| Pitch Black | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genre: | Electronica |
| Years Active: | 1996–present |
| Label: | Kog Transmissions, Dubmission, Waveform, Wakyo, Remote |
| Website: | http://www.pitchblacknz.com/ |
| Current Members: | Michael Hodgson Paddy Free |
Pitch Black is a New Zealand electronica duo from Auckland.
Mike and Paddy met in 1996. Since then they have released six albums, four remix albums and been on six world tours.[1]
Their debut album, Futureproof, released in August 1998,[2] rose to the top of the New Zealand electronic charts, despite no marketing or advertising. Their second album, Electronomicon, followed in September 2000,[3] and led to a 30-date tour of New Zealand and Australia. Both albums spawned remix projects, featuring mixes by local bands International Observer, Epsilon-Blue and Downtown Brown.
Their third album, Ape to Angel, released in New Zealand on 4 October 2004,[4] gained critical acclaim. The "Ape to Angel" tour was the biggest to date, with 42 shows across the world, including their debut performances in United States. The remixes of this came out in New Zealand and Australia under the name "Halfway: between Ape and Angel"[5] and in Europe and America as "Frequencies Fall".[6]
Their fourth studio album was "Rude Mechanicals", released in 2007: it came out on the band's own label, Remote Recordings, in Australia and New Zealand; on the Wakyo label in Japan; and on Dubmission Records elsewhere in the world.[7] The remixes of this album came out as "Rhythm, Sound and Movement" in May 2009.[8]
On June 13, 2011, they released "Rarities + Remixes", a collection of their remixes of other artists plus three original tracks.[9] [10]
The fifth Pitch Black record "Filtered Senses" came out on 2 September 2016,[11] and was followed by a remix collection, "Invisible Circuits", on 7 July 2017.[12]
Their sixth studio album "Third Light" was released on 13 September 2019[13] and followed with a tour of New Zealand in October[14] and Europe in November.[15] A remix collection, "The Light Within", dropped on 10 July 2020.
On March 18, 2022, they released "Mixes + Mavericks", a collection of their remixes of other artists plus two live tracks and two studio anomalies.[16]
Pitch Black songs have been used on a variety of international film and media, such as Whale Rider and .[17] Also they have worked with Metia Interactive's Cube game for the PlayStation Portable, designing sound, and contributing music.[18]
| Date of Release | Title | Label | Chart | Certification | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | |||||
| 1998 | Futureproof | – | – | ||
| 1999 | Dub Obscura | – | – | ||
| 2000 | Electronomicon | – | – | ||
| 2001 | – | – | |||
| 2004 | Ape to Angel | – | – | ||
| 2005 | – | – | |||
| 2006 | Frequencies Fall | – | – | ||
| 2007 | Rude Mechanicals | – | – | ||
| 2009 | Rhythm, Sound and Movement | – | – | ||
| 2016 | Filtered Senses | ||||
| 2017 | Invisible Circuits | ||||
| 2019 | Third Light | ||||
| 2020 | The Light Within | ||||
| EPs | |||||
| 2002 | Electric Earth | – | – | ||
| 2003 | Flex | – | – | ||
The group have appeared on several compilations and soundtracks since their inception onto the New Zealand music scene. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by Pitch Black: