History The Chemical Brothers

1 history

1.1 formation , career (1984–1995)
1.2 exit planet dust , dig own hole (1995–1998)
1.3 surrender , come (1999–2002)
1.4 push button (2003–2006)
1.5 night (2007–2009)
1.6 further (2010)
1.7 hanna , don t think (2010–2015)
1.8 born in echoes (2015–present)

history
formation , career (1984–1995)

ed simons born in herne hill, south london on 9 june 1970 barrister mother , father not around when simons growing up. simons 2 main interests when young aeroplanes , musicals. simons attended 2 south london public schools, alleyn s school , dulwich college. during school years, developed fondness rare groove , hip hop music, having frequented club called mud club age of 14. time left school, 2 main musical interests 2 manchester bands, new order , smiths. after finishing school 11 o levels , 3 levels, continued on study history, late medieval history, @ university of manchester.

tom rowlands, childhood classmate of simons , born on 11 january 1971 in kingston upon thames, london. when rowlands young, family relocated henley-on-thames. later attended reading blue coat school in berkshire. in teens, interest in music broadened other genres. initially, of favourites included oh lovely war soundtrack, 2 tone, nascent gothic rock genre (sisters of mercy, fields of nephilim) , electro sounds of artists such kraftwerk, new order, cabaret voltaire, , heaven 17. described first public enemy album record changed life , , commented miuzi weighs ton 1 of amazing tracks had ever heard . rowlands started collecting hip hop records artists eric b , schoolly d. rowlands left school similar accomplishments simons , achieving 9 o levels , 3 levels. university, followed simons manchester immerse himself in music scene in general , haçienda in particular.

rowlands in band called ariel prior meeting simons. ariel formed in london rowlands , friends brendan melck , mathew berry. first single sea of beats , white label. before philip brown set echo logik records, first promo bokadilo . other songs, released on 12 , included mustn t grumble , well-known, rollercoaster . after year on echo logik signed record label deconstruction. insisted female singer , recruited former xpansions frontwoman sally ann marsh, , after disappointing songs let slide (rowlands later describe stinker ) band fell apart. 1 of last things ariel did song t baby remixed pair. in regards remix, ed stated ariel symbolically ended when deconstruction asked dust brothers remix of ariel track. final nail in coffin . tom later in tv interview 1995: 1 of blokes went bit mad, s @ college, , other 1 drives our van .

rowlands , simons started dj @ club called naked under leather in of pub in 1992, under alias of 237 turbo nutters (named after number of house on dickenson road in manchester , reference blackburn raving days). pair play hip hop, techno, , house. rowlands , simons called dust brothers, after production duo famous work beastie boys. after while, began run out of suitable instrumental hip hop tracks use, started make own. using hitachi hi-fi system, computer, sampler, , keyboard, recorded song siren , sampled mortal coil. song siren released on own record label, called diamond records (after ed s nickname). in october 1992, pressed 500 white label copies , took them various dance record shops around london, none play it, saying slow (the track played @ 111 bpm). sent copy london dj andrew weatherall, made permanent fixture in dj sets. weatherall signed band junior boy s own label. in may 1993, junior boy s own released song siren .

around june 1993, dust brothers did first remixes. first packet of peace justin robertson s lionrock group, followed songs leftfield, republica, , sandals. later in 1993, dust brothers completed work on fourteenth century sky ep, released in january 1994. contained ground-breaking chemical beats , epitomized duo s genre-defining big beat sound. ep contained 1 many mornings , first time showed less intense, more chilled-out side of dust brothers. both 1 many mornings , chemical beats later appear on debut album. fourteenth century sky followed later in 1993 mercury mouth ep. chemical beats part of soundtrack first edition of wipeout game series, having been featured in wipeout playstation in 1995.

in october 1994, dust brothers became resident djs @ small, influential heavenly sunday social club @ albany pub in london s great portland street. noel gallagher, paul weller, james dean bradfield, , tim burgess regular visitors. dust brothers subsequently asked remix tracks manic street preachers , charlatans, plus primal scream s jailbird , prodigy s voodoo people . these 2 remixes received television exposure, being playlisted mtv europe s party zone in 1995. in 1994, dust brothers approached in club 1 sunday noel gallagher, oasis, @ time becoming 1 of prominent guitar bands in britain. gallagher told duo had balearic-inspired track had written , dust brothers remix. however, on time, gallagher changed mind, , in end brothers did not remix it.

