Edmund John Simons (9 June 1970) is an English musician, disc jockey and composer of the

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

, along with

Tom Rowlands The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

. Together, they are considered pioneers of the

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...

genre and one of the most influential groups in contemporary electronic music.

Early life

Simons was born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, and attended

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundatio ...

and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. He went on to study history at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, where he met

. The two shared an interest in hip hop, acid house, techno and other genres of

, which led them to start playing together at local parties and small clubs. In the early 1990s, they began producing music under the name The Dust Brothers, in homage to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

producer duo. However, after receiving a copyright lawsuit, they changed their name to The Chemical Brothers, taking the name of their song ‘''Chemical Beats''’.

Music career

The duo released their debut album,

Exit Planet Dust ''Exit Planet Dust'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was first released on 26 June 1995 in the United Kingdom by Junior Boy's Own, Freestyle Dust, and Virgin Records, and on 15 August 1995 in t ...

, in 1995, which was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. This was followed by several successful albums such as

Dig Your Own Hole ''Dig Your Own Hole'' is the second studio album by the English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was released on 7 April 1997 in the United Kingdom by Freestyle Dust and Virgin Records and in the United States by Astralwerks. It ...

(1997) and Surrender (1999), consolidating their distinctive style that fuses heavy breakbeats, psychedelic samples and vocal collaborations with artists from various genres. Ed Simons, as well as being actively involved in studio production, has been a key figure in the visual and conceptual development of the duo's live performances. In 2008, he announced a brief withdrawal from live performances for personal reasons, although he never disengaged from the project and subsequently returned to touring.

Discography

With the Chemical Brothers

* ''

'' (1995) *

(1997) * Surrender (1999) * ''

Come with Us ''Come with Us'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released in January 2002 by record labels Virgin and Freestyle Dust in the UK and Astralwerks and Ultra in the US. It features Richard Ashcroft ...

'' (2002) * Push the Button (2005) * '' We Are the Night'' (2007) * ''

Further Further or furthur, alternatively farther, may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus *Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band *Furthur (band) Furthur was an American rock band founded in 2009 by former G ...

'' (2010) *

Born in the Echoes ''Born in the Echoes'' is the eighth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released on 17 July 2015 by Virgin EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Astralwerks in the United States. It was their first studio album ...

(2015) * '' No Geography'' (2019) *

For That Beautiful Feeling ''For That Beautiful Feeling'' is the tenth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released on 8 September 2023 through Virgin Records in the UK and Republic Records in the US. It is the duo's first album in four yea ...

(2023)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Ed 1970 births Living people Astralwerks artists Virgin Records artists Ultra Records artists English male musicians British club DJs People educated at Alleyn's School People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of the University of Manchester DJs from London Big beat musicians English electronic musicians English techno musicians English house musicians