Who Knows Who
Encyclopedia
"Who Knows Who" is a collaboration
song by English alternative rock
band Muse
and English hip hop
artist Mike Skinner
. Not originally intended for official release, an early version of the song leaked
onto several Muse internet forum
s in August 2008. The song was officially released as the B-side to the 7" vinyl
edition of the single "Uprising
" on 7 September 2009. The lyrics were written by Skinner and the music was written by Muse's Matthew Bellamy
.
and had to be replaced by then-Streets bassist Morgan Nicholls
, who still contributes backing vocals, keyboards and synthesizers for Muse's live performances. The two acts first shared a stage at the 2006 Reading and Leeds Festivals
on 26 and 27 August, when Muse headlined the main stages. They also both played at the 2007 Big Day Out
festival, before Muse chose The Streets to play at the first of their two sell out performances at Wembley Stadium
on 16 June 2007. In 2008, Muse announced that they were planning a collaboration with Mike Skinner with the aim of creating "England's answer to Rage Against the Machine
". Frontman Matthew Bellamy
summed up his ambitions as "London rap-rock, just like a little one off. It might be a laugh!"
" by Led Zeppelin
) upon which Skinner recorded some vocals. It is not intended to be a serious release so we are happy for it to be leaked around unofficially. Hope you enjoy, Cheers. Matt, Dom & Chris."
Skinner has since downplayed the quality of the song, saying "We did the track and it felt really genuine, but a bit of a laugh as well. Then the label started getting too excited by it, so I fucked it off. I didn't really think it was that good." Despite this, he rapped a part of the song during his performance at the BBC Electric Proms
on 23 October.
Additional personnel
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
song by English alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
and English hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artist Mike Skinner
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
. Not originally intended for official release, an early version of the song leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
onto several Muse internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s in August 2008. The song was officially released as the B-side to the 7" vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
edition of the single "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
" on 7 September 2009. The lyrics were written by Skinner and the music was written by Muse's Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
.
Background
The first link between Muse and The Streets was created when Muse bassist Christopher Wolstenholme broke his wrist playing football shortly before the 2004 V FestivalV Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
and had to be replaced by then-Streets bassist Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Nicholls is an English musician, member of Senseless Things and best known for performing with Gorillaz, The Streets, Muse and most recently Lily Allen. He released one solo album under the name Morgan.-Career:...
, who still contributes backing vocals, keyboards and synthesizers for Muse's live performances. The two acts first shared a stage at the 2006 Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
on 26 and 27 August, when Muse headlined the main stages. They also both played at the 2007 Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
festival, before Muse chose The Streets to play at the first of their two sell out performances at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
on 16 June 2007. In 2008, Muse announced that they were planning a collaboration with Mike Skinner with the aim of creating "England's answer to Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
". Frontman Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
summed up his ambitions as "London rap-rock, just like a little one off. It might be a laugh!"
Leak
On August 2, a low-posting member by the name of "dopemc" uploaded an mp3 file entitled "Muse And The Streets - Who Knows Who" on the popular fan forum Muselive. After much debate and discussion among fans, Muse released an official note on their website explaining that "The MP3 floating around on the message boards at the moment is a track we recorded with Mike Skinner a few months ago. The track was the result of a late night jam session and something we did for a bit of a laugh featuring a blues riff we have been playing live recently (similar to "HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)
"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
" by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
) upon which Skinner recorded some vocals. It is not intended to be a serious release so we are happy for it to be leaked around unofficially. Hope you enjoy, Cheers. Matt, Dom & Chris."
Skinner has since downplayed the quality of the song, saying "We did the track and it felt really genuine, but a bit of a laugh as well. Then the label started getting too excited by it, so I fucked it off. I didn't really think it was that good." Despite this, he rapped a part of the song during his performance at the BBC Electric Proms
BBC Electric Proms
The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006-2010...
on 23 October.
Official release
"Who Knows Who" was officially released as the B-side to the 7" vinyl single "Uprising" in September 2009, just over a year after the original leak.Personnel
Musicians- Mike SkinnerThe StreetsThe Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Matthew BellamyMatthew BellamyMatthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Christopher Wolstenholme – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, production - Dominic HowardDominic HowardDominic James "Dom" Howard , is the drummer for the English rock band Muse.-Early life:Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, production
Additional personnel
- Morgan NichollsMorgan NichollsMorgan Nicholls is an English musician, member of Senseless Things and best known for performing with Gorillaz, The Streets, Muse and most recently Lily Allen. He released one solo album under the name Morgan.-Career:...
– vocal production - Rich CosteyRich CosteyRich Costey is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with many bands including Muse, Cave In, Thursday, Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas, The Mars Volta, Doves, Bloc Party, Ontronik , Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, Supergrass, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Nine...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Tommaso Colliva – engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...