Morcheeba

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 ten regular studio albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten. 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 original founder Paul Godfrey was bored with being in the band. Edwards and Ross Godfrey later formed Skye & Ross and released a self-titled album in September 2016. Their latest studio album as Morcheeba, ''Blackest Blue'', was released in May 2021 and was preceded by singles "Sounds of Blue", "Oh Oh Yeah" and "The Moon". It features collaborations with Brad Barr from The Barr Brothers, and Duke Garwood, whom Edwards described as "a diamond geezer". In May 2025, the band released their eleventh studio album, '' Escape the Chaos''.

Biography

1995–2001: Beginnings and mainstream success

Originally from the small village of Saltwood,Beaujon, Andrew (May 1998).
Morcheeba: Look Back in Languor
. ''CMJ New Music Monthly''. Issue 57. p. 26-28; here: p. 27. just north of Hythe, Kent, the Godfrey brothers— DJ/ producer/engineer/Lyricist Paul and multi-instrumentalist Ross—moved to London when they were gaining traction from A&R people."BBC Kent"
Ross Godfrey interviewed on BBC Radio Kent by Jacob Rickard, 12 October 2013 (UK only) 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."Skye Edwards interview"
Teddy Jamieson, 'Skye high as Morcheeba return' ''The Herald (Scotland)'', 15 November 2013. At first Paul produced tracks at their home studio in his bedroom, with engineer Pete Norris helping with the wiring.

They were eventually signed to China Records by Angus Blair (A&R) and the band released their debut ''Trigger Hippie'' EP in October 1995. At the same time, Paul Ablett came on board temporarily as the second manager. The band's debut album, '' Who Can You Trust?'', was released in April 1996 and fitted snugly 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 and was a hit on BBC Radio 1 and TV. The band began to play live non-stop in Europe and North America, with a live band that included five additional members. At this point, the band had outgrown the bedroom recording set-up and the brothers were renting their own studio in Battersea as Paul was heavily influenced by the Beastie Boys and wanted a space with total creative freedom, having engineered many different styles in Kent before starting the project and being a record junkie, sample seeker, he felt he knew the most versatile ways to keep albums interesting."Sound On Sound Morcheeba studio 1997"
Sue Sillitoe, 'Morcheeba: From Clapham to The Orb' ''Sound on Sound'', December 1997 (archived 25 November 2016) In 1997, after a mind-blowing phone call Paul had with a huge hero, they contributed to the David Byrne album ''Feelings'', participating in the recording and production of the release when they weren't on the road."Byrne collaboration"
Gil Kaufman 'David Byrne Collaborates With Morcheeba', ''MTV News (Addicted to Noise)'' 3 December 1996

With a slightly more high end analogue recording set-up and the fact the brothers had written most of the "Big Calm" songs in an altered Xmas-evening in 1995 before the release of their debut, they began developing their ideas for the second album, with Norris involved again as technician, the band moved towards a more varied sound, with Ross' skills and collaborators brought in by Paul. At the same time, Edwards started a trend and appeared on the BBC charity single " Perfect Day". The follow-up, 1998's '' Big Calm'', drifted slightly away from trip hop, incorporating a more Californian, folk song-based sound. One of the album's singles, "The Sea", became a radio favourite. The album proved to be a big seller and ensured Morcheeba as an influential act of the zeitgeist. In 1998, Morcheeba collaborated with Hubert Laws to record the classic song " Summertime" 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 of ''Big Calm'' but being too far ahead of the nu-disco trend it received a less positive critical response. Despite achieving success in Europe including their home country of the U.K., the band didn't find as much success in the United States. Although ''Fragments of Freedom'' was high charting in several European countries, it disappointed some fans. But the band's fourth album, '' Charango'', released in 2002, saw a return to their roots. The singles "Otherwise" and "Way Beyond" followed. The lyrics for "Undress Me Now" and appearance on "What New York Couples Fight About" were written with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner. Other collaborators on the album were rappers Pace Won and old-school legend Slick Rick. In January 2003, the band undertook their first significant tour of the world since 1998. In 2001, the Godfrey brothers contributed three songs to the Jim White album ''No Such Place''.

2003–2008: Split and ''Dive Deep''

By the end of 2003, the Godfrey brothers split with Edwards, citing creative and personal differences."Gimme Noise"
Jen Edwards, 'Morcheeba: The revealing extended interview', ''Gimme Noise'', 13 February 2011 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". 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".

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"."OMH Interview with Paul Godfrey"
Ben Hogwood 'Interview - Morcheeba' music OMH, 3 August 2005 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 assault, breach of contract and defamation. 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"."Dive Deep interview"
Jack Foley, 'Morcheeba discuss the journey to Dive Deep', ''IndieLondon'', Accessed 21 March 2014.

