Source: Peter Stuckings
Groove Armada is the music stylings of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay who together make electronica infused with funk, soul, house, disco, dub, dancehall…it’s a long list. Famous first for their tuneful track ‘At The River’ which got thrashed by a bunch of bland chillout albums and featured on their first album, Vertigo (1999). Vertigo is a fantastic album, when it came out Elton John famously bought 1000 copies to give to all his friends. Groove Armada then had a short stint as Elton’s opening band.
The evolution of Groove Armada’s sound can be best summed up by the name of their second album, 2001′s Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub). It was clear the Armada had worked out their crossover appeal from lounges to dance floors would not only work (witness Fatboy Slim’s reworking of ‘I See You Baby’) but would also pay quite handsomely.
If, like me, you thought Groove Armada disbanded, you would be wrong. They are back with an album this year, Soundboy Rock and are playing Auckland venue the St James this coming Tuesday night the 27th of March. Those attending can expect an uplifting, adrenalised live show with a bigger emphasis on playing live than you get from a lot of electronic acts. Unusually, I read on their blog Tom Findlay discussing how these days he goes on tour but doesn’t actually join the band on stage saying there’s no need for it “…the visuals are so spectacular and the band are so cool that I just don’t feel it’s necessary”.
Talking about Soundboy Rock Groove Armada said recently “It’s the best one we’ve done, no question” [sonybmg.com.au]. Which perhaps they are always going to say but judging from a tune on their myspace page from the album, a downbeat track called ‘Paris’, the Groove is on.
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