in march 1995, dust brothers began first international tour, included united states – played orbital , underworld – series of european festivals. around time, objections filed original dust brothers on use of name, , rowlands , simons had decide on new name. decided call chemical brothers after chemical beats (simons grandmother had suggested call grit brothers ).

in june 1995, released fourth single, first under new identity. leave home released on junior boy s own, preview of imminent debut album , became band s first chart hit, peaking @ no. 17.

exit planet dust , dig own hole (1995–1998)

in july 1995, chemical brothers released debut album exit planet dust (the title inspired name change) on freestyle dust/junior boy s own. entered uk charts @ no. 9 , featured guest vocalist beth orton on song alive alone . went on sell on million copies worldwide, , used on soundtrack of science fiction tv series pilot virtuality. shortly after release, chemical brothers signed virgin records, took own offshoot label, freestyle dust. next single, life sweet , released in september 1995, again used guest vocalist, featuring friend tim burgess, singer of charlatans. reached no. 25 in uk singles chart. single select magazine s single of month october. release included daft punk remix of life sweet .

the stone roses asked duo remix begging , second coming album. after beginning work on remix viewed having potential, later denied idea , work cancelled.

in october 1995, duo returned heavenly sunday social second , final run of dj dates. became residents @ heavenly social on saturdays @ turnmills. in november, chemical brothers played astoria theatre in london. @ time brothers used fusion of chemical beats , beatles tomorrow never knows encore. during encore, however, keith flint prodigy jumped on stage dance, wearing t-shirt sporting slogan occupation: mad bastard . few crowd subsequently joined in. resulted in power cable being kicked loose, bringing show temporary close. chemical brothers confessed not being bothered; because s keith prodigy, , can whatever fucking hell likes . before christmas 1995, played biggest gig date, prodigy, @ brixton academy.

in january 1996, exit planet dust certified gold. chemical brothers released first new material in 6 months on virgin, loops of fury ep. four-track release limited 20,000 copies, available digital download. entered uk charts @ no. 13. nme described lead track splashing waves of synths across hard-hitting beats . ep contained dave clarke remix of chemical beats , , 2 other new tracks, on , (the best part of) breaking .

in february 1996, select magazine published list of 100 best albums of 1990s far. exit planet dust listed @ number 39. in august 1996, chemical brothers supported oasis @ knebworth, 125,000 people attended each of 2 shows.

during 1995 glastonbury festival, rowlands , simons had conversation noel gallagher. gallagher told them how liked exit planet dust, , asked if sing on future track, similar way tim burgess had worked on life sweet . did not think of offer @ time, given how busy gallagher release of oasis (what s story) morning glory?, plus complexities of dealing each other s record companies. however, duo later worked on track thought benefit having vocal on it. sent gallagher tape of had done far. worked on overnight, , left message them next morning ready record it. track called setting sun , released in october 1996. entered uk charts @ top, giving duo first ever number 1 single. setting sun backed longer instrumental version, , new track buzz tracks , not more dj tool. 3 remaining members of beatles lawyers later wrote chemical brothers, mistakenly claiming had sampled tomorrow never knows . virgin records hired musicologist prove did not sample song.

meanwhile, in 1996, live @ social volume 1 released heavenly records, became chemical brothers first mix cd (excluding xmas dust up, free album came in 1994 issue of nme). duo s first live album (excluding ep live 05).

in march 1997, brothers released second track forthcoming album. block rockin beats went straight no. 1 in uk, possibly thanks, time, schoolly d vocal sample , re-working of bassline 23 skidoo s single coup . nme named single of week , said throbs head might if had done length underwater in swimming pool full of amyl. later won them grammy award best rock instrumental performance.

in @ time, setting sun sitting @ number 80 in billboard top 100, after selling around 80,000 copies, uncommon achievement european dance act. sales exit planet dust around 150,000.

on 7 april 1997 chemical brothers released second album, dig own hole. recorded @ band s own south london studio, title taken graffiti on wall outside. album received, mixmag rating 10/10 , calling mad enough thrilling, slick enough not remotely trendy coffee tables .

