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Groove Armada: Back to Mine

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Groove Armada
Title: Back to Mine
Released: 2000.04.30
Label: DMC Publishing Ltd.
Time: 69:08
Producer(s):
Appears with:
Category: DanceFloor
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  1998.09.22
Price in €: 18,10
Web address: www.groovearmada.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Description of a fool [Groove Armada's Acoustic Mix] - Tribe Called Quest
[2] Playing your game baby - Barry White
[3] Piano grand - Tony D
[4] Stanway's revenge - Sidewinder (2)
[5] Snappiness - BBG
[6] Encounters - Ray Mang
[7] Sound of music - Dayton
[8] Your song - Groove Armada
[9] Next type of motion - Roots Manuva
[10] Light my fire - Al Green
[11] I Should've Known Better - Mica Paris
[12] Destination (Beach Towel Mix) - Schmoov
[13] 'Tall Stories [Lars from Mars mix] - Chaser
[14] Pharoahs - Tears for Fears

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Tom Findlay - Groove Armada
Andy Cato - Groove Armada

Bill Brewster - writer, disc jockey, wit, racunteur

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Vor dem erfolgreichen Durchbruch mit ihrem zweiten Album Vertigo waren Groove Armada (Tom Findlay und Andy Cato) besser bekannt als erfolgreiche Club DJs, die ihren Beruf in Clubs landauf landab, vom "Tangled" in Manchester bis zum "The End" in London ausübten. Bei ihrer ersten Mix-CD meiden sie rasante Tanzmelodien zugunsten eines eher zurückhaltenden Repertoires --- denken Sie eher an "At The River" als an "If Everybody Looked The Same". Back To Mine ist eine anspruchsvolle Mischung von Klassikern und modernen Stücken -- von Barry White zu Tears For Fears mit Zwischenstopps an allen Stationen entlang der Strecke. Ganz anders als bei anderen Zusammenstellungen gibt es hier nicht einen langweiligen Track, aber hervorragende Stücke wie Al Greens "Light My Fire" und Tony Ds "Piano Grand", die Kirsche oben auf dem Sahnehäubchen der Torte. Vertigo wurde 1999 bei den Preisverleihungen des Ministry Magazine zu Recht zum Best Chill Out Album gewählt -- Back To Mine ist ein würdiger Thronfolger.

Helen Marquis, Amazon.de



Prior to the breakthrough success of their second album, Vertigo, Groove Armada (Tom Findlay and Andy Cato) were better known as successful club DJs, plying their trade in clubs the length and breadth of England, from Tangled in Manchester to the End in London. For their first mix CD they eschew uptempo dance-floor tunes in favor of a far more laid-back repertoire--think "At the River" rather than "If Everybody Looked the Same." It's an eclectic mixture of classic and modern--from Barry White to Tears for Fears, stopping at all stations along the way. Unlike many of these kinds of compilations, there's not a duff track on here, and standouts like Al Green's "Light My Fire" and Tony D's "Piano Grand" make the cherry on top. Vertigo was justifiably lauded as the Best Chill-Out Album at the U.K.'s Ministry Magazine Awards in 1999; Back to Mine is a worthy heir to the throne.

Helen Marquis, Amazon.com



Following the Stateside success of their Vertigo album, Andy Cato and Tom Findlay invite us back to their pad for a mix-set of horizontal grooves and laconic moods, which doesn't fall a million miles away from the sound of their dreamy Balearic hit "At The River". Reflecting years spent hunting through dusty record crates, the fourteen cuts on offer join the dots between Barry White, BBG and Bath's finest, Tears For Fears. As usual, these funky boys weave a smartly-edited, mellow trip through soul, disco, deep-house, hip-hop, pop and techno, doffing their caps to independent labels like Grand Central, Soma, Noid and DIY Discs along the way. In addition to some bizarre sampling (even a radio shipping forecast is segued in at one stage), Groove Armada's "Your Song" gets remixed by Tim Love Lee, while Cato and Findlay find time to turn in an exclusive acoustic re-versioning of A Tribe Called Quest's "Description Of A Fool". But it's the inclusion of Al Green's gorgeous interpretation of The Door's "Light My Fire" that stands this chilled selection head and shoulders above its predecessors in the Back To Mine series.

