Groove Armada
In 1997 Groove Armadas first single At The River was released on Tummy Touch Records. Originally a limited 7" release of 500 copies, the funky fireside dub of "At The River" caused mass hysteria amongst the nations hacks "Spotters are swapping their grandmothers for copies of it", said Kevin Braddock at the NME.
The same year Tummy Touch released Groove Armadas debut album. Combining jazz and funk influences with house rhythms and technology, Northern Stars wide range of references and eclectic feel led to praise from publications as diverse as Mixmag, Jockey Slut, Select, Echoes and Touch, and led to the coining of the phrase "Nu-Med" or "Nu-Balearic" to describe their sound
in April 1999 If Everybody Looked The Same the first single from their second album Vertigo was given a full commercial release. Reaching number 25 in the UK charts the little known Groove Armada had finally made their presence known to the British public.
In July 1999 At The River was given its full release and went straight into top 20 in the UK charts. Following swiftly after came the release of the critically acclaimed Vertigo album which so far has reached Gold Status in the UK selling over 130,000 copies. I See You Baby which featured vocals from legendary N.Y. and Manumission MC Gramma 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 to top 20.
1999 was undoubtedly Groove Armadas year. As well as their album reaching Gold Status it also went Top 20 in the UK album charts; they were nominated for Best Live Act at the Muzik Magazine awards and won the Best Chillout Album award for Vertigo at the Ministry Magazine awards.
For Groove Armada, the year 2000 saw the release of a limited edition remix album Groove Armada - The Remixes (a compilation of 8 tracks from Vertigo remixed by the likes of DJ Icey, Attaboy, Kinobe and Tim Love Lee), the re-release of Northern Star (Tummy Touch) and release of their acclaimed Back To Mine compilation (DMC). They completed a headlining tour of America (with their 9 piece band) where they also had a monthly DJ residency at N.Y. club Twilo which they will be returning to this year.
August 2001 saw the release of Groove Armadas #12 single Superstylin which had dancefloors all over the country in a frenzy - taken from their third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) this track secured Groove Armadas position as an act of immense talent and diversity. The critically acclaimed album featured a range of contributing artists including Jeru Tha Damaja, Tim Hutton, Nile Rodgers and Richie Havens, It was released on the 10th of September and rocketed into the album charts at #5. My Friend the second single to be taken from the album was released in November and was yet another chart hit for Groove Armada.
In the latter quarter of 2001, Groove Armada embarked on a successful UK tour taking their live band to venues in Cambridge, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester, Bristol, Portsmouth and London, included in the live performance were live vocals from guest performers Tim Hutton and Celetia Martin.
Once the UK tour was over Groove Armada were booked to take their live show to the other side of the world and enjoyed a sell-out tour of Australia. From here they returned to the UK and announced a further tour of the UK in March 2002.
4th November 2002 saw the release of the boys 4th studio album, LoveBox - named after the famous club night which they successfully ran / DJd at Rouge in London. The album was met with both commercial and critical success alike. The singles Easy and the ballsy Purple Haze were Top 20 hits and the album went on to sell in excess of 100,000 copies in the UK. Naturally a sold out UK tour followed including 2 nights at Brixton Academy and LoveBox on a Summers Day - Groove Armada took over Clapham Common on the bank holiday weekend and hosted the dance event of the Summer.
After a break of almost a year the boys have taken time to absorb new influences and go back in the studio with fresh ideas.
Groove Armada use a FireWire 410, Oxygen 8, Reason and ReCycle.
