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The
Chemical Brothers
The
Chemical Brothers are the UK-based Grammy Award
winning electronic music and rave duo of Tom Rowlands
and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical
Tom and Chemical Ed). Initially they called themselves
"The Dust Brothers", after the noted
United States production duo of the same name,
but their burgeoning popularity and the threat
of legal action from the originals led them to
change their name in 1995. Along with The Prodigy,
Fatboy Slim and The Crystal Method, as well as
other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of
the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known
for high-quality live sets.
Ten
years of The Chemical Brothers
Late
2002 and early 2003, saw Rowlands and Simons back
in the studio, working on new material, including
"The Golden Path", a collaboration with
Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of The Flaming Lips.
This was released in September 2003, at the same
time as a "best of" album, entitled
Singles 93-03 marking ten years of The Chemical
Brothers' releases. Singles 93-03 included most,
but not all, of their singles. A second new track,
in addition to "The Golden Path", was
included on the album, called "Get Yourself
High". Singles 93-03 was also released on
DVD, whose extra features included selected live
performances and interviews with Rowlands, Simons
and many of their collaborators from throughout
the period. "Get Yourself High", which
featured Canadian rapper k-os on vocals, was released
as a single in November 2003.
In
late 2003 and 2004, The Chemical Brothers continued
to work in the studio, on new material and a remix
of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. After being
released on rare white label vinyl, it was subsequently
given a commercial release in March on CD (on
her next single "Red Blooded Woman")
and on exclusive 12" vinyl picture disc (containing
two other Kylie remixes). In Summer 2004 they
returned to the festival circuit, including appearances
at the Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo, Scotland and
Ireland. They also visited South America for the
first time, arriving at Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
It was during these sets that they played new
material, including "Acid Children",
which proved to be one of the most popular new
tracks.
In
September 2004 The Chemical Brothers released
the seventh Electronic Battle Weapon. "Electronic
Battle Weapon 7" was being released as a
one-sided promo-only 12", containing "Acid
Children". A marked departure from the Chemical
Brothers' previous musical endeavours, it featured
a screeching 303 bassline and a distinctive vocal
sample; a pitch-altered sample of Freddie Krueger
proclaiming "You Are All My Children Now!",
which is lifted from an old horror film, A Nightmare
on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge. Coupled
with the projection of a sinister clown mouthing
these same words at their live gigs made for quite
an experience.
The
Electronic Battle Weapon series of promo releases
have typically been newly recorded Chemical Brothers
tracks, released on promo to allow DJs to test
them in a club environment, and to gauge their
popularity.
Push the Button
In
2004, The Chemical Brothers began work on Push
the Button, their fifth studio album, which features
collaborations with Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke
and Anwar Superstar, amongst others. The album
was released on January 24, 2005.
"Galvanize",
which features Q-Tip on vocals, was the first
single to be taken from Push the Button, and premiered
exclusively on iTunes. The single was released
on January 17, 2005, and entered the UK chart
at #3. The second single "Believe" (featuring
Kele Okereke from Bloc Party) failed to crack
top 10, but still made it into the top 20, peaking
at #18. "The Boxer", featuring Tim Burgess,
became the duo's first single to fail to crack
the top 40.
The
album and single "Galvanize" won a Grammy
in the Grammy Awards of 2006. One of the songs
in this album, "The Big Jump" appears
in the video game Burnout Revenge, as well as
Project Gotham Racing 3. The track "Surface
To Air" features a pulsing chord progression
and baseline reminiscent of the intro to The Strokes
song "The Modern Age".
Tate
Tracks
In
September 2006, the Chemical Brothers were revealed
as the first musicians to be involved in Tate
Tracks. Tate Modern invited various groups and
songwriters to choose a work that inspired them
from the gallery's collection of modern art and
then write a track about it. The Chemical Brothers'
submission, Rock Drill, was inspired by the Jacob
Epstein sculpture Torso in Metal from The Rock
Drill, and can be heard on headphones in front
of the work in the gallery. From October 2006,
it also became available to hear online at the
Tate Tracks website.
We Are the Night
The
Chemicals welcomed June 2006 with an announcement
on their official forum stating that the duo had
been working on fresh material, specifically an
album, codenamed 'Chemical 6'.[3]. Simons also
announced that the band would be playing select
venues in the Summer 2007 season, specifying Rome,
and also Fabric in London.[citation needed] Simons
is also quoted as saying that the duo are 'hoping
to put a battle weapon out for the summer,'[4],
retrieved possibly referring to the 'Electronic
Battle Weapon' series, which are somewhat experimental
tracks the band occasionally release on white
label.