Rough Guide / House



Could you care less what Groove Armada listen to at home? Such is the question posed by this edition in the series of at-home-with-[insert name of flavor of the month dance act] compilations, Back to Mine. Previously, Danny Tenaglia rifled through his dustier boxes and tempted us with nothing too revelatory. Faithless, in the most recent installment, reveal that they listen to little else but Faithless tracks and the band members' solo efforts. But even before you press play on your hi-fi-- with one glance at the Chardonnay-quaffing track listing-- you'll yawn, collapse, and curse yourself for shelling out beer money for such meager slurry.

Just how self-absorbed can Tom Findlay and Andy Cato be that they start with their own poo-stik acoustic rework of A Tribe Called Quest's "Description of a Fool?" Granted, they're not as solipsistic as Faithless, but you'd be hard-pressed not to agree that the two have long since begun to believe all the hype about their band.

From then on, all you have to do is imagine the least offensive, least un-Groove Armada-ish records you could hear if you were, against all the odds, invited back to their pad. By the way, does this compilation really imply that Findlay and Cato live together, like Bert and Ernie? Hmm...

So it is with no astonishment that track #2 is a hugely stringed Barry White number ("Playing Your Game, Baby"), trendily followed by some Mancunian hip-hop courtesy of Grand Central Records. While I'm thrilled to hear BBG's summery "Snappiness," I can't say the same for Mica Paris' "I Should've Known Better."

Rather than moving out of (or getting off) their tight little box and spinning some psychedelic nuggets or a snippet of a Richard Strauss tone poem, the lads persist in flying their faker flag higher and higher. Al Green's less than shamanic take on "Relight My Fire" is as forgettable as the woefully Ibizan dreck that constitutes Schmoov's "Destination (Beachtowel Remix)."

So I'm disappointed-- what did I have a right to expect? Well, seeing as how one of these guys is a fairly accomplished trombonist, I would have liked to hear at least a little Curtis Fuller, J.J. Johnson, or Kai Winding-- 'bone players with more soul than most of the copyist slags compiled here. But I'm being naïve. Back to Mine: Groove Armada is just another foot soldier in the corporate army dedicated to removing all that's incendiary and revolutionary about modern music. I can give no reason for the record's existence-- it's the equivalent of a token "style" article in an airline magazine, copies of which are kept by the sick bag without irony.

Groove Armada, judged by this compilation, are musically conservative and infuriating. If I ever had the fortune to be invited back to theirs, the least I'd hope to find propped up against the turntable would be a dog-eared copy of Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel. I'd then have a nice little chat with them about how they spent the money this obnoxious guff netted them.

Paul Cooper



What? Another mix CD?! Yes, Groove Armada are yet another in a long line of DJs / Producers to release a mix set for mass consumption this year. This album isn't really a stand-alone mix-CD though - it's part of Ultra Records' Back to Mine series, is in fact the fourth installment in the series (which includes Danny Tenaglia, Dave Seaman and Nick Warren). Back to Mine calls for world renowned DJs to compile the "ultimate after-hours chill-out mix," a concept that G.A.'s Tom Findlay and Andy Cato can really sink their teeth into, being, as their smash LP Vertigo demonstrated, well-established connoisseurs of smooth grooves.

As much a nod to Groove Armada's musical inspirations as an example of their mixing expertise, Back to Mine valiantly attempts to squeeze 30+ years of mellow groove-based music into a one-hour set. Jumping from genre to genre, decade to decade, this disc gives a brief overview of the connections between "old skool" and "nu-skool" grooves, from soul / R&B, to disco / funk, and up to modern hip-hop, house and downtempo. It may seem a big stretch between so many styles and years of music, but the Armada boys pull it all together with a fair amount of grace, owing to the attention paid to the underlying vibe of the tunes chosen -- always smooth, and often melancholic in nature.

