It’s time to welcome the turning of the Mayan Long Count calendar. With that in mind we’ve lined up two showcases of the best of We Love on both sides of the border. First up is one of the biggest annual party’s in Scotland, Hogmanay in Edinburgh where the whole centre of town is taken over for a street party. Things will be warmer in the Liquid Room where Julio Bashmore, jozif, Deetron and a host of local residents are set to welcome in the bells with style. You’ll find tickets, here.
Check out this video made by the capable hands of Jocie Cox featuring jozif and the story behind his summer residency on the We Love Space terrace.
Next up we’re jumping on the east coast main line down to join a host of We Love stalwarts at our London home, Ministry of Sound. The lineup is huge by anyone’s standards with a host of our headline summer residents all together under one roof. There’s a rare UK appearance from Groove Armada and we’re welcoming back Simian Mobile Disco and Joris Voorn after stellar sets at our last New Year show (hard to believe that was almost a year ago!).
Check out our latest radio show with an exclusive live mix from Groove Armada on the Space Terraza recorded during the summer.
The resident theme continues into the smaller but perfectly formed 103 room. Disco-house doyens PBR Streetgang are joined by Jem Haynes and Ian Blevins for what will be the debut of their Second Line project.
As we get ready for the Opening Party on June 12th, we launch a new series of weekly podcasts with an exclusive mix from Groove Armada and an interview with We Love promoter Darren Hughes and Music Director Mark Broadbent.
Groove Armada will be bringing an audio-visual treat to the Terrace six times this summer – Groove Armada present Redlight – and in the second part of the podcast we have a preview of their new darker sound before they debut on June 19th.
But first we sit down and talk with Hughes and Broadbent about strange haircuts, interesting DJ names and some of their plans for this summer at Space.
Music comes courtesy of Weirdo Police, Caribou, a Carl Craig classic from 20 F@#&ING Years of Planet E, and an exclusive from Mr Doris. The podcast is hosted by Andy Wilson.
And they say nurses have it bad… This summer our roving brand evangelist Andrew Livesey took to the skies taking the We Love… party with him. Taking in London, Montenegro, Croatia and parts of the world only accessible by boat, the summer series of We Love tours featured standout performances from Groove Armada, DJ Hell, 2020Soundsystem, Ewan Pearson, Todd Terje and Lottie to name only a few. A special mention must go to Mat Playford and Jem Haynes who fulfilled their role as touring residents spectacularly. Along the way Andrew managed to break himself away from sampling the local cuisines for long enough to take a few photos of what was going on.
It’s going to be one long weekend for Tom and Andy of Groove Armada, preparing for their live tour with a rare DJ set for We Love at Ministry of Sound on Saturday 14th August, followed by the much lauded ‘Black Light’ full live show at Space in Ibiza on Sunday 15th August. Also on the bill for the London show will be Ewan Pearson and Will Saul who made his debut at We Love this summer, being so impressed as to call it one of his best gigs ever. Long serving We Love resident and good friend of Groove Armada, Jason Bye will bring be opening and closing the main room. It’s set to be an exquisite weekend of quality house and electronica – from Ibiza to London and back!
Check below to see how Groove Armada are going down this summer on the famous Space Terraza.
Over the past decade, Tom Findlay and Andy Cato have established themselves among the planet’s most loved dance acts, storming charts and stages across the world. Through the years Groove Armada have moved through moody ambient electronica, urban riddims’ and with their latest offering, the album Black Light a sort of new-wave mesmeric pop. They find a fanbase in everyone from angst ridden youths to parochial minded adults and admiration from other musicians for their uncanny ability to create music that can live on radio and music television while still be able to get guys and girls boogieing on the dancefloor until the break of dawn.
There is an unusual blend of influences in each of their albums, spanning house (of course), big beat, reggae, disco and funk. Production wise they definitely have the knack of combining a traditional range of instrumentation with modern rhythms and technology. Their DJ sets however are most definitely rooted in house. Cato and Findlay remain two of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans of the genre you are ever likely to meet.
