Kevin Joseph "KJ" Sawka is an American musician, record producer, and DJ. He plays drums in the bands Pendulum and Destroid.
Career
KJ Sawka started his musical career at the age of twelve. At age eighteen, he developed an interest in electronic music and started producing. Citing the drumming of Phil Collins as a major influence, Sawka uses a customized drumkit configured to enable greater improvisation, tailored to the type of music he is playing. In the studio, he favors electronic drum machines, while for live performances he primarily plays drums.
In 2010 he became the drummer of Pendulum as the sole American member, appearing on their Immersion album. The group reunited in 2016 for a single live show at Ultra Music Festival, Miami, and subsequently went on tour in 2017.
In 2012, together with producers Excision and Downlink, Sawka founded the supergroup Destroid, of which he is the drummer.
He founded the independent record label Impossible Records in 2015.
Sawka currently endorses Tama, Meinl, Evans, Vater, Hammerax, Roland and Izotope.
In 2021, Sawka reunited with friend and collaborator, Blake Lewis, to form the group, "The Private Language". Their first single, a cover of the Tears for Fears classic, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was released on Black Hole Recordings and was shortly followed up by the release of their second single, "Cali Girls".