They start the set off with a moody acoustic remix of A Tribe Called Quest's dark-tinged, "Description of a Fool," just completed by Groove Armada in time for this release. The pretty, light handed, mix of acoustic guitar and beats against the sad social commentary of the rap lends a distinctly bittersweet quality to the tune, and makes for a somewhat odd opening to the album.

They follow "…Fool" up with the most poignantly soulful track of the mix, "Playing Your Game," by the master of make-out music, Barry White. (Take note of the tricky mixing between the two tracks.) Nobody can belt out love lyrics quite like White, and this is surely one of his more timeless tracks. The ultra-smooth musical accompaniment has surely contributed inspiration to the downtempo movement of recent years, with it's laid back beats, deep Rhodes lines, and tragic string melodies.

The mix then jumps from the late '70s to the late '90s with a double hit of modern downtempo by Tony D. and Sidewinder, the first being more on the soul-tip, and the second on the funk-side. Both tracks could fairly easily be mistaken as '70s recordings, though, as their sense of retro is so strong. Both tracks also smack of recent Cooking Records (a subsidiary of Good Looking Records) fare, as well as that of label owner, LTJ Bukem's, 2000 release, Journey Inwards. Of course, "Piano Grand" and "Stanways' Revenge" came out in 1997 and 1999, respectively, so they actually predate Bukem's releases.

From retro-inspired downtempo, we're taken to retro-inspired house, with a set of distinctly 80's-edged house tracks. BBG's self-proclaimed "sweet instrumental," "Snappiness," bears the earmarks of late-'80s electro R&B, bouncing along with a rather goofy rhythm section which is strangely mixed with melancholy piano melodies and occasional pads that lend the track a heavy mood factor. The boldly named, "No. 1," by the equally pretentiously named Sir Raymond Mang, steps up the beat considerably with a super funky house beat and '80s-inspired basslines. This sets up a segue into some true '80s funkiness, "Sound of Music," by Dayton, which sounds an awful lot like Earth, Wind and Fire's classic chorale of sweet-voiced black men, ultra-funky rhythms and bittersweet melodies.

Back to Mine then takes us from the most upbeat track to the least, as it leads us into a sparse Tim "Love" Lee remix of Groove Armada's own, "Your Song." This minimal ethereal ballad would almost seem more at home on a This Mortal Coil record than sandwiched mid-album here, but it truly is a pretty little number, with sultry female vocals rebounding in on themselves from oodles of delay, amid light, shimmery, downplayed instrumental accompaniment.

The album finishes up with a less set-oriented feel, bouncing from track to track -- not so much carelessly as carefree -- between a number of genre styles and musical eras which build somewhat in intensity towards the album's conclusion. Roots Manuva gives us his smooth and mellow MC'd downtempo track, "Next Type of Motion," which segues surprisingly well into a steaming version of "Light My Fire" by the illimitable Rev. Al Green.

A bit more forced is the transition into Mica Paris's "Should've Known Better," which seems too modern and mainstream placed next to an early '70s recording. Though the song is pleasantly soulful on its own, it really sticks out in this context. Of course, the late '90s "Destination (Beach Towel Mix)," by the appropriately named Schmoov, follows up Paris well with its sophisticated deep house sounds. This tune would have made quite a fine ending to the set, as it seems to suggest sunrise and late-late night raving. But we've a few more tracks to go ...

Chaser continues the deep house groove with "Tall Stories (Lars from Mars mix)," which is a tad funkier and more upbeat, but still plenty atmospheric. And speaking of atmosphere, the last track, "Pharaohs" has plenty of that, as well it should, being an obscure track by moody New Wavers Tears for Fears. That'll hit you once the familiar strains of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" come in, like a refrain, toward the end of the track. A mighty strange way to wrap up this set, which begins with a song about pretty much the same subject matter, but on a smaller scale. Are Groove Armada making an obscure statement here, or is it mere coincidence?

Fourth Celestine Prophecy messages aside, the overall feel and execution of the mix is pretty consistent and skilled, if a bit quirky in song selection. They've definitely succeeded in creating a unique chill-out mix, and one that leaves us to wonder; how did these white boys get so groovy, anyway?

Anji Bee, September 22, 2000
 

 L y r i c s


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