Morcheeba
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Morcheeba | |
|---|---|
 Skye Edwards in concert, 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | morcheeba |
| Members | Skye Edwards Ross Godfrey |
| Past members | Paul Godfrey |
Morcheeba are an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock, folk-rock and downtempo, and have produced nine regular studio albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten.[1] Edwards left the band in 2003, after which the brothers used a number of singers before she rejoined in 2009. They recruit additional members for their live performances and have toured internationally. In 2014 Paul Godfrey resigned from the band. Edwards and Ross Godfrey later formed Skye | Ross and released a self-titled album in September 2016.[2] Their latest studio album as Morcheeba, Blaze Away, was released in June 2018.[3]
Contents
Biography[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
Originally from the small town of Saltwood,[4] just north of Hythe, Kent, the Godfrey brothers—DJ/producer Paul Godfrey and multi-instrumentalist Ross Godfrey—moved to London when they were in their late teens.[5][6][7][8] Sometime in the mid 1990s, at a party in Greenwich, the brothers met Skye Edwards, who was singing backup in a funk band, and also played guitar; before too long the three began recording songs together, and formed the trio Morcheeba.[4][9] At first they produced tracks at their home studio,[4] together with engineer Pete Norris.[8][10]
They were eventually signed to China Records[4] by Angus Blair (A&R) and the band released their debut Trigger Hippie EP,[11] in October 1995. At the same time, Paul Ablett came on board as manager.[10] The band's debut album, Who Can You Trust?, was released in April 1996 and fitted into the trip hop genre through a combination of Paul Godfrey's hip hop roots, Ross Godfrey's psychedelic rock influences and Edwards' soul-styled vocals. A second single, "Tape Loop", appeared in July 1996. The band began to play live around Europe and North America,[12] with a live band that included five additional members.[13] At this point, the band had outgrown the home recording set-up and the brothers purchased their own studio.[14] In 1997, they contributed to the David Byrne album Feelings, participating in the recording and production of the release.[8][15][16]
Mainstream success[edit]
With a more professional recording set-up, the brothers began developing their ideas for a second album. Much of the material had already been written, and, with Norris involved again, the band moved towards a more mainstream sound.[14] At the same time, Edwards appeared on the BBC charity single "Perfect Day". The follow-up, 1998's Big Calm, moved away from trip hop towards a more pop-oriented, song-based sound. This was exemplified by the band's reworking of "Moog Island" (from their debut) into the pop-song "The Music That We Hear".[17] One of the album's singles, "The Sea", became a radio favourite. The album proved to be a big seller and ensured Morcheeba's success as a breakthrough act.[18] In 1998, Morcheeba collaborated with Hubert Laws to record the classic song "Summer Time" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
In 2000, Morcheeba released their third album, Fragments of Freedom. This repeated the sales success of Big Calm but received a less positive critical response. The band's fourth album, Charango, was released in 2002 and saw a diminished role for Edwards. The singles "Otherwise" and "Way Beyond" followed. The lyrics for "Undress Me Now" were written with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, while other collaborators on the album were with rappers Pace Won and Slick Rick. In January 2003, the band undertook their first significant tour of the US since 1998.[19] In 2001, the Godfrey brothers contributed three songs to the Jim White album No Such Place.[20]
Split[edit]
By the end of 2003, the Godfrey brothers split with Edwards, citing creative and personal differences.[21] Edwards received "a phone call from our manager saying that it was over. It was a relief to think we didn't have to continue".[22] She was under the impression that the band had ceased to operate. A greatest hits compilation, Parts of the Process, helped to retain interest in the band and featured two new tracks: "What's Your Name" (featuring a rhyming cameo from Big Daddy Kane) and "Can't Stand It". At around the same time, they released the live DVD Morcheeba: From Brixton to Beijing. A decade later, Ross Godfrey reflected on this period, saying: "We just felt like we couldn't breathe, I'd been in the band and on the road since I was 18, so to have any kind of break from that was just amazing".[23]
The two brothers reunited the year after, leaving Paul to explain that "Ross and I realised that Morcheeba was kind of our family company, and that we wanted very much to keep it going, hence the change".[24] In 2005, Morcheeba released their fifth studio (and first post-Edwards) album, The Antidote. Daisy Martey (formerly of the band Noonday Underground) was recruited to replace Edwards as the album vocalist. However, Martey's period with the band was brief and she was sacked in the middle of the promotional tour, to be replaced by Jody Sternberg. Martey subsequently sued the band for breach of contract and defamation.[25] Sternberg's own tenure with the band was similarly brief, and she only appeared to have been part of the band to fulfil tour dates. According to Ross, the entire episode "was difficult to say the least. It left us in near-ruin".[26]
After a break of several years, Morcheeba released their sixth studio album, Dive Deep, in February 2008. On this album, the Godfrey brothers fell back into their role as producers, selecting five vocalists to perform their songs. The folk-rock singer Judie Tzuke, Norwegian born Thomas Dybdahl and blues singer/guitarist Bradley Burgess appeared as lead vocalists together with the Korean-American rapper Cool Calm Pete and French singer Manda (Amanda Zamolo).[27] Both Manda and Burgess toured with Morcheeba as lead singers on their 2008 tour.
