We had an unbelievable time at Sweet Life Festival this past Saturday at Merriweather Post Pavilion, so we figured it would be great to spotlight on an artist that really stood out to us, The Knocks. This New York City duo consisting of Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “Jpatt” Patterson, first caught my eye when my good buddy Manila Killa threw in TheFatRat Remix to their classic feel good track, Brightside in one of his mixes.

But what was it about The Knocks that really drew me in? As they mentioned in their bio, everyone can now make music with the increasing access to 'music related technology,' so what really gives artists the ability to manipulate sounds to get that unique style? Well, for starters, the grammatical error mashup title combinations can stop, which would filter out a good portion of the crappy music out there. Then we can really narrow down to the growing fresh jams of todays dance music world. But let's first take a dive into the beginning of the journey of these two dudes.

First off, the name couldn't have been any better than it is. As home studio producers early on, Ben and James always had to deal with the complaining neighbors who would knock on their doors to keep it down. It really is one of those moments where these two producers had to go with it and develop a brand based off of the spontaneity of the moment.

They have since produced unreal original material and remixes the ever popular remixes of Britney Spears, Marina & the Diamonds and the lovely Katy Perry. But what really drew me in was their feature cover of M83's Midnight City feat. Mandy Lee. Featured on Tiesto's Club Life Vol 280 compilation, The Knocks' success has been measured by a unique sound once started in a home studio and now shared with the world on a grand stage.

Enjoy this production duo's journey as they continue to take the dance music world by storm, and be sure to check out more of their sounds on SoundCloud.