during summer of 1997, brothers toured extensively, particularly in united states. became residents @ tokyo s liquid rooms. in august, chemical brothers achieved rapprochement dust brothers, , asked them remix forthcoming single elektrobank . became highly sought-after remixes other artists. in september, next single dig own hole, elektrobank released. in november, pair played @ dublin s point theatre, support carl cox. began tour in detroit.

at end of year, dig own hole s final track, nine-minute-long private psychedelic reel , gave rise limited-edition mini-ep of same name. b-side consisted of live version of setting sun , recorded @ lowlands festival, netherlands on 24 august 1997. in december, following 4 sold-out shows, chemical brothers toured uk, concluding in sold-out show @ brixton academy, london

in 1998, concentrated more on dj ing, although remixes did see light of day, including think m in love spiritualized. both vocal remix , instrumental remix included in single release. each clocked in @ on seven-and-a-half minutes. remix completed brothers delta sun bottleneck stomp mercury rev. extension in association between 2 bands, since mercury rev s jonathon donahue contributed private psychedelic reel on dig own hole.

in september 1998, second mix album, brothers gonna work out, released. contains of own tracks , remixes, songs artists have influenced sound, such renegade soundwave, meat beat manifesto, carlos after dark berrios, , kenny dope gonzales.

surrender , come (1999–2002)

in may 1999, chemical brothers played 3 uk dates in manchester, sheffield , brighton, first since december 1997. month, released first new original material in 2 years, track called hey boy, hey girl . more house-influenced big beat. in interviews @ time, rowlands , simons indicated track inspired nights out @ sheffield club gatecrasher. track 1 of more commercially accessible tracks , went number 3 in uk charts.

their third album, surrender, released in june 1999. featured vocals noel gallagher, mercury rev s jonathan donahue, , mazzy star s hope sandoval. hey boy, hey girl had suggested, album more house-oriented previous two. on 1 of album s stand out tracks, out of control , new order s bernard sumner supported primal scream s bobby gillespie provided vocals. reached no. 1 in uk album charts. michel gondry-directed music video let forever , utilized ground-breaking video , film effects in depiction of young woman s nightmares, received lot of attention.

later summer, brothers performed @ infamous woodstock 99 concert on 24 july, positive reception. later headlined glastonbury dance tent on friday night, followed uk tour ended in december , included homelands scotland on 4 september. in november, out of control , featuring sumner , gillespie on vocals, released single. release contained sasha remix. final single surrender, in february 2000, 5 track music: response ep, containing title track , 2 remixes, plus electronic battle weapon 4, named freak of week , , track called enjoyed , remix of out of control brothers themselves. cd copy of surrender placed in third blue peter time capsule, buried in january 2000. same month, appeared on primal scream s album xtrmntr @ track 11 remix.

in june 2000, tom , ed played pyramid stage @ glastonbury festival. in august 2000 played large crowd @ main stage @ creamfields festival, ireland. in december 2000, chemical brothers aired 1 of new tracks, began in afrika @ new york dj gigs, supporting u2.

in 2001, quite active releases , live performances. in year, began working on fourth album, provisionally titled chemical four. first track fans got taste of began in afrika , played in dj set in new york. track make live debut in california in april 2001, @ coachella valley music , arts festival. new track, galaxy bounce , got public debut @ coachella. had become customary releases , experiments, began in afrika first pressed promo, part of electronic battle weapon series. received airplay on dance music radio shows in uk, , became more , more popular in clubs on course of summer. became 1 of anthems in ibiza summer progressed. given full commercial single release in september, reaching no. 8 in uk singles chart, though no promotional video made track.

rowlands , simons remixed track fatboy slim s halfway between gutter , stars, entitled song shelter . remix released single on 3 september 2001 (one week before began in afrika ) cd2 single song shelter / ya mama . reached no. 30 in uk singles charts (sales combined cd1 single).

