Celebrating 30 Years of Gravity Noir, 1991 - 2021
The founder of Gravity Noir, British-Belgian dual citizen Patrick John Angele Knight, performed as a Boy George tribute act and participated in several talent competitions between 1985 and 1996. In 1987 he was named among the top-12 best sound-mixers in Belgium by Joepie magazine, which released an album featuring Knight's cover of "Everything I Own". He won second and third place on Dutch television's Soundmixshow and also appeared on the British programme Stars in Their Eyes.
While working on a side project called Greater Than One in 1991, the name Gravity Noir was first used. Gravity Noir first performed as Culture Club on Belgian television channel VT4 in July 1996, hosted by Jo De Poorter.
Early years:
Gravity Noir was founded in Antwerp by Knight, the only permanent member of the group. Javier Rodriguez Iglesias, a.k.a. DJ Linetech, produced their first few songs before he was replaced by Peter Goos. The repertoire mainly consisted of 1980s covers. Dancers Alex da Luz and Jorg Vander Heyden completed the original band setup. The group briefly changed their name to Basics (B6), with the additions of female singer Cindy De Voeght a.k.a. CJ and dancer Sofie. As B6, they recorded their first official music video for a remix that Goos made of the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark hit "Enola Gay", which was broadcast on Belgian television channel Filmnet. The band continued to record demos in the late 1990s under their independent labels Jumping Man Records and Gravity Productions. On 23 April 2011, a first official single called I've Got the Power was released, under the name of "The Sisters of Divine Pleasure", featuring Knight as Drag Queen Titless Strangé. In 2016, Knight decided to return to using the name Gravity Noir.
Later years and up to present days:
Gravity Noir sought to offer members the opportunity to showcase their individual talents and creativity. Andrew Williams joined the band in 2016 as a vocalist and wind instrumentalist, and to provide graphic designs. Williams is mainly known as an artistic painter from Wakefield in West Yorkshire and therefore appreciated for his graphic inlay. Female lead singer Ambrosia Dash, who had lent her voice for Knight's solo projects, has sung several songs since Gravity Noir's comeback.
An official single and associated video clip called Mystery Knight was released by Gravity Noir on 7 April 2016. It was recorded at Ter Apel Monastery in the Netherlands during the annual Ter Apel mediaeval festival. Four albums have been released so far: The Early Years, Handmade, Liberation and Future Days. Liberation generated two No. 1 hits in the UK N1M EDM charts: "Open Your Mind" and "Avalon L.A.". Between 2016 and 2019 several remixes were produced by DJ Linetech until he was banned permanently for his unprofessional behaviour.
In 2019, the band began working on Future Days for an anticipated release in 2020 and was released on 18 March. The single "Flying High" was officially released on 22 March 2019. Two successors were released. One with the title "Planet Called Love" during the summer of 2019 and the second one "Universal Party (Supernatural)" was released on Valentine's Day 2020.
Due to Knight's life-threatening heart condition, Brugada syndrome, it is no longer possible for him to perform live, and the band is seeking a new lead singer. Knight continues to compose and produce all music for Gravity Noir. He has reworked the track "The Thrifty Wife & the Kite" by the folk and ceilidh dance band Banjax into a Gravity Noir remix. A special Christmas edition was released in November 2019. The original track was written by Knight's cousin Keith Leech MBE in 1992.
Their latest production "All Night Long (EP)" was released in the fall of 2020. The intention was to release an Extended play (EP), but because the total playing time exceeds the criterion for an EP, it was officially released as Album. As an extra edition, Gravity Noir released a new single version of "All Night Long" as a tribute to the great André Brasseur, known for his specific use of the Hammond organ.
In December, 2020, Rick Jamm from JamSphere, The Indie Music Magazine & Radio Network wrote a review saying 'Gravity Noir – ‘Future Days’ is at once impressive!' and 'This is what I would call a gateway album to a modern version of synth-pop music, which nowadays we know better as EDM. Gravity Noir started a new chapter in 2016, improving all aspects of their brand' and 'Throughout this album, you are able to get inside Gravity Noir's mindset and live through what they have worked so hard towards since their comeback.'
2021,
On the occasion of Gravity Noir's 30th anniversary, Knight was a guest at Antwerp radio station Zuidrand on Sunday, April 18 for a very exclusive and rare interview, accompanied of course by music by Gravity Noir.
Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the second year that Hastings, traditional Jack in the Green went live in a virtual meeting. Gravity Noir was asked to participate in a panel game and to provide a short interview. Patrick Knight is closely associated with the event and of course, he did not hesitate for a moment. In this virtual event, you can see Patrick at work as the funny 'Marquis the Bogieville'.
Social media makes it clear that Patrick Knight is once again working on a completely new project with Gravity Noir. The title of the new project was given the name Ankh, which means 'key of life' and is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol. 'ANKH' would become the name of the new Gravity Noir album and would be released simultaneously with a documentary, a travelogue by and with Patrick Knight about ancient Egypt. It is already certain that we will hear something vocally in one of the titles, by the unfortunately deceased singer Ofra Haza. Her contribution is registered in the SABAM repertoire. The single Im Nin'alu 2021 will be officially released on 14 July 2021.
Charity:
Gravity Noir recorded the single Another Dimension (Dementia) and accompanying video for the benefit of the Alzheimer League Flanders and Alzheimer's Society United Kingdom. The presentation was supported and attended by the published press and covered by Belgium newspapers. At the beginning of 2017, Gravity Noir released the single and video for "Much Too Soon to Say Goodbye" to raise discussion around the issues of suicide. In September 2018, they released the single and video for "Open Your Mind" (The Future is Ours Remix). For this track, they found the support and help from film director Lubomir Arsov, who provided images from his 2017 short film In-shadow: A Modern Odyssey. The theme of this project revolves around the many prejudices of psychological problems and bullying behaviour.
