Ed Simons
Tom Rowlands
The Chemical
Brothers
Even though they have been
spinning discs and pleasing
club crowds in England since
1990, the Chemical Brothers
were virtually unknown in the
United States until early 1997. Since the explosion
of what record industry folks are calling
"electronica," the techno-spinning duo of Ed Simons
and Tom Rowlands has become somewhat of a
sensation. Their pictures have been splashed across
the covers of most major music magazines in the
US and UK. Everyone wants to interview them. And,
they even turned down an opportunity to work with
the Rolling Stones. The reason: they felt like they
were just two guys creating dance music and didn't
want to get thrown into the spotlight.
So who are the Chemical Brothers? Tom and Ed
met at the University of Manchester in a history
course. At that time, Tom was already in a band,
Ariel, and they had recorded an album. Ed sort of
just hung around the band. In 1992, Tom left Ariel
and he and Ed signed on with deConstruction,
calling themselves The Dust Brothers. The two
continued creating hip hop dance grooves influenced
by the likes of the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.
Moving down to London, the Brothers got steady
gigs dee-jaying in places like the Heavenly Sunday
Social club. From there, they began re-mixing
material for Prodigy, Charlatans, Primal Scream and
Sabres Of Paradise.
In 1995, the American production team, The Dust
Brothers, threatened to sue the English duo if they
don't change their name. Hence, the birth of the
Chemical Brothers. With their new name, the
Brothers release their first LP Exit Planet Dust on
Freestyle Dust/Junior Boy's Own/Virgin labels.
The Chemical Brothers are now on Astralwerks, an
affiliate of Virgin Records. Their long-awaited second
LP, Dig Your Own Hole, was released in April 1997
to rave reviews. The biggest and best review they
could have received was when Oasis songwriter Noel
Gallagher asked the Brothers if he could record a
song with them. "Setting Sun" appears on the
Brothers' newest effort. The first week the album was
out, it sold upward of 40,000 albums and debuted at
No. 14 on the Billboard 200. [from: Rolling Stone]
DISCOGRAPHY
Surrender
Freestyle Dust/Astralwerks, 1999
Brothers Gonna Work It Out
Astralwerks, 1998
Dig Your Own Hole
Astralwerks, 1997
Exit Planet Dust
Astralwerks, 1995
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