths, and I taught them that dubstep just leads to ass-eating competitions."^[3][4][5] Odden and Parsberg debuted the song at Dreamhack Austin 2018, featuring Swire's pitched-up vocals.^[6][7][8]

It was the fourth and last song to be released as part of #NERDWEEK, after the previous release "Escape", a collaboration between Pegboard Nerds and Dutch electronic music producer Dion Timmer.^[9] The song was released as part of Pegboard Nerd's sixth extended play titled Full Hearts released on 27 July 2018. It was the first track on the EP, which also includes four other songs.^[10]

Critical reception

Your EDM's Matthew Meadow called the song one of the "biggest electro songs of the year" and as one of Monstercat's "biggest tracks this year."^[9] Maria Clinton of EDM Identity wrote that the lyrics lead into an "a fantastic voyage full of quirky Pegboard Nerds character and a drop that reads Knife Party all over it.^[11] Writing for Run The Trap, Omar Serrano described Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds as two of "dance music's most revered acts", writing that the song was a "heart-pounding single boasts a boisterous and uplifting build that gives way to a piercing Electro drop that provides the unrelenting tune with its fast pace energy."^[12] Jake Gable of We Rave You described the song as "synth-focused music that would look at home in a 90’s inspired video game."^[13]

Track listing

Digital download^[14]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Harpoon"	5:52
Total length:		5:52

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	26 July 2018	Digital download	"Harpoon" - Single	Monstercat	[9]
	27 July 2018		Full Hearts		[15]

References

1. "ASCAP Repertory entry for this song". ASCAP. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
2. "Interview With Pegboard Nerds On Highly Anticipated Collab With Knife Party "Harpoon" [Exclusive]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
3. "Rob Swire Spills The Beans On A New Knife Party Collab". Your EDM. 10 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
4. "Seems Like There's Some Heat Cooking Between Knife Party & Pegboard Nerds". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
5. "Knife Party & Pegboard Nerds Collab In The Works". EDMTunes. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
6. "FIRST LISTEN: Pegboard Nerds Debut Raw New Collab with Knife Party [VIDEO]". Your EDM. 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
7. Stevo (3 July 2018). "Pegboard Nerds Play Unreleased Knife Party Collaboration [LISTEN]". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
8. "Pegboard Nerds Debut Forthcoming Knife Party Collaboration". EDMTunes. 3 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
9. "Knife Party & Pegboard Nerds Unleash New Collab & It's A Total Electro Banger". Your EDM. 26 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
10. "Pegboard Nerds have 'Full Hearts' in their latest maniacal bass EP - EARMILK". EARMILK. 28 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
11. "Pegboard Nerds Drop Knife Party Collab"Harpoon" Ahead of New EP!". EDM Identity. 26 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
12. "Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds Unleash Colossal hit "Harpoon"". Run The Trap: The Best EDM, Hip Hop & Trap Music. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
13. "Knife Party and Pegboard Nerds team up to release 'Harpoon'". We Rave You. 26 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
14. Harpoon - Single by Knife Party & Pegboard Nerds, 26 July 2018, archived from the original on 30 July 2018, retrieved 30 July 2018
15. "Pegboard Nerds Break Down 'Full Hearts' EP, Track-by-Track: Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.