the chemical brothers finished work on album, come us, in october 2001. featured collaborations richard ashcroft of verve ( test ), , long-time collaborator beth orton ( state re in ). album released in january 2002, preceded single, star guitar , melodic balearic beat number, promotional video michel gondry featured passing scenery synchronized beat viewed through train window. second track on album, began in afrika , released 10 september 2001 circulated around clubbing scene popular hit. star guitar released dvd single, pair s first. come us, less received previous albums, nonetheless went straight no. 1 in uk albums chart in first week of release, selling 100,000 copies. in april, title track album released single remixes fatboy slim part of double a-sided release test .

during summer of 2002, chemical brothers traveled festival circuit promote album. later in 2002, released 2 eps, 1 aimed @ japan , other (entitled americanep). both contained remixes, live versions , b-sides. additionally, band produced new order s final non-album single here stay , , remixed song well. 1 of other major songs album galaxy bounce , popular , featured main title music xbox game project gotham racing. included on soundtrack movie lara croft: tomb raider. star guitar featured song on psp s lumines ii.

two other songs, come (introduction) , star guitar (title screen) , featured on playstation 2 racing game titled wrc ii: extreme. both songs instrumental. song elastic eye come album played in 2004 movie butterfly effect starring ashton kutcher , amy smart.

push button (2003–2006)

early 2003 saw rowlands , simons in studio working on new material, including golden path , collaboration wayne coyne of flaming lips. released in september 2003, @ same time best of album, entitled singles 93–03, marking ten years of chemical brothers releases. singles 93–03 included most, not all, of singles. second new track, in addition golden path , included on album, called high . singles 93–03 released on dvd, features including selected live performances , interviews rowlands, simons, , many of collaborators throughout period. high , featured canadian rapper k-os on vocals, released single in november 2003.

in late 2003 , 2004, chemical brothers continued work in studio on new material , remix of slow kylie minogue. after being released on rare white label vinyl, subsequently given commercial release in march on cd (on next single red blooded woman ) , on exclusive 12 vinyl picture disc (containing 2 other kylie remixes). in summer 2004 returned festival circuit, including appearances @ glastonbury festival, tokyo, scotland, , ireland. visited south america second time (the first time being in 1999), arriving @ chile, argentina, , brazil. during these sets played new material, including acid children , proved 1 of popular new tracks.

in september 2004, chemical brothers released seventh electronic battle weapon . electronic battle weapon 7 being released one-sided promo-only 12 , containing acid children . marked departure chemical brothers previous musical endeavours, featured screeching 303 bassline , distinctive vocal sample; pitch-altered vocal sample proclaiming children now! , lifted horror film nightmare on elm street 2: freddy s revenge. coupled projection of sinister clown mouthing these same words @ live gigs.

the electronic battle weapon series of promo releases have typically been newly recorded chemical brothers tracks, released on promo allow djs test them in club environment, , gauge popularity.

in 2004, chemical brothers began work on push button, fifth studio album, features collaborations tim burgess, kele okereke, , anwar superstar, amongst others. album released on 24 january 2005.

galvanize , features rapper q-tip on vocals, first single taken push button, , premiered exclusively on itunes. single released on 17 january 2005, , entered uk chart @ no. 3. second single, believe (featuring kele okereke bloc party), failed crack top 10, still made top 20, peaking @ no. 18. boxer , featuring tim burgess, became duo s first single fail crack top 40.

the album , single galvanize won grammy @ grammy awards of 2006. 1 of songs in album, big jump , appears in video game burnout revenge, project gotham racing 3. track surface air features pulsing chord progression , bassline reminiscent of intro strokes song modern age .

an unofficial, remixed version of album entitled flip switch released free download, along believe ep, featuring 6 further remixes of believe .

in september 2006, chemical brothers revealed first musicians involved in tate tracks. tate modern invited various groups , songwriters choose work inspired them gallery s collection of modern art , write track it. chemical brothers submission, rock drill, inspired jacob epstein sculpture torso in metal rock drill, , heard on headphones in front of work in gallery. october 2006, became available hear online @ tate tracks website.

we night (2007–2009)

the brothers announced in june 2006 on official web forum duo had been working on fresh material, album, codenamed chemical 6 . simons wrote band playing select venues in summer 2007 season, specifying rome, , fabric in london. simons quoted saying duo hoping put battle weapon out summer , possibly referring electronic battle weapon series, experimental tracks band released on white label.