Reunion[edit]
As a solo artist, Edwards remained with the same management company as Morcheeba—Chris Morrison the CM of CMO Management represented both artists—which led to a chance meeting in their London offices sometime in 2009. Edwards and the Godfrey brothers met again to discuss her possible involvement in a new project. Initially the singer was hesitant and pointed out that she "really enjoyed doing my solo stuff and writing my own lyrics".[28] Eventually, Edwards rejoined the band and the trio began work on a new album,[21] with Edwards still on tour promoting her solo album, Ross Godfrey living in California and Paul Godfrey in France.[29] On 12 February 2010, NME revealed that Edwards was once again back with the band, which was confirmed by Paul Godfrey the day after on the band's Myspace blog. Edwards made her live return with the band at the Caprices Festival, Switzerland on 9 April 2010.[30] Edwards' role in the band changed, as she had "become more confident in my ability as a singer and a songwriter", and found that during the recording process they were "more honest with each other, and [thus] we have a more honest record".[22]
Morcheeba released their seventh album, Blood Like Lemonade, on PIAS in June 2010, preceded by the single "Even Though". It was produced by Paul Godfrey, who described the album as "a warm, fuzzy blanket of psychedelia", while Edwards described the lyrics as "having dark themes".[22] She also remarked on how the brothers had made her part of the creative process again.[28] An eighteen-month tour followed that saw the band play around the Americas and Europe.[31]
Their eighth album, Head Up High, was released on 14 October 2013, again on PIAS.[32] When touring the band currently consists of Skye Edwards (vocals), Ross Godfrey (guitars), Steve Gordon (bass), Richard Milner (keyboards), Martin Carling (drums) and James Anthony (decks). In 2014, the band toured Australia.[33]
Departure of Paul Godfrey[edit]
In 2014 Paul Godfrey is claimed to have left the band.[34][35] Ross Godfrey later explained that: "Paul and I had not been getting on musically, or personally for a long time, and after the Head Up High album in 2013, Paul told us he was leaving the band, and he wanted Skye and I to buy him out of his share of the name. We disagreed on how much it was worth so no deal was struck. Skye and I thought it best to just release the record we had made under our own names. There will be no more Morcheeba albums".[2] Paul Godfrey has since established a recording studio, Sacrosync Sound, in Hastings.[36][37]
Ross Godfrey and Skye Edwards announced a new project in 2016 named Skye & Ross.[38] They have toured, and released an eponymous album on 2 September 2016.[39] The band started as an acoustic duo but soon included Edward's son Jaega (drums), her husband Steve Gordon (bass) and Godfrey’s wife Amanda Zamolo (backing vocals).[40][41] Edwards took responsibility for the lyrics while Ross Godfrey noted that the recording process was "a very organic experience".[42]
Blaze Away[edit]
The latest Morcheeba album, titled Blaze Away, was released on 1 June 2018[3].
Media[edit]
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- "Never an Easy Way" (from Who Can You Trust? release) was used in the opening sequence of the episode "Passion" (season 2, episode 17) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, partly under the narrative voiceover of the character Angel/Angelus (played by David Boreanaz).
- "Everybody Loves a Loser" was featured in the first season for the television series Hung, and was included on its soundtrack album issued in June 2010.
- "Be Yourself" was covered by the top 5 contestants of American Idol: Season 10. The recording was used in the show's weekly Ford commercial.
- "Get Along" was used in episode 4 from season 1 of Body of Proof.
- "On The Rhodes Again" (from Beats & B-Sides release) was used as source music in the film Traffic.
