at a glance...

Hometown: Manchester, England
Formed: 1992

Personnel:
Tom Rowlands -decks, effects
Ed Simons -decks, effects

Bands in the family :
Oasis, Justin Warfield, Mercury Rev, The Charlatans, Primal Scream, Spiritualized, Beth Orton

Notes:
Tom and Ed, then trading as the Dust Brothers as a tribute to the heroic production minds behind Paul's Boutique, made their name first as party DJs extraordinaire at Manchester's Naked Under Leather and Heavenly Records' nascent Sunday Social in London. As they ran out of records bangin' enough for their parties, they turned their hands to remixology, including stellar turns on Bomb the Bass' "Bug Powder Dust" and Deep Throat's "Mouth Organ." Debut single "Song to the Siren" impressed Andy Weatherall enough to start dropping it at his Sabresonic nights, and big beat manifesto "Chemical Beats" paved the way for the first Chemical Brothers album, Exit Planet Dust. Soon a whole new club culture emerged in the wake of the Brothers and their Social sets, and dozens of indie and techno acts dumped their old tools for breakbeats and 303s. Second LP Dig Your Own Hole saw Tom and Ed perfecting their head-mashing template while at the same time hinting at a more experimental muse.

Links:
Chemical Brothers Mothership
Chemical Brothers at Red Rocks
We Love The Chemical Brothers

With every Gap ad and playoff game grooving to a big beat soundtrack, it can be difficult to remember how unique the Chemical Brothers sounded in 1994. While their appropriation of hip-hop, acid house, funk and industrial sounds may not have marked them as sonic pioneers, their early singles and remixes packed a visceral punch that had all but disappeared in the days of post-grunge navel-gazing and spaced-out progressive house.

Now that every chump with a sampler has worked the Chemical formula to death, Exit Planet Dust is a handy reminder of how far ahead Tom and Ed were back then. More than that, it's still a blast at a party - from roof-raising opener "Leave Home" to their signature anthem "Chemical Beats," this record wobbles, slams and freaks out in all the right places.

Exit... also showcases a versatility today's big beat pretenders would trade their major label deals for. Whether pounding out four-on-the-floor acid on the brilliantly-realized "Three Little Birdies Down Beats" or dabbling in pop melancholia on "Alive Alone," Tom and Ed work with a music-lover's enthusiasm that belies the accusations of dilettantism once thrown their way. Big Beat may sound cliched these days, but it had a lot of inspired moments in its five-year heyday. Most of them started here.