The Knocks were formed in 2008 by James "JPatt" Patterson and Ben "DJ B-Roc" Ruttner. Patterson and Ruttner met at New York City's New School and shared an apartment, where they set up small recording studios in their bedrooms. The loud noise coming from their apartment led to neighbors constantly knocking on their door in order to get them to pipe down, hence the duo's name. Early success as remixers, however, enabled them to build their own studio in Manhattan. During 2008 and 2009, Knocks remixes surfaced for Katy Perry ("I Kissed a Girl"), Britney Spears ("3"), and PRGz ("Soul Glo"). B-Roc and Andrew W.K. also released DAMN! The Mixtape Vol. 1 in 2009, featuring several Knocks productions.
In 2010, the Knocks released their first singles, the sunny "Dancing with the DJ" (which later appeared on their 2011 EP Magic) and the whistling "Make It Better." Over the course of the next few years, the duo's profile was magnified by additional remixes for Tegan and Sara ("Closer"), the 1975 ("Girls"), and Dragonette ("Let It Go"), among others, in addition to tours with Ellie Goulding, Dragonette, and Sleigh Bells. They also collaborated with Fred Falke for the Kitsuné Music release "Geronimo" in 2012, as well as Treasure Fingers for "DYWT," released on Fool's Gold Clubhouse in 2014. Also in 2014, the group released an EP, titled Comfortable and released on the Neon Gold label, that included collaborations with X Ambassadors and Ra Ra Riot.
Signed to Big Beat, the Knocks slowed it down a bit for the 2014 single "Classic," one of their funkier and more disco-indebted singles, featuring Powers. An EP titled So Classic appeared in April 2015, followed by a new version of "Classic" featuring a verse by Fetty Wap. The Knocks spent much of the year working on their long-delayed debut album, which was previewed by the singles "I Wish (My Taylor Swift)" (with Matthew Koma) and "New York City" (featuring Cam'ron). Finally, in March 2016, the duo released their first full-length, 55, which included additional guest appearances from Wyclef Jean, Walk the Moon, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alex Newell, and Semi-Precious Weapons' Justin Trantor. That July, the pair remixed selected tracks from the album on the 55.5 EP.
In early 2017, the Knocks released Testify, an EP of new songs featuring collaborations with MNEK, Delacey, and Tayla Parx. Later that year, the duo teamed up with Skylar Spence and released a future funk mixtape as Amelia Airhorn. They also formed the Mary Nixons, a group with Mat Zo, and issued the single "Adrian." They followed with the Captain Cuts collaboration "House Party." July 2018 saw the release of the single "Shades" which appeared later that year on the Knocks' second full-length, New York Narcotic. The album also featured contributions from Method Man, Sofi Tukker, and Foster the People.
2019 brought several singles, including the Kah-Lo collaboration "Awa Ni" and "Lucky Me" (with Great Good Fine Ok). Most of these were collected on the EP Summer Series: 2019. Several more singles arrived in 2020, including "One Fine Day" (with Idris Elba), "Bodies" (with MUNA), and "All About You" (featuring Foster the People). The following year, they released Melody & Silence, an EP with Foster the People that included a remix of the single, as well as covers of hits by Beck, Moby, and the Verve. Also in 2021, the Knocks released "R U High" (featuring Mallrat) and "Sound the Alarm" (featuring Rivers Cuomo and Royal & the Serpent), and were featured on Purple Disco Machine's "Fireworks." The following year saw the release of the full-length effort, HISTORY, which featured collaborations with Foster the People, MUNA, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Cold War Kids, Parson James, and Yoke Lore, among others.
Biography by Andy Kellman
All About You
The Knocks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been hanging on to a sad love song
Nights never came to dawn
They went on and on
When you pulled me out
And before I knew it
I became all about you
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
Days, they'd felt so lost
I was so far gone
Hanging upside down
Nights, were my only friend
My distraction
When you pulled me out
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
Before I knew it
Before I knew it
There was nothing to it
Before I knew it
I became all about you
All about you
All about you
All about you
I said
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
I became all about you
I became all about you
The song "All About You" by The Knocks featuring Foster The People is a reflective piece about being lost in a sad love song and feeling detached from the world, but finding a sense of purpose and direction when someone special pulls you out from your darkness. The lyrics paint a picture of the singer being lost and disconnected, with days feeling long and nights never ending. However, when this person comes into their life, everything changes, and they become all about them. This sudden shift is portrayed as something that happened before they even realized it; that's how deep the effect of this person was on them.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Before I knew it, I became all about you" several times, emphasizing how quickly this person's presence took over the singer's life. It's a beautiful expression of the transformative power of love, and how it can reverse feelings of isolation and disconnection. Ultimately, the song is a tribute to the transformative power of love and the life-changing influence of being pulled out of the darkness by someone who loves you.
Line by Line Meaning
Days, they can feel so long
The singer feels that time passes slowly
I've been hanging on to a sad love song
The singer has been dwelling on a depressing love tune
Nights never came to dawn
The nights seemed to stretch on forever without ever transitioning to daylight
They went on and on
The nights felt endless
When you pulled me out
The arrival of the person being addressed changed the artist's situation
And before I knew it
The singer didn't realize how quickly things changed
I became all about you
The singer's focus shifted solely to the person being addressed
Days, they'd felt so lost
The artist had been directionless and adrift
I was so far gone
The artist was deeply entrenched in their state of mind
Hanging upside down
The artist felt disoriented and emotionally unstable
Nights, were my only friend
The only comfort the singer found was in the nighttime
My distraction
The artist used the night as a way to forget their problems
Before I knew it
The singer didn't realize how much time had passed
There was nothing to it
The shift in focus to the person being addressed felt natural and easy
All about you
The singer's sole preoccupation was with the person being addressed
I said
The artist is expressing themselves
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Cloud9, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Benjamin Michael Ruttner, Composer Author Unknown, James Patterson, Kaelyn Behr, Luke Leslie O'loughlin, Mark Derek Foster
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AnaLucia-ph4xv
Days, they can feel so long
I've been hanging on to a sad love song
Nights never came to dawn
They went on and on
When you pulled me out
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
Days, they'd felt so lost
I was so far gone
Hanging upside down
Nights, were my only friend
My distraction
When you pulled me out
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
Before I knew it
Before I knew it
There was nothing to it
Before I knew it
I became all about you
All about you
All about you
All about you
I said
And before I knew it
I became all about you
I became all about you
I became all about you
I became all about you
@julianmazzola23
This was filmed right down the block from where I live! It’s surreal because when the song first came out I would listen to it on repeat and go for walks in this area, pretending I was in a music video. I think they stole my concept...
@dominicdefelice7974
What city?
@julianmazzola23
@Nick D the financial district in NYC!
@robynw7920
Maybe not stole but we're inspired? 🙂
@julianmazzola23
@Robyn W nah they watched me and stole it. I’m suing.
@adrianarodriguezramirez6863
And you didn't see when they filmed the video?
@waterglas21
Foster the people its one of the most underrated bands of this era
@Julzchomovitch00
I'd say The Knocks are, but I like FTP too
@natalieyoung9995
I so agree praise be FTP!
@brandonmoseley4447
I love them. Think they were recently dropped by their record label though. Kind of concerning.