Groove Armada

I think Ringorider below is just jealous. He sounds like a bedroom DJ who thinks his immaculate tastes need attention. I've been following electronic music seriously for more than 20 years. In that time I've heard great live music from the likes of Swayzak, DJ Dan, A Guy Called Gerald, Jeff Mills, Sasha, Doc Martin, Orbital, Underworld, Mixmaster Morris, Coldcut, and on and on. Groove Armada have played some of the best party sets I've ever heard. While they sorta sucked at the very beginning with their live setup, they are now top drawer as a live band. And as DJs, both times I've seen them in the right venue, they've knocked it out of the park.

Yes, they have some elements of "cheese" in their sound. But anyone who complains about Groove Armada being TOO cheesy likely doesn't have a girlfriend or wife. Trust me, I know many people like this. As for their productions? Give me a break. Many of them are absolutely fantastic. Check 'Entrance to Zanzibar' or 'Lazy Moon' for some of the best moody electronica around. Or give their latest New Wave electronica a spin, like 'Paper Romance' and 'I Won't Kneel' for a band that always seems to capture the moment.

I find a lot of the artists or music fans who complain about this kind of commercially viable dance music are angst-ridden youths, adults still parochial in their tastes or, rather humorously, musicians unable to achieve the same balance: Make badass music that can live on the radio, catch fire with a wider audience, get guys, and GIRLS to boogie, and still rock a big party to the break of dawn.

Groove Armada

(Pepper)

Members: Andy Cato, Tom Findlay

Long before they got 'the Madonna call' - she asked and got them to remix her Music single - Tom and Andy were DJing away at the club they ran called Groove Armada. They got the name from a cheesy kitsch 70's disco club night in Newcastle. In one room Andy played house and Tom played funk.

The guys put out a few singles, remixes and even an indie album Northern Star - as well as DJing. They also have a monthly residency at London's Fabric but it was the release of 1999's Vertigo album which brought them to the attention of the masses. Their I See You Baby single was remixed by Fatboy Slim and became their second top twenty single in a row.

Vertigo has now sold around the 100,000 mark and the boys are due to head off back to Ambleside in Cumbria where they do all their recording. Their star went through the roof when Madonna called them and asked them to submit a remix of Music - she's a fan too.