Groove Armada Biography

In 1997 Groove Armada's first single At The River was released on London independent label, Tummy Touch Records. Originally a limited 7" release of 500 copies and built around a Patti Page vocal sample, the single caused a storm with the nation's hacks. "Spotters are swapping their grandmothers for copies of it", said the NME.

In 1998 Tummy Touch also released Groove Armada's debut album, Northern Star. Combining the blend of house, big beat, Balearic, funk and live instrumentation that would become their trademark, Northern Star's wide range of references led to praise from dance mags like Mixmag and Jockey Slut as well as the NME.

Later that year Groove Armada signed a record deal with Jive Records and in April 1999 the band released the single, If Everybody Looked The Same. The song reached No.25 in the UK charts. In July 1999 At The River was re-released and reached the Top 20. The single would soon establish the band, unwittingly, as Lords of the chillout, going on to feature on a seemingly endless succession of chillout/relaxation/wallpaper compilations. For their part, the band have always tried to distance themselves from the chillout phenomenon.

"I just think that chill-out seems to have just lost its soul," says Andy. "If you put a few synths on a mellow backing track with a few water noises, it counts as a tune. Well it's not a tune and there's no soul in there. Mellow tunes with a bit of soul are still fine, but not this endless kind of wallpaper."

1999 album Vertigo would really establish the duo in the UK. It reached the Top 20 achieving Gold status with sales of 200,000 copies. The single, I See You Baby which featured vocals from legendary New York MC Gram'ma Funk (and a remix from Norman Cook), was the third single to be taken from the album, it was released in November and also went straight into the Top 20.

Early into the following year Groove Armada were nominated for Best Newcomers at the 2000 BRIT Awards and Best Live Act at the Muzik Magazine awards. They picked up the Best Chillout Album gong for Vertigo at the Ministry Magazine awards. Vertigo went on to establish Groove Armada across the world.

2000 saw Groove Armada moving into new musical areas and solidifying their reputation as one of the UK's most exciting live acts. Northern Star was re-released by Tummy Touch, and Groove Armada compiled the critically acclaimed Back To Mine album series, a compilation of their favourite tracks by other artists released on DMC Records.

In June Groove Armada set off on an ambitious live tour that combined their 9-piece live band, complete with Andy on trombone and DJs, cut-ups and samples. The band played all of the major European summer festivals that year including Glastonbury, Southside, Roskilde, Montreux and V2000.

Groove Armada's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) was released in September 2000. In a further effort to discard the chillout tag, the album saw Tom and Andy trying to expand their horizons, with tracks encompassing psychedelic soul and country-rock and the dancehall dub of Superstylin' with guest musicians including Chic legend legend Nile Rodgers, rapper Jeru The Damaja, and 60's folk singer Richie Havens.

2002's Lovebox album put another nail another coffin in the chillout coffin with an eclectic set that took in funk, house and soul. Richie Havens again made a guest appearance, so did US rap crew Nappy Roots, dancehall DJ Red Rat and US R&B star Sunshine Anderson.

2004 sees the band continue their nightclub residencies clubs across London. They have their own Lovebox weekly sessions in South London and regularly pop up as guest DJs in clubs across the capital. In summer 2004 the duo will play a DJ set at the Homelands dance festival and in February 2004 they released new CD, Doin' It After Dark, the first in a new compilation series of artists mixing their favourite tracks.

With their skilled musicianship, love of live performing and praise from the likes of Madonna (for whom they remixed Music) and Elton John, the accusational tag of "dodgy dancefloor chancers" is unlikely to ever be levelled at Groove Armada.

Discography