Although they have played in venues as diverse and remote as Romanian beaches and WW1 aircraft in Los Angeles, the duo always return to Ibiza. With a prodigal sons type vibe in the air, it’s promising to be a special season on the Terrace at We Love.. Space this year for Groove Armada as DJs and as live performers when their Black Light show rolls into the cavernous Discoteca.
Take note in your diaries ladies and gentlemen. Groove Armada will be DJing at We Love on the following dates: 20th June, 18th July and 19th of September. Expect that spectacular live show on the 15th of August.
For now we’ll leave it to Andy Cato (he’s the 6ft 8 Yorkshireman) to give us some insight to his musical history and hopes for the future. Genuinely interesting and insightful – thank you Andy.
Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
Several. On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Chronicles by Bob Dylan, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, The Manual by Bill Drummond, The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock, etc.
Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
My dad was a blues player so he got me playing blues on the piano as soon as I could sit up. He also rigged up a bag of nails hung over a hook in the roof so I could start playing the trombone before I was old enough to lift it.
How did you begin to work professionally in music?
I was doing jazz gigs, weddings, funerals and the like from age 13 onwards. When I could get out of school, I used to spend afternoons in a studio underneath Wakefield Snooker Club, working out how it worked in exchange for releasing the tunes via the son of the club owner.
How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
I can’t tell you which bit of my musical life I’m drawing on when it comes to sitting down to write a song. I’m sure it’s all in there somewhere. But when you walk out to play to 50,000 people, it helps to have spent most of your life on stages, however small they were. And as far as DJing goes, there’s a big part of the sound at the moment that’s rooted in where it all started for me. The sound of Basics, Kaos, Soak and DiY parties in ’89/’90. A lot of the old tunes are coming back up from the basement. There was also a real importance back then in working your tunes in the right order – before fx and loops could cover the gaps – and that’s stayed with me.
Where is your current studio and what is it like?
It’s in an old cowshed. It’s actually the first proper studio I’ve ever had. I’ve been quite nomadic and have had studios in various cellars, bedrooms and boats up until now. It’s got some nice gear and pair of speakers I bought from Mike Oldfield that could rival the Terrace soundsystem.
Black lights
How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
It’s been more lack of marketing issues for us. Until recently we were stuck on a major with Britney and NSync, with little attention coming our way. This meant we put a lot of work into the live show, the DJ sets, things we could get out there and do ourselves without hanging around waiting for answers from the label. In this way, GA has always been a DIY project. It’s meant less time for studio work over the years, but given that making a living in music is all about the gig these days, it hasn’t worked out too bad.
How would you describe your work?
A game of four halves. A lot of people only know the big singles and have no idea about all those deep and weird album tracks, the GA house sound, the amazing vibe of the live show, or the fact that Black Light (the new album) is the best music we’ve ever made. So we’ve still got a way to go.
Who were your teachers?
Studio-wise I just went for it from the off and worked it out. It takes a long time but it’s the best way to do it. DJ-wise, Sasha at Shelleys was one inspiration, and my cousin, Digs DiY the other. As a result I’ve always been sowewhere between the big breakdown and the hypnotic groove. In terms of playing instruments, it was my dad and Grimethorpe Colliery Band for the trombone, Stan who now plays with Faithless on the bass, and a woman down the road whose name I can’t remember for the piano.
Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
Carry my records back upstairs.
You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would that be?
It would have to be the mosquito, but you can bet that there’d be an unforeseen outcome and we’d lose all our chickens or something within the year. That’s the thing with species. Once they start going, the rest follow.
If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
I’d repeat the 13th – 21st July, 1991 at the DiY free party, Morton Lighthouse. It doesn’t get any better.
Thanks again to Andy Cato for taking time out of his busy touring and production schedule to answer our 11 Questions, you can find the archive of everyone else who has kindly answered here. Check out the video below for a taste of Groove Armada live incase you haven’t witnessed it before. And remember, the full Black Light live show will be out in full force for We Love… Space on Sunday 15th August.
Just another manic Monday, I wish it was Sunday, ’cause that’s my fun-day. You can raze those lunes blues with some rocking lo-fi garage stoner-surf from Ruairi, some pretty balearica from Julie and some unapologetic classic rock and hip hop from Andy.
