Underworld

Based in Romford, Essex, England, Underworld arose from the ashes of indie pop band Freur in the late 80s. The original line-up featured Karl Hyde (b. 10 May 1957, Worcester, Worcestershire, England; guitar/vocals), Rick Smith (b. Richard Smith, 25 May 1959, Ammanford, Wales; keyboards), Baz Allen (keyboards), Alfie Thomas (guitar) and Bryn Burrows (drums). Their debut album as Underworld, a funk rock affair produced by Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins, found some success, particularly in the USA. Burrows was replaced by Pascal Consoli before a second album was recorded, which enjoyed unlikely success in Australia. Key members Hyde and Smith then brought this line-up to an abrupt end during a 1990 tour supporting the Eurythmics.

Hyde worked with Deborah Harry, before returning to England to set up the Tomato media project with Smith and former Freur member John Warwicker. In 1992, Hyde and Smith re-formed Underworld as a predominantly dance music-orientated band with DJ Darren Emerson (b. 30 June 1971, Hornchurch, Essex, England). Their first releases were the privately distributed "The Hump"/"Mother Earth" and "Dirty", the latter released as Lemon Interrupt. They had their first success as Underworld in early 1993 with "Mmm ... Skyscraper I Love You" and later that year with "Rez", both of which became popular with the dance fraternity. While the latter was a straightforward dance track that arranged a few analogue riffs, regular four-on-the-floor drums as well as more busy tribal-sounding percussion, into various build-ups and breakdowns, "Mmm ... Skyscraper I Love You" was a more varied and carefully structured track which introduced Hyde's vocals into a rich, psychedelic techno sound.

During this time the band gained respect in wider circles by performing live at various events including Megadog and the MIDI Circus and achieved further recognition and popularity in 1993 when they released the album Dubnobasswithmyheadman. Building on the same kind of diversity as "Mmm ... Skyscraper I Love You" the album featured a broad ranging techno style which was at times deep and psychedelic, and other moments melodic and almost pop-like, and was always characterized by Hyde's fragmented lyrics. Mixing elements of what were irreconcilable styles including ambient, house, techno and dub with pop sensibilities, it appealed to a broad audience and was hailed by some of the rock press as the most important dance album of the time, while purists had reservations about them diluting their techno sound. Much of the sound from this innovative album continued to have resonance in music produced into the late 90s.

In June 1995, Underworld received an enthusiastic response when they played a number of dates in America with the Chemical Brothers, the Orb and Orbital. In the same year they released a single "Born Slippy", which gained mass exposure on the soundtrack to the ultra-hip movie, Trainspotting and was subsequently re-issued in 1996 when it became a chart hit. Second Toughest In The Infants, which introduced breakbeats and elements of drum 'n' bass into the sound, was even more successful than its predecessor, despite being a darker and sometimes more claustrophobic set. That year they also headlined a number of dance and rock festivals, including Reading and Tribal Gathering's Big Love.

Underworld remixed material by numerous artists including Björk, Simply Red and Orbital, and continued to DJ around the UK. At the same time Hyde and Smith became more involved with their art and design collective Tomato which has experimented with various innovative multi-media projects, as well as various commercial projects including advertising and promo videos. In 1998, Underworld and Tomato combined in a series of performances aimed at blurring the lines between bands and visual artists. In March 1999, Beaucoup Fish was released to rave reviews and became a major success. The following April Emerson announced his decision to leave the band to work on solo projects, although they did release the first Underworld live album in September.

Hyde and Smith continued as a duo, referring to themselves as Underworld Mk. III and completing a new album, A Hundred Days Off. The album was greeted with generally good reviews, although there was the suspicion in some quarters that Hyde and Smith were treading water. In 2003 the duo completed a mix album for the Back To Mine series and compiled the best of Underworld's work of the previous decade on 1992-2002. They also confirmed their reputation as enthusiastic online advocates by releasing a steady flow of new material through their website. In early 2005 they were joined by DJ Darren Price as they began work on a new album.