Groove Armada | |
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 Groove Armada performing in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Website | groovearmada |
Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. [3] They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of which have charted in the UK Albums Chart top 50.
Groove Armada formed after Cato and Findlay had been introduced by a mutual friend and soon started their own club night in London, called Captain Sensual at the Helm of the Groove Armada, [4] after a 1970s discothèque.[ citation needed ]
By 1997, they had released a few singles, including "4 Tune Cookie" and the song that first brought them minor fame, "At the River", which sampled "Old Cape Cod" by Patti Page. The song went on to be one of Groove Armada's best-known tracks and has been found on numerous chill out compilations.
Their first album, Northern Star , was released in 1998 on Tummy Touch Records, and was followed by a second, Vertigo , in 1999, which had a more mainstream and 'polished' sound, making the UK Album Chart's upper 20 and being certified silver in the UK.[ citation needed ] It also included "At the River" which was re-released as a full-fledged single. An album of remixed tracks from Vertigo entitled The Remixes followed in 2000, along with their contribution to the Back to Mine mix album series.
The next studio album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) was released in 2001 and marked a departure from their trip-hop roots to more upbeat music – as demonstrated on the Grammy-nominated single "Superstylin'". Another mix album followed, this time for the Another Late Night series, and in 2002, less than a year after Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), Groove Armada produced Lovebox , which included a variety of genres including rock, such as "Madder" and "Purple Haze",[ citation needed ] while others were closer to the band's traditional house and trip hop roots,[ citation needed ] such as the title track "Lovebox", and "Remember", with the latter containing vocals made up entirely of samples of Sandy Denny's vocals for Fairport Convention. An additional bonus track was later released on their website entitled "Fairport".[ citation needed ]Lovebox also contained a song called "Hands of Time" which was subsequently used in the 2004 film Collateral .
A greatest hits album, entitled The Best of Groove Armada , released in 2004 – the last of their releases with Pepper Records – before their studio album Soundboy Rock was released in 2007. The album marked a notable departure from the multi-genre-influenced previous album, featuring tracks such as "Get Down" and "Groove Extracts", which followed the contemporary house music trend, tracks with rock elements, and "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" featuring the vocals of ex-Sugababes singer Mutya Buena, hailed by online music guide Popjustice as one of the best songs of 2007.[ citation needed ]
Following the successful Soundboy Rock singles, an updated best-of set titled Greatest Hits was released in October 2007. This was accompanied by GA10: 10 Year Story, a 2CD rarities collection released in November 2007 to celebrate their tenth anniversary as a band. The band has spoken in-depth about the compilation, and cited it as an "emotional experience", with both members selecting their personal favourite songs and mixes from their history. [5]
Groove Armada also released a collaboration[ which? ] with The Japanese Popstars through Strictly Rhythm, via Beatport, in April 2008.
In the same year, Groove Armada engaged in a deal with Bacardi to distribute their new 4-track EP using a file sharing platform called B-Live Share.
During 2009, Findlay and Cato repeatedly confirmed the existence of a pending new album. While on the Bacardi Express tour in Australia, Findlay said it will be called Black Light and "is going to be the darker side of Groove Armada, which is finally coming out after 12 years." [6] The first single, released on 23 November 2009, was "I Won't Kneel", featuring Groove Armada's new vocalist, Saint Saviour. [7] The album's second single, "Paper Romance", was released on 22 February 2010, and the album was released in Europe on 28 February.
In October 2010, Groove Armada released a remix album, White Light , which contained recent studio re-recordings [8] of alternative live versions of many songs from Black Light as well as other classic Groove Armada songs.[ citation needed ] Groove Armada headlined Uber Cool festival at Jersey Live on 3 September. The duo embarked on a series of secretive "living room" sets, performing intimately across the country for audiences of close friends. Little information was given about these private performances, but the tour kicked off in Brighton in late January, 2011. [9]
The group has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Max Taylor, Neneh Cherry, DJ Gramma Funk, Sophie Barker, Nappy Roots, Fudge Dog, Sunshine Anderson, Mutya Buena, Jeru the Damaja, Richie Havens, Will Young, Brodanse and Joel Culpepper.
In February 2014, the EP Pork Soda was released. It included three brand new tracks: "Pork Soda", "Hyde & Freak" and "Jack in Black". [10]
In 2015, Groove Armada released their eighth studio album, Little Black Book. The album has been described as "somewhere between [an] album, mix CD, and compilation". [11] The first disc features their own original music and remixes, while the second disc features remixes of their music by other artists.
Groove Armada released their ninth studio album Edge of the Horizon in 2020 featuring vocal performances from Nick Littlemore, James Alexander Bright, Todd Edwards, She Keeps Bees, Roseau, Paris Brightledge. [12]
From 1995 to 2000, Andy Cato was part of the progressive house music projects Mother's Pride and Qattara, and produced solo efforts under the aliases Caia and Journeyman DJ. In 2002, Cato collaborated with Rachel Foster, producing the album Pursuit of Happiness under the name Weekend Players. He also co-wrote with Sophie Ellis-Bextor on her album Shoot from the Hip , and released his first solo single under his own name, "La Luna". Cato has also worked with Róisín Murphy on her album Overpowered , producing the singles "Let Me Know" and "You Know Me Better".
