Joe Goddard

Whether working with Hot Chip, the 2 Bears, and HARD FEELINGS or as a producer, DJ, remixer, and co-founder of the Greco Roman label, Joe Goddard’s deep love of dance music and idiosyncratic pop makes him one of the U.K.’s most prolific and respected artists. Hot Chip’s inventive pairings of hooks and grooves on albums such as 2006′s The Warning paved the way for Goddard’s numerous collaborations, which spanned 2011′s driving single with Valentina “Gabriel,” the freewheeling house of the 2 Bears’ 2012 album Be Strong, 2017′s Grammy nominated remix of the Chemical Brothers’ “Wide Open,” and the barbed electro-pop of HARD FEELINGS’ 2021 eponymous debut. As a solo artist, Goddard brought the emotions in his work to the fore by celebrating music’s power to connect people on 2017′s Electric Lines and 2024′s Harmonics. Growing up as the son of a film editor who worked on music videos for bands such as the Cure, Goddard was exposed to pop music and the technology used to create it at an early age. While attending Putney’s Elliott School in 1991, he met Alexis Taylor, with whom he bonded over their love of Beastie Boys as well as American indie singer/songwriters such as Will Oldham and Bill Callahan. They also began working on their own music, and found a mentor in their schoolmate, Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden. Goddard’s taste in music also grew to include jungle, house, drum ‘n’ bass, and garage, influences that were evident by the time he and Taylor officially started working as Hot Chip in 2000. The duo became a full-fledged band with the addition of Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, and Felix Martin, and their debut album, Coming on Strong, landed in 2004 on Moshi Moshi. Two years later, Hot Chip made their breakthrough with The Warning. A more fully realized version of the band’s witty electro-pop, it was certified gold in the U.K. and earned a Mercury Prize nomination, while the singles “Over and Over” and “Boy from School” became Top 40 hits in the band’s homeland. In 2007, Goddard founded his own record label, Greco Roman, which would become an outlet for his love of house music. The first release was a 12” from David E. Sugar titled “Oi New York, This Is London,” and the label featured artists including Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Drums of Death, and Disclosure. Goddard balanced Hot Chip’s growing success — their 2008 album Made in the Dark was a Top 10 hit in the U.K., while its single “Ready for the Floor” was nominated for a Grammy — with his own projects. In 2009, he produced Little Boots’ Hands, formed the house and techno project the 2 Bears with Raf Rundell, and released his debut solo album, Harvest Festival, via Greco Roman. Alongside the release of Hot Chip’s 2010 album One Life Stand and EPs with the 2 Bears, Goddard continued to release singles through his own label, including 2011’s U.K. hit “Gabriel.” That year, he also did production work on rapper Dels’ Gob. Goddard remained busy in 2012, with Hot Chip delivering its eclectic fifth album In Our Heads and the 2 Bears issuing its first full-length, Be Strong. The following year, he produced a song on Franz Ferdinand’s Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action and released the solo single “Taking Over.” The 2 Bears returned in 2014 with The Night Is Young, a collection of tracks inspired by the duo’s travels in South Africa, while Hot Chip resurfaced in 2015 with the post-punk and disco-tinged Why Make Sense? Goddard then teamed up with Michael Mayer on the !K7 single “For You” and with Mixhell on the Crocodile Boots EP, both from 2016. Along with joining forces with Floating Points and Caribou’s Dan Snaith among others for the supergroup A Pulse Train’s EP Tactus Tempus, in 2017 Goddard released his second solo album Electric Lines, which reached number 77 on the U.K. albums chart. Additionally, his remix of the Chemical Brothers’ “Wide Open” was nominated for a Grammy. Goddard then produced a track on bandmate Taylor’s 2018 album Beautiful Thing and joined forces with Matthew Dear and Eats Everything for that September’s single “Love Games.” Goddard returned to Hot Chip for 2019’s mellow A Bathful of Ecstasy but continued to collaborate prolifically, working with Mixhell and Lyzza on 2019 singles. With Marcus Marr and Justin Strauss he formed Extra Credit, who released the Emotional Make Up EP late that year. Lightbox of Magic Unknowledge, which also featured Igor Cavalera and Laima Leyton, made its debut with 2019’s L M U EP and delivered its follow-up, L M U Volume Two, a year later. Also in 2020, Goddard collaborated with former Wild Beasts vocalist Hayden Thorpe on the single “Unknown Song.” Singles with Franky Rizardo and Lyzza followed in 2021, as well as production work on Teleman’s Sweet Morning EP and the self-titled debut album from HARD FEELINGS, his electro-pop duo with Horse Meat Disco vocalist Amy Douglas. In 2022, Hot Chip issued Freakout/Release, while Goddard produced music by Talk Show, Warmduscher, and Sparkling. In 2023, he released a pair of singles, “Do It All Again” and “Loverboy,” with singer/songwriter Fiorious, who also appeared on Goddard’s next solo album. Arriving in July 2024, Harmonics explored intuitive creativity — as well as disco, U.K. garage, house, and hip-hop — with contributions from artists including Guinean vocalist Falle Nioke, Ibibio Sound Machine, Thorpe, and Hot Chip’s Taylor and Doyle. ~ Heather Phares & Liam Martin