GROOVE ARMADA
Love Saves The Day, Bristol
When you think of Groove Armada you may be sent back to the early 2000's classics Superstylin’, My Friend, or the soulful notes of Hands of Time. They have also released their latest EP, Free Jam, just this year, testament to their lifelong dedication to creating vibrant, bass-heavy club music that gets people moving.
Lesser known, however, is that DJ’s Andy Cato and Tom Findlay (like most of us I'm sure) have their own side hustles-turned careers outside of their music. We found out more at Bristol's Love Saves the Day Festival.
After several years in France discovering the horrors of the industrial food system, Groove Armada's Andy Cato co-founded Wildfarmed to produce and promote sustainable and regenerative foods. You may have even seen him on the third series of Clarkson’s Farm recently. Tom Findlay, on the other hand, and as a result of his own lived experience dealing with mental health in music, is a therapist.
Whether it's a musician, artist, or scientist, or a combination of all three, understanding the exact metrics for the acquisition and mastery of a skill remains a fascination for many. Some estimate, for example, that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to master a craft. Others suggest that ‘genius’ and naturally ability alone is enough, or opt for a combination of the two. Regardless of this, Groove Armada have confessedly and unashamedly spent ‘thousands of hours trying to work out how you make live dance music sound phat.’ And I think we can all agree that they have succeeded.
“It’s such a healthier and better environment that we are in now where people are open to talk about the things that can be a struggle sometimes.”
Since the 1990’s and their early low-fi trip-hop days, Tom and Andy were simply influenced by the music that they were listening to; drawing on the likes of Air and the incredible ‘Moon Safari’ album, Portishead, Zero 7, and Bent (a wee bit later) to name a few, their taste for 90’s sounds made their own musical journey ‘seem possible’ at the time. Having then tried their hand on the decks and craving ‘just a bit more’ from live performance, Groove Armada continue to hone their craft in pursuit of energy, community and togetherness.
That’s really where things started to change for Andy and Tom on the road to establishing Groove Armada as we know it, morphing their act into an infectious live show. The subsequent smash-hit single Superstylin’ (2001) starring vocals from MC M.A.D (Mike Daniels) came out of this environment of discovery and exploration, as well as anticipation for playing live and making people move. Simply put, when playing in front of 15,000 people at the likes of Glastonbury, for example, it’s always good to put on a show!
“We’ve been around for so long and the conversations in music around mental health have evolved; even 15 years ago when I was struggling with my own mental health, it just wasn’t talked about.”
TALK TO NOBODY - Groove Armada
This isn’t all easy-breezing, though. Tom, now also a therapist, admits that back even 15 years ago the landscape and conversations around mental health in the music industry were very closed, and ‘it just wasn’t talked about.’ Having struggled with his own mental health as an artist in the industry, Tom concedes with humility that (like the rest of us) even today he doesn’t always get it right. Being honest, realistic, and treating yourself well while having self-discipline is important, albeit challenging, and the industry needs role models like Groove Armada as masters of longevity. We are fortunate to be at a place where we can have these open conversations. And, as Tom says, ‘long may it continue!’
Talking of longevity, this is at the forefront of Andy’s activities as a champion of sustainable and regenerative farming. His own enterprise, Wildfarmed, is a ‘collective of farmers’ with a mission to empower people through food and to encourage others to ‘use their food choices to act.’ Since beginning the enterprise in 2018 and spending lots of time in the fields himself, these days Andy is less physically involved. As he states, the essence of his mission as a farmer is ‘trying not to do a dissimilar job to what we do [musically], which is trying to create moments of togetherness and unity around a party. In this case, it’s a really important thing.’
The two life-long friends laugh as they mention trading therapy for bread and vice versa, showing they continuality work together in and out of the world of music.
The pair also reminisce on some of their favourite live performances which really demonstrate their ability to bring people together. In particular, Andy recants a tale from one of their performances at Brixton Academy, working with the 60’s folk and soul icon Richie Havens on a live rendition of Going Back to my Roots. Havens (1941-2023) was a veteran musician who, among many achievements, opened the original Woodstock 1969 on his acoustic guitar. When collaborating on the track live, Andy recants, they had the privilege to witness the true power of live performance; Richie ‘entered this trance-like state… channelling this energy’ like nothing they’d seen before.
We’ve got to admit, seeing Groove Armada live at Love Saves the Day was also pretty special, not to mention inspiring to hear about how they balance their activities outside of music after over two decades in the industry. Having recently partnered with Defected Records for the release of their latest EP Free Jam (2024), we look forward to seeing how they continue to push the limits of live performance as a timeless dance duo.
“Trying not to do a dissimilar job to what we do [musically], which is trying to create moments of togetherness and unity around a party. In this [farming] case, it’s a really important thing... I buy his bread… and he gives me therapy – so it’s quite a good deal!”
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