 The Chemical Brothers - The act with the first arena-sized sound in the electronica
movement, the Chemical Brothers united such varying influences as Public Enemy, Cabaret Voltaire, and
My Bloody Valentine to create a dance-rock-rap fusion which rivaled the best old-school DJs on their
own terms -- keeping a crowd of people on the floor by working through any number of groove-oriented
styles featuring unmissable samples, from familiar guitar riffs to vocal tags to various sound effects.
And when the duo (Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons) decided to supplement their DJ careers by turning their
bedrooms into recording studios, they pioneered a style of music (later termed big beat) remarkable for
its lack of energy loss from the dance floor to the radio. Chemical Brothers albums were less collections
of songs and more hour long journeys, chock full of deep bomb-studded beats, percussive breakdowns, and
effects borrowed from a host of sources. All in all, the duo proved one of the few exceptions to the rule
that intelligent dance music could never be bombastic or truly satisfying to the seasoned rock fan; it's
hardly surprising that they were one of the few dance acts to enjoy simultaneous success in the
British/American mainstream and in critical quarters.
While growing up, both Rowlands and Simons grooved to an eccentric musical diet, ranging
from the Smiths and Jesus and Mary Chain to Kraftwerk and Public Enemy. They met while taking the same
history course at Manchester University, though neither were native Mancunians -- Rowlands enrolled because
of the legendary Haçienda nightclub nearby, while Simons acknowledged the city as birthplace to the Smiths
and New Order. The pair began sampling Madchester's vibrant nightclub scene together during 1989 and 1990,
just at the peak of Britain's fascination with a DJing style named Balearic. Pioneered at the island hot
spot of Ibiza during the mid-'80s, Balearic relied on a blend of early house music, Italian disco,
rare-groove jazz and funk, Northern soul, hip-hop, and alternative dance. Original Balearic DJs like
Trevor Fung, Paul Oakenfold, and Mike Pickering brought the sound back to indie clubs in London and
Manchester, and the style proved very attractive to musical eclectics like Rowlands and Simons.
Though Rowlands was already performing in the alternative dance group Ariel, the pair
began DJing together at the Manchester club Naked Under Leather in 1991. Hardly believing that their
weekend project would progress, they took the semiserious handle Dust Brothers (a tribute to the American
production team responsible for one of their favorite albums, the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique). Despite
their doubts, Rowlands and Simons' club night did grow more popular, thanks to the duo's Balearic mix of
rare house tracks flavored with hip-hop breakdowns, independent-dance fusions, and ancient secondhand
discards. After deciding to try and re-create their unique sound in their tiny bedroom studio, the Dust
Brothers emerged with "Song to the Siren," an intriguing example of the new alternative dance scene
including sample victims Meat Beat Manifesto and This Mortal Coil.
After the single was pressed up on a limited release of 500 copies, it began getting
attention from Britain's top DJs, initially including an old friend named Justin Robertson but later
including Andrew Weatherall and Darren Emerson. Weatherall licensed the single to Junior Boy's Own
Records, and after the pair had finished university, they moved back to London to work on another EP
(14th Century Sky) and a residency at another club. After their third release, "My Mercury Mouth," the duo
began to get more high-profile clients for remixing: besides Justin Roberston's Lionrock collective,
Primal Scream, the Prodigy, and the Charlatans all received treatments.
When lawyers for the original Dust Brothers came calling in 1995, though, Rowlands and
Simons were forced to change to change their name to the Chemical Brothers (the proposed Dust Brothers
U.K. was turned down). Word on the street and nightclub scene was so good that it hardly mattered; their
new residency at the Heavenly Sunday Social quickly became one of the hottest club nights in England --
documented on the mix disc Live at the Social, Vol. 1 -- and their debut album, Exit Planet Dust, was
heavily praised by critics. Another fan of the record, Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, agreed to lend his
vocals to a future single named "Setting Sun," the Chemical Brothers' tribute to one of their own
favorites, the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." The single went to number one in late 1996, and the
Chemical Brothers opened up for the giant Oasis concert at Knebworth besides headlining their own shows
all over the world.
The Chemical Brothers' second album, Dig Your Own Hole, took charge
of the top spot on the album charts upon its release in April 1997, and on the wings of America's growing
electronica push, the album sailed to number 14 stateside and went gold. The duo released a mix album in
1998, Brothers Gonna Work It Out, and followed with their third studio LP, Surrender, in 1999. Rather
lackluster expectations sparked a return to the underground with the white-label-only single "It Began
in Afrika," and the duo's fourth album, Come With Us. It too failed to earn the high notices of the first
two albums, although after another three-year gap Rowlands and Simons returned with an improvement, 2005's
Push the Button. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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