The Chemical Brothers
Biography
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed in Manchester in 1992 by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands. They are regarded as one of the leading acts associated with the big beat genre and have also incorporated elements of house, techno, neo-psychedelia and alternative dance into their music.
The duo originally performed under the name The Dust Brothers, adopting it in reference to the American production duo of the same name. Following objections from the original Dust Brothers, they changed their name to The Chemical Brothers, taking inspiration from their track "Chemical Beats". Their debut album, "Exit Planet Dust" (1995), reached number nine on the UK Albums Chart and sold more than one million copies worldwide. After signing with Virgin Records, they released "Dig Your Own Hole" (1997) and "Surrender" (1999), both of which reached number one in the United Kingdom. Later albums including "Come with Us" (2002), "Push the Button" (2005) and "We Are the Night" (2007) also topped the UK Albums Chart.
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Throughout their career, the duo have collaborated with a range of musicians, including Noel Gallagher, Beth Orton, Bernard Sumner, Q-Tip, Beck, St. Vincent and Aurora. Rowlands and Aurora later collaborated as the project Tomora.
The Chemical Brothers have achieved 13 top-20 singles in the United Kingdom, including the number-one singles "Setting Sun" and "Block Rockin' Beats". They have received multiple Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Instrumental Performance, Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album for "No Geography" (2019).
Ed Simons was born on 9 June 1970 and attended Dulwich College before studying history at the University of Manchester. Tom Rowlands was born on 11 January 1971, grew up in Henley-on-Thames and attended Reading Blue Coat School. The pair met while studying at the University of Manchester in 1989, where they discovered a shared interest in dance music, club culture and the Manchester music scene. Before forming the duo, Rowlands was a member of the band Ariel.
In 1992, Simons and Rowlands began DJing in Manchester before producing their own music. Their debut single, "Song to the Siren", was released through their own Diamond Records label before being reissued by Junior Boy's Own in 1993. Subsequent releases included the EPs "Fourteenth Century Sky" (1994) and "My Mercury Mouth" (1994). Their track "Chemical Beats" appeared in the 1995 video game "Wipeout".
"Exit Planet Dust" established the duo internationally and included collaborations with Beth Orton and Tim Burgess. They supported The Prodigy on tour and performed at major festivals including Glastonbury and Knebworth. In 1996, they released the number-one single "Setting Sun", featuring Noel Gallagher.
Their second album, "Dig Your Own Hole", was released in 1997 and featured the singles "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Elektrobank". The album received favourable reviews and was followed by extensive international touring. During this period, the duo also produced remixes for artists including Primal Scream, Manic Street Preachers, The Charlatans, Spiritualized and Mercury Rev.
"Surrender" (1999) continued their commercial success and featured guest appearances by Noel Gallagher, Bernard Sumner, Bobby Gillespie, Jonathan Donahue and Hope Sandoval. Singles from the album included "Hey Boy Hey Girl", "Out of Control", "Let Forever Be" and "Music: Response". The music video for "Let Forever Be", directed by Michel Gondry, received widespread attention for its visual effects.
Their fourth studio album, "Come with Us" (2002), included collaborations with Richard Ashcroft and Beth Orton. Singles included "Star Guitar", "It Began in Afrika", "Come with Us" and "The Test". The duo also produced New Order's "Here to Stay" for the film "24 Hour Party People". Music from the album appeared in films including "The Butterfly Effect" and video games including "Project Gotham Racing", "Lumines II" and "WRC II: Extreme".
In 2003, The Chemical Brothers released the compilation "Singles 93-03", which included the new tracks "The Golden Path" and "Get Yourself High". They continued recording and released "Push the Button" in 2005. The album featured collaborations with Q-Tip, Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke and Anwar Superstar. The single "Galvanize" became one of their best-known recordings and, together with the album, won Grammy Awards.
"We Are the Night" followed in 2007 and featured guest appearances by Klaxons, Midlake, Ali Love and Willy Mason. Singles included "Do It Again", "The Salmon Dance" and "Midnight Madness". In 2008, they released the compilation "Brotherhood", which also included the complete "Electronic Battle Weapon" series.
Their seventh studio album, "Further", was released in 2010 alongside a series of films created to accompany each track. The duo composed the soundtrack for the film "Hanna" (2011) and contributed additional music to "Black Swan". Their concert film "Don't Think", documenting a performance at the Fuji Rock Festival, was released in 2012. That year they also composed "Theme for Velodrome" for the cycling events at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Following a period in which Rowlands undertook solo projects, The Chemical Brothers released "This Is Not a Game" for the soundtrack to "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1". Their eighth studio album, "Born in the Echoes", was released in 2015 and featured collaborations with Q-Tip, Beck, St. Vincent, Ali Love and Cate Le Bon. During the accompanying tour, Adam Smith temporarily replaced Simons at live performances while Simons took a break from touring for academic work. Simons returned to the live line-up in 2016.
The duo released "No Geography" in 2019. The album received positive reviews and won three Grammy Awards, including Best Dance/Electronic Album. Singles from the album included "Free Yourself" and "We've Got to Try".
In 2021, they released the single "The Darkness That You Fear", followed by "Work Energy Principle". Their tenth studio album, "For That Beautiful Feeling", was released in 2023 and included the singles "No Reason", "Live Again", "Skipping Like a Stone" and the title track. A biography, "Paused in Cosmic Reflection", was published later that year.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chemical_Brothers
Studio albums
Exit Planet Dust (1995)
Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
Surrender (1999)
Come with Us (2002)
Push the Button (2005)
We Are the Night (2007)
Further (2010)
Born in the Echoes (2015)
No Geography (2019)
For That Beautiful Feeling (2023)
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.
