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Since 1997 Tom Findlay and Andy Cato have sound tracked modern life. Even if you’ve never bought an album, single or gig ticket, you know their music. It’s everywhere, from the dance floor to the Brazilian tampon ad and, with this summer’s compilation of the duo’s finest work, the tunes which have drifted in and out of the last few years are gathered together, in one place, for the very first time.
“A lot of people are aware of Groove Armada but don’t know exactly what it is that we’ve recorded,” Findlay explains. “This ‘Best Of’ is almost like reclaiming our own music. People might be quite surprised.”
From humble beginnings – the duo’s debut single, ‘At The River’, was first released on Tummy Touch in ‘97, limited to just 500 copies – Groove Armada soon provoked a hysterical response from critics and fans, and the subsequent release of an album, ‘Northern Star’, cemented the band’s reputation.
In 1998 they signed to Jive’s Pepper Records offshoot and have since released a further three studio albums - Vertigo (1999), 2001’s splendidly parenthesised ‘Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)’, and ‘Lovebox’ (2002) – as well as a handful of essential mix albums showcasing the broad influences that feed into the Groove Armada hit machine. And with each album came the singles, from the sublime, jazzy drift of a re-released ‘At The River’ to solid-gold floor fillers like ‘I See You Baby’ and ‘Superstylin’’ and the blissed-out grooves of ‘Easy’.
The Groove Armada sound, with its diverse musical styles, is impossible to second guess but, says Andy, when collected here the songs still hang together perfectly. “We have been told that our albums have been a bit all over the place,” Andy admits. “But when Tom and I both like a sound, we know that it’s right for Groove Armada. It’s a criteria that’s served us well.”
The future? “This ‘Best Of…’ isn’t drawing a line under Groove Armada,” Andy says, “but it is a bit ‘end of Part One’. There’s loads we still want to do together. We’d love to do something incredibly odd and minimalist, but we’d also love to work with our live band and just bang out an album like a funk act.” In the immediate future Andy’s travelling for a year – first stop, Barcelona – but the pair will continue their phenomenal Lovebox club nights, and are itching to get back on the road with the Groove Armada live band. There are records to maintain, you see.
“We hold the record at the Brixton Academy as the band to have played most nights in a year,” adds Andy. “And, apparently, we also broke some sort of record for our bar tab. It’s all been spectacularly rock and roll, really…”
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