Groove Armada Tickets

Groove Armada
British dance music duo Groove Armada (Tom Findlay and Andy Cato) create imaginative sound collages that effortlessly mesh house, down-tempo, big beat, R&B, and funk. The group has collaborated with a diverse array of artists including Neneh Cherry, DJ Gram?Ma Funk, Sophie Barker, Nappy Roots, Sunshine Anderson, Mutya Buena and Richie Havens. They've been releasing influential albums since 1998, and several of their tunes and remixes have been used in TV spots on both sides of the Atlantic.

The duo released their fifth proper full-length, Soundboy Rock, in 2007, and also began working with international pop superstar Kylie Minogue. Tom Findlay has also described working with Prince as his dream collaboration, although there are no plans for such at the moment. Groove Armada has produced music that has featured in numerous media including advertising campaigns, movies and computer games as well.

In the mid-1990s both Tom and Andy ended up in London looking to bring their DJing knowledge to the big city. They set up their own club called Groove Armada, taking the name from a kitschy '70's disco club night in Newcastle, which Tom's friend Joe once ran. Initially it was a two-room venue where Andy played house in one room and Tom played funk in the other. Soon enough, they moved the party to another one-room venue and swapped turntable specialties. In 1997 the group released its first single on the Tummy Touch label of Findlay's fellow Cambridge exile, Tim Love Lee. At the River, an early masterwork with a laid-back funk beat, was released as a 7-inch in a limited run of 500 copies. It quickly became a rare, prized item, as aficionados scrambled to snatch the few available copies. It was a sensational start and the attendant buzz assured that there would be a welcoming environment for their debut album, Northern Star, released early in 1998.

With the host of indie singles and remixes, one indie album (Northern Star), and countless DJ gigs under their belts, Vertigo sits comfortably as a wonderful synergy between two kindred musical spirits. This acclaimed album has reached silver status in the UK, selling over 68,000 copies to date, as well as hitting the Top 20 in the British charts, as did all three singles taken from Vertigo. It was a diverse mix of techno beats and laid-back funk that demonstrated Cato and Findlay's vast repertoire.

Cato and Findlay next lent their talents to Ultra Records' Back to Mine series, compiling favorite tracks from a diverse array of groups. Released in September of 2000, Groove Armada's Back to Mine included tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Tears for Fears, Al Green, and Barry White. Cato and Findlay included a couple of their own cuts, and the selection of tunes added insight to how the duo arrives at their own eclectic concoctions. True to form, the album swings between hip-hop and soul, upping the tempo with house beats.

Their third album Goodbye Country (2001) was created largely with live instrumentation. The recording process included the use of live strings, percussion, and horns. The album was greeted with high acclaim. While it did not produce standout hits like its predecessor, it helped to more firmly establish Groove Armada as one of the leading proponents of experimentation on the ever-evolving dance scene.

Groove Armada toured in support of Goodbye Country, including well-received gigs in the United States, while maintaining a regular club night and producing their own radio show, Fireside Favorites, on London's Kiss FM. A Greatest Hits album appeared in 2004, the last of their releases with Pepper Records.

Their latest studio album Soundboy Rock was released in 2007 featuring tracks such as Get Down, Groove Extracts which follow the current UK trend of electric hard-house with rock elements and Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control) featuring the vocals of ex-Sugababes singer Mutya Buena, hailed by online music guide Popjustice as one of the best songs of 2007.

They are now primarily based in London, and continue to produce and record music as well as hosting semi-regular club nights in London and an annual London festival under the Lovebox banner.