- "Who Can You Trust" was used in the first episode of The Sopranos, as Tony Soprano sits by a pool.
- The Shortcheeba remix of "Tape Loop" is featured on the enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto V's "Non-Stop-Pop FM" radio station.
- "Trigger Hippie" (from Who Can You Trust?) was used in the lingerie shop scene in the 1998 film Enemy of the State.
- "The Sea" (from Big Calm) was used as the theme tune for the UK reality TV show Shipwrecked.
- "World Looking In" was featured in the launch advert for the 2nd generation Ford Mondeo in the UK.
Band name[edit]
The name "Morcheeba" comes from the initials "MOR" (indicating Middle Of the Road) and "cheeba", a slang term for cannabis.[43]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [44] |
AUS [45] |
AUT [46] |
FRA [47] |
ITA [48] |
NOR [49] |
NZ [50] |
SWI [51] |
US [52] |
US Dance [52] | |||
| 1996 | Who Can You Trust? | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| 1998 | Big Calm | 18 | 67 | 22 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 37 | — | — | |
| 2000 | Fragments of Freedom
|
6 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 113 | — |
|
| 2002 | Charango
|
7 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 17 | 4 | — | — |
|
| 2005 | The Antidote
|
17 | 62 | 23 | 5 | 14 | — | — | 3 | — | — | |
| 2008 | Dive Deep
|
59 | — | 42 | 15 | 55 | — | — | 8 | — | 15 | |
| 2010 | Blood Like Lemonade
|
111 | — | 30 | 13 | 75 | — | — | 3 | — | 10 | |
| 2013 | Head Up High | 99 | — | 39 | 25 | 75 | — | — | 9 | — | 8 | |
| 2018 | Blaze Away
|
— | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
Compilation albums and others[edit]
- Beats & B-Sides (1998)
- Back to Mine (2001)
- Parts of the Process (The Very Best of Morcheeba) (2003) - #6 UK[53] UK: Gold
- The Platinum Collection (2005)
- The Works: A 3 CD Retrospective (2007)
- The Best of Morcheeba 1995-2003 (2011)
Singles[edit]
| Year | Song | UK [53][54] |
FRA [47] |
IRE [55] |
NLD | NZ | RUS | SWI | US Dance [56] |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Tape Loop" | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Who Can You Trust? |
| "Never an Easy Way" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Trigger Hippie" | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | "The Music That We Hear (Moog Island)" | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Shoulder Holster" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Big Calm | |
| 1998 | "The Sea" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Blindfold" | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Let Me See" | 46 | — | — | — | — | 46 | — | — | ||
| "Part of the Process" | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Summertime" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove | |
| 2000 | "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" | 34 | — | 48 | 82 | 2 | — | 33 | — | Fragments of Freedom |
| "Be Yourself" | 108 | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "World Looking In" | 48 | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "Otherwise" | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | 72 | 5 | Charango |
| "Way Beyond" | 147 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Undress Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 | "What's Your Name" (feat. Big Daddy Kane) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Parts of the Process |
| 2005 | "Wonders Never Cease" | 86 | — | — | 86 | — | 114 | — | — | The Antidote |
| "Lighten Up" | — | — | — | — | — | 240 | — | — | ||
| "Everybody Loves a Loser" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Enjoy the Ride" | 182 | — | — | — | — | 163 | — | — | Dive Deep |
| "Gained the World" | — | — | — | — | — | 180 | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Even Though" | — | — | — | — | — | 251 | — | — | Blood Like Lemonade |
| "Blood Like Lemonade" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Gimme Your Love" | — | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Head Up High |
| 2018 | "Never Undo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Blaze Away |
| "Blaze Away" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "It's Summertime"[57] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ "Morcheeba (singles, albums)". Official Charts. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b O’Neill, Eamon (September 2016). "Ross Godfrey Skye Ross Morcheeba Eonmusic Interview September 2016". eonmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Blaze Away - Morcheeba | Songs, Reviews, Credits". Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d Beaujon, Andrew (May 1998). "Morcheeba: Look Back in Languor". CMJ New Music Monthly. Issue 57. p. 26-28; here: p. 27.