After a break of several years, Morcheeba released their sixth studio album, '' Dive Deep'', in February 2008. On this album, Paul Godfrey fell back into his role as producer collaborating with Dan Goldman on most tracks (as Ross had moved to L.A.) and selecting five vocalists to perform the songs. The folk-rock singer Judie Tzuke, Norwegian star 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). Both Manda and Burgess toured with Morcheeba as lead singers on their 2008 tour.

2009–2013: Reunion, ''Blood Like Lemonade'' and ''Head Up High''

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"."Guestlisted interview"
Leigh, ''Sky Edwards interview'' (2010), Digging A Hole, 21 August 2010 Eventually, Edwards rejoined the band and the trio began work on a new album, with Edwards still on tour promoting her solo album, Ross Godfrey living in California and Paul Godfrey in France."IndieLondon interview with Paul Godfrey"
'Morcheeba - The IndieLondon interview', ''IndieLondon'', June 2010 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. Edwards' role in the band changed, as she had "become more confident" in her "ability as a singer and a songwriter", and found that during the recording process they were "more honest with each other", and thus they produced "a more honest record".

Morcheeba released their seventh album, '' Blood Like Lemonade'', on PIAS in June 2010, preceded by the single "Even Though". It was produced and mastered by Paul Godfrey, who described the album as "a warm, fuzzy blanket of psychedelia", while Edwards described the lyrics as "having dark themes"."Culture Compass: Skye interview 2010"
Leila Hawkins, 'Exclusive, Skye Edwards, Morcheeba', ''Culture Compass'', 14 June 2010 She also remarked on how the brothers had made her part of the creative process again. An eighteen-month tour followed that saw the band play around the Americas and Europe.

Their eighth album, '' Head Up High'', was released on 14 October 2013, again on PIAS. In 2014, the band toured Australia, with a line-up consisting of Skye Edwards (vocals), Ross Godfrey (guitars), Steve Gordon (bass), Richard Milner (keyboards), Martin Carling (drums) and James Anthony (decks).

2014–2016: Departure of Paul Godfrey and ''Skye & Ross'' release

In 2014, Paul Godfrey was "bored of reinventing the wheel and didn't enjoy touring either" so instead of leading, he "left". Ross Godfrey later explained that: "Paul and I had not been getting on musically, or personally and after the ''Head Up High'' album in 2013, Paul told us he was unhappy. 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". Paul Godfrey eventually licensed the brand to the Ross, and he has since established a recording studio, Sacrosync, in a great old St Leonards Church near Hastings, after being critically ill in intensive care for a month with Pancreatitis and Sepsis. he has since recorded a few tracks with guests, done various soundtracks, made boutique drum breaks to sample and a raw, post-coma dreams album on Bandcamp, ''Cool Your Soul'', with Rachel Cuming, the project's original singer from Sussex who had attracted record companies and publishers on early demos under the new moniker The Measure/Morcheeba Productions.

Ross Godfrey and Skye Edwards announced a new project in 2016 named Skye & Ross. They have toured, and released an eponymous album on 2 September 2016. The band started as an acoustic duo but soon included Edwards' son Jaega (drums), her husband Steve Gordon (bass) and Godfrey's wife Amanda Zamolo (backing vocals). Edwards took responsibility for the lyrics while Ross Godfrey noted that the recording process was "a very organic experience".

2018–2022: ''Blaze Away'' and ''Blackest Blue''

''Blaze Away'', Morcheeba's ninth album, was released on 1 June 2018. The album featured the singles "Never Undo", "Blaze Away" and "It's Summertime". On 14 May 2021, Morcheeba released their tenth album, ''Blackest Blue''. It features collaborations with Duke Garwood and Brad Barr and was preceded by singles "Sounds of Blue", "Oh Oh Yeah" and "The Moon". ''Blackest Blue'' did not enter the Official Albums UK Top 100 Chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100.

2023-present: ''Escape the Chaos''

Skye Edwards revealed in a June 2023 interview that the band had begun working on their eleventh album with ten tracks in the demo phase.

From June to October 2024 the band licensed the name from Paul and toured European festivals, including the 2024 Meltdown at London's South Bank Centre curated by Chaka Khan.

In January 2025, the band released the single "Call for Love", which is the lead single from their forthcoming studio album, '' Escape the Chaos'', announced to be released on 23 May 2025. A second single, "We Live and Die", was released on 28 February 2025. "Peace of Me", a collaboration with Oscar #Worldpeace, was released on 8 April 2025.

Band name

The name "Morcheeba" comes from the initials "MOR" (" middle of the road") as a joke and needing more "cheeba", a slang term used by Paul's hero Schoolly D for cannabis. (archive.org)

Discography

Studio albums

Charted compilation albums and others

Singles

Notes

References

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English musical trios
English electronic music groups
Trip hop groups
China Records artists
Sire Records artists
Musical groups established in 1995
Musical groups from Kent
Discovery Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
1995 establishments in England
Sibling musical groups
Downtempo musicians