electronic battle weapons 8 & 9 debuted on pete tong s bbc radio 1 show on 8 december 2006. double-sided vinyl released before chemical brothers anticipated new year s eve gig @ famous turnmills in london. vinyl had limited edition release worldwide , received fans, djs, , critics alike. electronic battle weapon 8, @ 6 , half minutes, distinct big acid style earlier battle weapons adhered to. characterised thundering drums rising synth line. version of track featured on night album , entitled saturate . electronic battle weapon 9 typical chemicals dancefloor track trademark vocoder vocals coupled sirens , basic tribal melody.

at same turnmills gig, brothers played unreleased song @ midnight welcome 2007, went down crowd. track emerged burst generator , found on forthcoming album night. many left wondering if latest in electronic battle weapon series one-off experiments or signalled new direction take new album, perhaps swaying genre defining big beat albums of past. song band s 100th released song.

on 21 march 2007, chemical brothers officially announced forthcoming album on myspace. new album, entitled night, released on 2 july 2007 in united kingdom , 17 july 2007 in united states. chemical brothers cited delay in production of artwork delay. emi subsequently released online chemical brothers computer game apology. track listing released fans on official mailing list on 10 april. collaborations featured heavily on album, likes of klaxons ( rights reversed ), midlake ( pills won t ), ali love ( again ), , willy mason ( battle scars ).

on 12 april 2007, pete tong again had privilege of giving world first preview of chemicals track. time first single again off new album, aired on bbc radio 1 in new music trust show. official release of single 4 june (digital download) , 14 june (12 , 7 , , cd). album went on general release in uk on 2 july 2007.

in september 2007, chemical brothers played free live gig in trafalgar square part of becks fusions event. attended provided 3d glasses view on-screen visual effects.

the chemical brothers supplied new track heroes soundtrack, titled keep composure .

further (2010)

on 30 march 2010, band announced on website seventh studio album, titled further, released on 22 june , band s first released corresponding films made match each of 8 audio tracks. films made long-time visuals collaborators adam smith , marcus lyall. before release of album, band played 4 shows in may @ london roundhouse played album , accompanying films in entirety. films featured on special edition dvd , on itunes lp edition.

most reviews positive, bbc music declaring ... synths brutally manhandled , pushed limits across 8 tracks . irish times reported impressive collection carried along stirring sense of velocity , momentum . however, praise not unanimous album, american rock magazine spin giving rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

hanna , don t think (2010–2015)

at new york comic con, on 10 october 2010, english film director joe wright announced chemical brothers scoring soundtrack upcoming film, hanna. wright, had worked chemical brothers in past member of visual company vegetable vision, stated excited finally ... work more modern beat. there s lot of bass, s loud. soundtrack released exclusively on itunes on 15 march 2011 , on cd on 4 july 2011.

two weeks after announcement regarding hanna, rumors began circulating chemical brothers had recorded part of score movie black swan, after post in ed simons twitter account. second post on chemical brothers own twitter account seemed confirm this. on 22 november 2010, black swan music video released along movie trailer. featured different version of track don t think , announced movie feature new music chemical brothers, along handful of other artists. next day, names of 8 tracks not composed clint mansell – black swan s main composer – released, listing chemical brothers contributing 3 new songs movie. on 29 november, exclusive video posted on rollingstone.com, containing more footage of alternate version of don t think . mansell s work released next day. no announcement has been made yet on whether original tracks not mansell given release or not.

on 7 march 2012, announced chemical brothers scoring second movie soundtrack, bank heist film see me. however, later denied tom rowlands, stated band in talks @ stage, had pull out of project due scheduling conflicts.

on 21 october 2014, chemical brothers released new mp3 single not game created hunger games: mockingjay – part 1.

born in echoes (2015–present)

in december 2014, after appearance of chemical brothers @ 2015 sónar festival announced, revealed new album scheduled release in 2015.

in april 2015, videos containing animation , audio loops appeared on official chemical brothers facebook page , @ thechemicalbrothers.com, ahead of imminent release of new music duo. on 23 april, new song feel deserted premiered on bbc radio 1. on 17 july, released born in echoes, eighth album.

in november 2016, duo released new single, c-h-e-m-i-c-a-l , premiered on bbc radio 1.