Tom Findlay makes up one half of Sugardaddy with Tim Hutton, and has collaborated with Keeling Lee. In 2005, he set up Tunetribe, a music download store. Findlay has described working with Prince as his dream collaboration. [13] In 2007, Findlay released Watch the Ride, [14] a continuous mix album containing tracks by various artists, including his own project, Sugardaddy.
In 2011, Cato became the first musician to compose a ringtone for a charity, WaveLength Charity.
| Award | Year | Nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT Digital Music Awards | 2002 | Themselves | Artist of the Year | Nominated | [15] |
| Best Dance/Urban Artist | Nominated | ||||
| People's Choice Award | Nominated | [16] | |||
| Brit Awards | 2000 | British Breakthrough Act | Nominated | [17] | |
| 2003 | British Dance Act | Nominated | [18] | ||
| 2004 | Nominated | [19] | |||
| Grammy Awards | 2003 | "Superstylin'" | Best Dance Recording | Nominated | [20] |
| 2004 | "Easy" | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Black Light | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated |
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Billboard Music Video Awards | "I See You Baby" | Dance Clip of the Year | Nominated |
| Best New Artist Clip (Dance) | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Antville Music Video Awards | "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" (with Mutya Buena) | Worst Video | Nominated |
| 2008 | UK Music Video Awards | "Get Down" | Best Dance Video | Nominated |
| Popjustice £20 Music Prize | "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" (with Mutya Buena) | Best British Pop Single | Nominated | |
| 2010 | "I Won't Kneel" | Nominated |
Studio albums
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Vertigo is the second studio album by the British electronic music duo Groove Armada, released in 1999 on the Jive Electro record label. It contains the well-known singles "At the River" and "I See You Baby".
Lovebox is the fourth studio album by English electronic dance music duo Groove Armada, released on 18 November 2002 by Jive Electro.
Soundboy Rock is the fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Groove Armada, released on 4 May 2007 by Columbia Records.
"I See You Baby" is a song by British duo Groove Armada, featuring Gram'ma Funk on vocals. The song was later remixed by Fatboy Slim, with this latter version appearing in airplay. It was also remixed by Futureshock.
"Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" is a song produced by British music duo Groove Armada, featuring vocals by recording artist Mutya Buena. Initially intended to feature British singer Estelle, the duo ultimately decided to collaborate with Buena on the song following her departure from girl group Sugababes in December 2005. Supported by a new wave-inspired beat, dance synthesizers and a bass line, it is an uptempo electronic and electropop song. The lyrics were interpreted by the media as an "insult" to Buena's Sugababes replacement Amelle Berrabah, although Buena herself has denied such allegations.
Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group Sugababes. With Sugababes, Buena had four UK number-one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-platinum albums. After leaving the group in December 2005, she released her debut solo album, Real Girl in June 2007. Buena returned to Sugababes with the original line-up in 2012.
Andrew Derek Cocup, known professionally as Andy Cato, is an English musician, record producer, DJ, and farmer who is currently one half of the electronic music band Groove Armada, the other half being Tom Findlay. He was also involved with Rachel Foster in Weekend Players, another electronic dance group, between 2001 and 2004. His stage name of Cato derives from Cato Road in Clapham, South London, where he lived.
"At the River" is a song by British duo Groove Armada. It was released as a single in 1997 on 7-inch vinyl, limited to 500 copies. The song appeared on the duo's debut album Northern Star and again on their second album, Vertigo, released in April 1999.
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Black Light is the sixth studio album by the London electronic duo Groove Armada. Black Light combines the more mainstream-oriented sound of its predecessor, Soundboy Rock, with the rock spirit of Lovebox, and the band makes use of 1980s synthesizers for the first time. The album is influenced by David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Gary Numan, New Order and Roxy Music.
"Superstylin'" is a song by English electronic duo Groove Armada, released as the band's first single on 13 August 2001, from the album Goodbye Country . Vocals were performed by Groove Armada's long-time vocalist MC M.A.D.. Groove Armada credited Daniels for the cross-genre sound of the track, saying it was house music with influences of dancehall, reggae, and dub, with a speed garage bassline.
White Light is the seventh studio album by the British electronic music duo Groove Armada, released on 18 October 2010 through Cooking Vinyl. It consists of alternative versions of songs from their previous album, Black Light, along with one new song entitled "1980".
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Late Night Tales presents Automatic Soul is a mix album compiled by Tom Findlay of English electronic music duo Groove Armada, released 3 November 2014 as part of the Late Night Tales series.
"Purple Haze" is a song by English electronic music duo Groove Armada, taken from their fourth studio album, Lovebox (2002). The song contains elements from "April, Spring, Summers and Wednesdays", performed by English rock band Status Quo. Released on 21 October 2002, "Purple Haze" reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart and number 38 in Italy.
Late Night Tales: Music for Pleasure is a DJ mix album by Groove Armada's Tom Findlay for Late Night Tales series, released by Night Time Stories on 11 June 2012.
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