A Short History of the Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers were inspired by the Dust Brothers. The Dust Brothers had sprinkled their magic sonic dust over the Beastie Boys' breakthrough album 'Paul's Boutique'. The Chemical Brothers, Tom and Ed, were still at University when they started making music. They started playing at student parties and soon found themselves with a residency at Naked Under Leather, a club night run by Lionrock's Justin Robertson. They both graduated with 2:1's in History and moved to London where they managed to blag a residency on Great Portland Street, release some stuff on the Deconstruction dance label, work on some remixes by Republica, Leftfield and Lionrock, and get a deal with Junior Boys Own Records. Not bad for a couple of students barely out of University.

The Sunday Social residency let the duo show-off their DJ skills. They didn't just mix tracks with matching beats, or fill out the night with easily mixed instrumental tunes. They mixed anything into anything, if it was danceable then it was playable. The one golden rule was that it had to feel right, the order of the tracks was all important and the vibe inside the club had to be nourished and nurtured as the night went on. The Sunday Social was a place for celebrities. Everyone who was anyone attended. Noel Gallagher, Bobbie Gillespie, Tim Burgess, Paul Weller etc etc . This led to Tom and Ed finding themselves with a queue of remixing work to do. They turned down Oasis, they turned down David Bowie and only worked with people who they liked. The first real Chemical Brothers remix was 'Song To The Siren' by This Mortal Coil. It was a slow and beautifully mesmeric soundscape originally penned by Alex Chiltern, but the Chemical Brothers turned it into a big beat, with Liz Fraser's vocal looped and placed low in the mix, submerged by bass rumbles. It was one big announcement of intent.

In 1994, the Chemical Brothers turned down more big stars. The likes of Aerosmith and INXS were turned away at the door and the duo instead worked with Beth Orton, a little known English alt-folk singer from Norfolk. She had already worked with the DJ's on their debut album 'Exit: Planet Dust' in 1995. It was an album made for the dance floor as would be expected, but it could also be played at home. It is full of eclectic sounds, textures, funky guitars, vocal experimentation, and of course big beats, irresistible big beats that have you nodding before you realize what you are doing.

The second album was called 'Dig Your Own Hole' and features the monster international hit 'Block Rockin' Beats'. It's a pre-cursor to DJ's like Fatboy Slim, with the stop the beat, wait a bit, then start the beats and dance mentality. There are songs sung by Beth Orton and Noel Gallagher, Kool Herc, the hip-hop pioneer is also in there too. The album finishes with 'The Private Psychedelic Reel'. It's a track which travels through Indian droning, folk-rock, and house music in the name of psychedelia and has elements that can be found on Mercury Rev recordings.

'Surrender' was released in 2001 and simply picks up where 'Dig Your Own Hole' left off. There is a development in textures and sounds and it has the single 'Hey Girl Hey Boy' which was also a big dance hit. The centerpiece of the album is a track called 'The Sunshine Underground' which starts off mid-tempo and then increases in pace as more and more sounds are fed into the mix. It finally emerges as a techno track and shows how far the Chemical Brothers have come in terms of sound textures and dance arrangements.

This ability to mix-up style was further highlighted on 2002's 'Come With Us'. It blends together organic and electronic sounds but retains a sense of their own identity as a band. They have, throughout their career, managed to avoid cliche. They have had the integrity to turn down international superstars who want in on the duo's cool dance sheen and have themselves become superstar DJ's along the way.