Groove Armada

Veteran London dance duo Groove Armada emerged during the late-’90s mainstream electronica boom with their upbeat blend of house music and big beat. Founded by Tom Findlay and Andy Cato, they scored hits with their signature anthems “I See You Baby” from 1999′s Vertigo and the Grammy-nominated “Superstylin’” from 2001′s chart-peaking Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub). The pair maintained their momentum through the 2000s, issuing their two highest-charting singles to date, the disco-funk hits “Get Down” and “Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)” from 2007′s Soundboy Rock. While the 2010s kicked off with a bang and a third Grammy nomination for 2010′s Black Light, the decade saw just one other release (2015′s Little Black Book). They returned in 2020 with their ninth set, Edge of the Horizon. The group formed in 1996 after Findlay and Cato were introduced by the latter’s girlfriend. They soon started their own club — named Groove Armada after a ’70s discotheque — where the pair would spin progressive house. By 1997 they had released a handful of singles, including “4 Tune Cookie” and “At the River”; their debut album, Northern Star, followed the next year. Issued in 1999, their sophomore set, Vertigo, made the Top 20 of the British charts and earned platinum status in the U.K. The single “I See You Baby” broke them into the international mainstream, buffered in part by a remix by Fatboy Slim and an early 2000 U.S. release of Vertigo. An album of remixes followed shortly after, featuring post-productions by DJ Icey and Tim "Love" Lee. After releasing a mix album for the Back to Mine series, the duo issued their third LP, 2001′s gold-certified Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub). Peaking at number five in the U.K., the set produced the Grammy-nominated global hit single “Superstylin’” featuring vocals by MC M.A.D. The following year, fourth effort Lovebox (Columbia) highlighted a new kind of funk for Groove Armada, with kitschy vibes and collaborative efforts coming from Neneh Cherry, Nappy Roots, and R&B chanteuse Sunshine Anderson, who featured on the disco-fied single “Easy.” Funky fifth album Soundboy Rock continued the emphasis on catchy hooks, reaching the British Top Ten upon release in 2007. Featuring vocals by Sugababes’ Mutya Buena, the pop single “Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)” became their second U.K. Top Ten. After closing the 2000s with compilation and EP releases, Groove Armada returned in 2010 with the Grammy-nominated Black Light, a dark electronic affair featuring vocals from Saintsaviour (“I Won’t Kneel”), Bryan Ferry (“Shameless”), and Will Young (“History”). A remix album, White Light, followed later that year, adding the previously unreleased track “1980.” Before the release of their next full-length, the duo issued a series of EPs, including No Knock, No Ejector Seat, and Pork Soda, while Findlay released the ’80s-flavored mix album LateNightTales Presents Automatic Soul in 2014. Their only other Groove Armada album of the decade, Little Black Book arrived in the summer of 2015 and featured just one single, “Alright.” A year later, they released another mix album, blending songs from Tiga, Chez Damier, and Josh Wink onto Fabriclive.87, which was issued through the Fabric label. In 2020, Groove Armada unveiled a new era with “Get Out on the Dancefloor” featuring Nick Littlemore and “Lover 4 Now” with Todd Edwards. Both tracks appeared on their ninth LP, Edge of the Horizon, which was released that October. They followed a year later with the Full Crate EP, which was released on Origins Rcrds. The short set featured Paris Brightledge on “A Little Longer.” 2022 found the pair in retrospective mode with the GA25 compilation, which collected some of the greatest hits from their first quarter century such as “I See You Baby,” “Superstylin’,” and “Song 4 Mutya.” They kicked off 2023 with the release of “Rescue Me” and a pair of remixes on an EP of the same name. ~ Heather Phares & Neil Z. Yeung