The Chemical Brothers
The Chemicals welcomed June 2006 with an announcement on their official forum stating that the duo had been working on fresh material, specifically an album, codenamed 'Chemical 6'.[3]. Simons also announced that the band would be playing select venues in the Summer 2007 season, specifying Rome, and also Fabric in London.[citation needed] Simons is also quoted as saying that the duo are 'hoping to put a battle weapon out for the summer,'[4], retrieved possibly referring to the 'Electronic Battle Weapon' series, which are somewhat experimental tracks the band occasionally release on white label.
Electronic Battle Weapon 8 & 9 were debuted on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 show on December 8, 2006. The double sided vinyl was finally released just before The Chemical Brother's much anticipated New Years Eve gig at the famous Turnmills in London. The vinyl had a limited edition release worldwide and has been received well by fans, DJs and critics alike.[citation needed] Electronic Battle Weapon 8 at about six and a half minutes is very distinct from the 'big acid' style that the earlier battle weapons adhered to. It is characterised by 'thundering dirty drums' with a rising synth line, and to many it is perceived as being one of the most euphoric tracks that the Chemicals have released. A version of this track features on the We Are The Night album and is entitled 'Saturate'. Electronic Battle Weapon 9 is typical Chemicals dancefloor track with their trademark vocoder vocals coupled with sirens and a basic 'tribal' melody.[citation needed]
At the same Turnmills gig, the Brothers also played a previously un-released song at midnight to welcome 2007 which went down well with the crowd.[citation needed] This track eventually emerged as Burst Generator, found on the album We Are The Night. Many are left wondering if the latest in the Electronic Battle Weapon series were simply one off genius pieces or signal a new direction they could take with the new album, perhaps swaying from their genre defining 'big beat' psychedelic albums of the past.
On March 21, 2007, The Chemical Brothers officially announced their forthcoming album on MySpace. The new album entitled We Are the Night, was released on July 2, 2007 in the United Kingdom and July 17, 2007 in the United States. The Chemicals cited a delay in the production of artwork for this delay.[5] EMI subsequently released an online 'old-skool' The Chemical Brothers computer game as an apology.[6] The track listing was released to the fans on the official mailing list on April 10th. The new album is heavily collaborated with the likes of Klaxons (on "All Rights Reversed"), Midlake (on "The Pills Won't Help You Now"), Ali Love (on "Do It Again") and Willy Mason (on "Battle Scars")[7].
On April 12, 2007, Pete Tong again had the privilege of giving the world the very first preview of a Chemicals track. This time it was the first single "Do It Again" off their new album, aired on his BBC Radio One "In New Music We Trust" show.[citation needed]. The track is widely regarded as dance floor friendly, dominated by pop vocals and a minimalistic production approach.[citation needed] The track is regarded as a 'grower' after gaining mixed reviews after the first listen on Pete Tong's show, with its simplistic catchy vocals and electro beat. The official release of the single was June 4 (digital download) and June 14 (12", 7" and CD).
In 2008, The Chemical Brothers' music will also be featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
The album went on general release in the UK on July 2nd.
The Chemical Brothers supplied a new track for the Heroes Soundtrack titled 'Keep My Composure'
[
Live
The Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights and lasers that project over the crowd. There has been speculation over how much of their live gigs are pre-recorded, although they insist (on their official website FAQ) that they have a mere outline of track order and the rest is mixed live. This would seem to be confirmed by concert goers who have seen gigs on consecutive nights and have posted notable differences between the sets played (see External links below.)
The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, from Glastonbury to Reading and currently hold the record for most gigs performed in a year at the Brixton Academy. The brothers have infamously despite their high status in the mainstream, never appeared on Top of the Pops, with the use of music videos to replace the performance, sometimes accompanied by a video apoligising for their absence. In 1999 a live US tour video of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" was shown, even though the song was not in the top 40 at the time, and also released other singles before then at the time.
In addition to performing their own music they also hold regular DJ nights where they mix other artist's tracks (in the style of Brothers Gonna Work It Out).
As with their recorded albums The Chemical Brothers are well known for their incorporation of guest vocalists into their live performances. Notable appearances in recent gigs have included Bernard Sumner of New Order, who sang on the original "Out of Control", and Tim Burgess.
The duo also played at the launch event for the Wii gaming device.
On the night of the 1 September 2007, The Chemical Brothers played at the main stage of the Electric Picnic to a crowd of around 20,000. The festival was however marred by the death of a 23 year-old fan. The incident occurred as The Chemical Brothers came to a climax at 2 a.m. early on the Sunday morning. Organiser John Reynolds extended his sympathies and said: "A young man took ill at the festival, was treated at the medical centre, removed to Port Laoise Hospital and was later pronounced dead." Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.[1]
The Chemical Brothers took over the streets of downtown Los Angeles on September 29, 2007, headlining the 13th Annual Nocturnal Wonderland Festival.
The duo have been announced as one of the head-liners for Roskilde Festival 2008 in Denmark. The festival is held from the 3rd-6th of July and is the biggest festival in Northern Europe.
[
Discography
[
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
[
References
- ^ "Sho" typeface font at Linotype
- ^ Brothers Gonna Work It Out (XDUSTCD 101) booklet, page 2.
- ^ Chemical Brothers New Material - The Chemical Brothers Official Site
- ^ Simons, Ed. Post at the official forum. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ Album release date announced - The Chemical Brothers Official Website
- ^ New album The Chemical Brothers delayed, here's a 'sorry guys' - EMI Records
- ^ The Chemical Brothers launch details new album
[[Category:]]==External links==
|
||||||||||||||||||||
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.