- ^ "BBC Kent" Ross Godfrey interviewed on BBC Radio Kent by Jacob Rickard, 12 October 2013 (UK only)
- ^ "Paul Godfrey Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Ross Godfrey. "Ross Godfrey | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ a b c "CC interview" Bob Gourley 'Morcheeba interview with Ross Godfrey', Chaos Control magazine August 1998
- ^ "Skye Edwards interview" Teddy Jamieson, 'Skye high as Morcheeba return' The Herald (Scotland), 15 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Pete Norris interview" Tom Flint 'Pete Norris: Recording Morcheeba's 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day' Sound On Sound October 2000[dead link]
- ^ "Morcheeba - Trigger Hippie at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Morcheeba Gigography, Tour History". Songkick. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Levy, Doug (16 November 2000). "Live review - New York City Town Hall". NME. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Sound On Sound Morcheeba studio 1997" Sue Sillitoe, 'Morcheeba: From Clapham to The Orb' Sound On Sound, December 1997 (archived 25 November 2016)
- ^ "Byrne collaboration" Gil Kaufman 'David Byrne Collaborates With Morcheeba', MTV News (Addicted to Noise) 3 December 1996
- ^ Beaujon, Andrew (May 1998). "Morcheeba: Look Back in Languor". CMJ New Music Monthly. Issue 57. p. 26-28; here: p. 28.
- ^ "Classic album: Morcheeba on Big Calm". MusicRadar. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 660. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ Klinge, Steve (17 January 2003). "Singer can't label Morcheeba - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Jim White - No Such Place (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Gimme Noise" Archived 30 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Jen Edwards, 'Morcheeba: The revealing extended interview', Gimme Noise, 13 February 2011
- ^ a b c "Culture Compass: Skye interview 2010" Archived 8 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Leila Hawkins, 'Exclusive, Skye Edwards, Morcheeba', Culture Compass, 14 June 2010
- ^ "Features | A Quietus Interview | Specs, Drugs & Rock & Roll: True Stories Of Morcheeba". The Quietus. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "OMH Interview with Paul Godfrey" Ben Hogwood 'Interview - Morcheeba' music OMH, 3 August 2005
- ^ "Gigwise newsitem" Daniel Melia, 'Former Morcheeba singer sues Bandmate for assault' Gigwise, 5 January 2006
- ^ "Dive Deep interview" Jack Foley, 'Morcheeba discuss the journey to Dive Deep', IndieLondon, Accessed 21 March 2014.
- ^ "Discogs entry" Discogs entry for the album with credits, accessed 21 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Guestlisted interview" Leigh, Sky Edwards interview (2010), Digging A Hole, 21 August 2010
- ^ "IndieLondon interview with Paul Godfrey" 'Morcheeba - The IndieLondon interview', IndieLondon, June 2010
- ^ "Morcheeba to be rejoined by former singer for first time since 2003" (news story in NME, 12 February 2010)
- ^ "Joe's Pub at The Public - Public Theater". Joespub.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Morcheeba Announce New Album 'Head Up High' Released October 14th 2013". contactmusic.com. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ Flynn, Jacqueline (15 January 2014). "Morcheeba's Skye Edwards Talks Bluesfest, Collaborations And Ignoring The Critics - Music Feeds". Music Feeds. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Skye | Ross continues on post-Morcheeba". PledgeMusic. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ McDonald, Scott (3 September 2016). "New album for Morcheeba founders". www.pacificsandiego.com. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Paul Godfrey Selects Penn Elcom For New Studio - Pro Sound Web". Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Penn Elcom gets wired for new studio -". LSi Online. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Skye and Ross | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 25 November 2016.[dead link]
- ^ van Brugen, Sophie (26 September 2016), Morcheeba's Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey talk to BBC, retrieved 25 November 2016
- ^ Slater, Aaron (15 September 2016). "Interview: Skye Ross". Songwriting Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "A Chat with Ross Godfrey". AAA Music. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ Grand-Pierre, Ken (23 September 2016). "The 405 meets Skye And Ross". The 405. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "MORCHEEBA VICAR?". Soundonsound.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2014. (archive.org)
- ^ "Discography Morcheeba". theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discography Morcheeba". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discographie Morcheeba". AustrianCharts.at. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Discographie Morcheeba" (in French). lescharts.com. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discography Morcheeba". Charts.ord.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discography Morcheeba". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discography Morcheeba". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Discographie Morcheeba". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Morcheeba Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 378. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Chart Log UK: M Zobbel.de
- ^ Morcheeba discography irish-charts.ie
- ^ "Morcheeba Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ "It's Summertime by Morcheeba". Retrieved 5 June 2018.
External links[edit]
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