Chemical Brothers Biography

The British electronic music group known as the Chemical Brothers was established by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in the early 1990’s. Simons and Rowlands had been childhood classmates and as young adults, each began to pursue opportunities as musicians, joining other bands and performing, until the two began DJ-ing together in a club in 1992.  Within a short period of time, the duo began writing their own material as well, using a sampler, computer, and a Hitachi hi-fi system to create their debut “Song to the Siren.”

Chemical Brothers self-released the song, eventually garnering the attention of Andrew Weatherall, who signed Chemical Brothers to his own label, Junior Boy’s Own. The Chemical Brothers’ debut album, Exit Planet Dust, arrived in 1995, and since that time the duo have released the additional albums: Dig Your Own Hole (1997), Surrender (1999), Come with Us (2002), Push the Button (2005), We are the Night (2007), and Further (2010.) The albums have featured the UK hits “Setting Sun,” “Alive Alone,” “Block Rockin’ Beats,” “Hey Boy Hey Girl,” “Let Forever Be,” “It Began in Afrika,” and “Galvanize,” which featured Q-Tip and helped Chemical Brothers to bring themselves to a worldwide audience, earning them a Grammy in 2006.

Eventually, the Chemical Brothers switched over to Virgin Records and throughout much of the 1990’s the duo could be found performing at a number of high-profile music festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, the Lowlands Festival, and Woodstock 99. The new millennium has seen the duo continue to perform at such festivals as the Glastonbury Festival and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and most recently the Chemical Brothers scored the entire soundtrack to the film Hanna.

The Chemical Brothers continue to write, perform, and record. They are also rumored to be scoring additional films set for release in the coming years.