One nation under a groove

Purveyors of big, dumb, cheesy, smirk-inducing electronica are ten-a-penny this weather, but none (with the possible exception of Fatboy Slim) have ever carried it off quite as stylishly as Groove Armada.

A major draw at beeps-and-beats festivals worldwide since their 1999 smash ‘I See You Baby’, the pair are set to make an appearance at the inaugural Irish incarnation of the Lovebox festival, which has already taken place five times in the UK to ecstatic receptions.
Featuring a mixed line-up (this year’s includes Toots & The Maytals and Super Furry Animals), Tom Findlay considers Lovebox the finest gathering of its kind anywhere in the world.
“I think it’s got everything to do with the people who run it. They know exactly what’s needed; they’ve a real feel for what it should be about, and they seem to get all the little details right. Also, they think outside the box – getting acts that you wouldn’t really think of to play. If you haven’t got the budget to get the world’s biggest bands, you need to be creative about it. So it’s just a beautiful day all round. I’m sure we’ll both run amok – well, I will – but only after the show. You need to strike a balance. I’m getting very good at pacing myself.”
Tom is in the curious position of fronting a zillion-selling, household-name group while being well able to walk down the street without being hassled or generally recognised.
“It’s good,” he reflects, “it’s nice to have your life to yourself. Our music has managed to reach a lot of people, but people probably don’t know our names and that’s fine, I don’t think I could deal with too much hassle.”
Serial collaborators, the Armada have recorded with Kylie, Angie Stone, Boy George and Mutya Buena among others. Tom has spoken in the past of an as-yet-unfulfilled ambition to shack up in the studio with Prince, and rumours abound that they might make an appearance or two on Kylie’s forthcoming album (expected some time this autumn).
“It’s quite natural when you think about it,” Tom reasons. “Her background is pure dance music, her stuff has been moving in a very trip-hop direction for years now. We’ve already done a couple of things with her – it’s early days yet, but I think it’s gone well, there’s one track she seems to really like. I can’t give any guarantees, but it’s looking good.”
In his spare time, Tom has lent his energies to launching TuneTribes.com, an independent music download service which has rapidly become home to thousands of artists and labels. As he explains: “Every couple of months I do something daft. I’m actually not involved with them any more, there just isn’t the time, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Most of the music that’s doing really good business now is the independent stuff anyway. The minute I became aware of the internet, it seemed obvious to me that there were so many possibilities for music on it, online record stores and the like. I’d go to Australia and find that people couldn’t get their hands on the records we could get in London.
“By now I think most people consume their music online and digitally, instead of buying from traditional record shops. You’ll still probably always have record shops, but they’ll be specialist niche stores. People have busy lives, and the internet’s an extremely convenient way of doing your shopping. You can access anything you want. Maybe that’s taken the buzz out of it, the way you used to have to spend days hunting for something you really wanted, but you can’t argue with it."
In a private capacity, Tom confesses that his current listening is very much the antithesis of cool.
“I like Fleetwood Mac, and all kinds of ‘70s and ‘80s soft rock. I don’t see that’s likely to impact on the work of Groove Armada, it just wouldn’t work. We’ve definitely got a wider range of styles going now, though. You get bored with doing the same thing all the time. Obviously we’re best suited to doing big, floor-filling, crowd-pleasing numbers, that’s always seemed to be how people perceive us and what they go for, but we’re trying to introduce bits and pieces of downtempo and trip-hop. Give ‘em what they don’t expect.”
Any advice for pimple-faced aspiring DJ’s out there?
“Don’t waste time worrying about what might go wrong, and think big but start small and work your way up. Get a club night going, work on it, make sure your mates come to every gig, and make a record. It’s much easier and cheaper than it used to be. It’s a piece of piss, really.”
Groove Armada play Lovebox at Malahide Castle on July 21.