Electronic
Battle Weapon 8 & 9 were debuted on Pete Tong's
BBC Radio 1 show on December 8, 2006. The double
sided vinyl was finally released just before The
Chemical Brother's much anticipated New Years
Eve gig at the famous Turnmills in London. The
vinyl had a limited edition release worldwide
and has been received well by fans, DJs and critics
alike. Electronic Battle Weapon 8 at about six
and a half minutes is very distinct from the 'big
acid' style that the earlier battle weapons adhered
to. It is characterised by 'thundering dirty drums'
with a rising synth line, and to many it is perceived
as being one of the most euphoric tracks that
the Chemicals have released in recent years. A
version of this track features on the 'We Are
The Night' album and is entitled 'Saturate'. Electronic
Battle Weapon 9 is typical Chemicals dancefloor
track with their trademark vocoder vocals coupled
with sirens and a basic 'tribal' melody.
At
the same Turnmills gig, the Brothers also played
a previously un-released song at midnight to welcome
2007 which went down well with the crowd. This
track eventually emerged as Burst Generator, found
on the album We Are The Night. Many are left wondering
if the latest in the Electronic Battle Weapon
series were simply one off genius pieces or signal
a new direction they could take with the new album,
perhaps swaying from their genre defining 'big
beat' psychedelic albums of the past.
On
March 21, 2007, The Chemical Brothers officially
announced their forthcoming album on MySpace.
The new album entitled "We Are the Night",
was released on July 2, 2007 in the United Kingdom
and July 17, 2007 in the United States. The Chemicals
cited a delay in the production of artwork for
this delay. EMI subsequently released an online
'old-skool' The Chemical Brothers computer game
as an apology. The track listing was released
to the fans on the official mailing list on April
10th. The new album is heavily collaborated with
the likes of Klaxons (on "All Rights Reversed"),
Midlake (on "The Pills Won't Help You Now"),
Ali Love (on "Do It Again") and Willy
Mason (on "Battle Scars").
On
April 12, 2007, Pete Tong again had the privilege
of giving the world the very first preview of
a Chemicals track. This time it was the first
single "Do It Again" off their new album,
aired on his BBC Radio One "In New Music
We Trust" show.. The track is widely regarded
as dance floor friendly, dominated by pop vocals
and a minimalistic production approach.[citation
needed] The track is regarded as a 'grower' after
gaining mixed reviews after the first listen on
Pete Tong's show, with its simplistic catchy vocals
and electro beat. The official release of the
single was June 4 (digital download) and June
14 (12", 7" and CD).
In
2008, The Chemical Brothers' music will also be
featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's
best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical
Romance.
The
album went on general release in the UK on July
2nd.
Live
The
Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of
the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their
live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic
images, strobe lights and lasers that project
over the crowd. There has been speculation over
how much of their live gigs are pre-recorded,
although they insist (on their official website
FAQ) that they have a mere outline of track order
and the rest is mixed live. This would seem to
be confirmed by concert goers who have seen gigs
on consecutive nights and have posted notable
differences between the sets played.
The
Brothers have also played at many major festivals,
from Glastonbury to Reading and currently hold
the record for most gigs performed in a year at
the Brixton Academy.
In
addition to performing their own music they also
hold regular DJ nights where they mix other artist's
tracks (in the style of Brothers Gonna Work It
Out).
As
with their recorded albums The Chemical Brothers
are well known for their incorporation of guest
vocalists into their live performances. Notable
appearances in recent gigs have included Bernard
Sumner of New Order, who sang on the original
"Out of Control", and Tim Burgess.
The
duo also played at the launch event for the Wii
gaming device.
On
the night of the 1 September 2007, The Chemical
Brothers played at the main stage of the Electric
Picnic to a crowd of around 20,000. The festival
was however marred by the death of a 23 year-old
fan. The incident occurred as The Chemical Brothers
came to a climax at 2 a.m. early on the Sunday
morning. Organiser John Reynolds extended his
sympathies and said: "A young man took ill
at the festival, was treated at the medical centre,
removed to Port Laoise Hospital and was later
pronounced dead." Police said they were not
treating the death as suspicious.
The
Chemical Brothers took over the streets of downtown
Los Angeles on September 29, 2007, headlining
the 13th Annual Nocturnal Wonderland Festival.
(Credit:
Wikipedia).
Media
Man Australia is delighted to bring The Chemical
Brothers showcase to you in collaboration with
EMI Music and Virgin Records
Websites
Multimedia
- Steaming Media - Music Video
'Push
The Button' jukebox
The
Chemical Brothers official website
Profiles
Virgin
Records
Virgin
Music
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