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It's a brave new world and you don't need to look far for proof. The record biz is changing faster than an infant's diaper and smart artists are seizing the opportunity. From Radiohead's “pay what you want" In Rainbows release to Umphrey's McGee's Mantis pre-order campaign, the old rules no longer apply as bands experiment with new models.
The latest act to break free of the traditional record label strangle hold is U.K. super-duo Groove Armada. Following more than a decade atop the dance world, Andy Cato and Tom Findlay continue to blaze a new path, but instead of doing it with house beats and euphoric parties, now they're also doing it with rum. Following the fulfillment of their deal with Sony, GA ditched the major labels and inked a one-year deal with Bacardi. As part of the deal, which also includes live touring and DJing, Groove Armada has released a four-song EP through the brand new, innovative BACARDI B-LIVE distribution platform. It's a simple program that allows you to get the album for free, as long as you share it with enough friends. All you have to do is click on this link and, once you've created a profile, the first track will start downloading automatically. Next, start sharing it with your friends through www.bliveshare.com, the more you share the more tracks you unlock. Fans have a few more weeks to spread the tracks before all four songs go on sale through digital stores.
As Groove Armada celebrates their partnership with Bacardi, we caught up with Andy Cato to talk about the Bacardi deal, the two records coming this year, touring the world, getting older and a whole lot more.
JamBase: With the record industry changing so quickly we've seen a lot of innovative promotional and distribution deals. Can you explain how the relationship with Bacardi came about and what you as an artist are hoping to get out of this relationship?
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Andy Cato: We decided to leave our major label at the beginning of last year. We'd been with majors for ten years and it was time to move on. But, we had a live show we wanted to keep on the road, and knew that over the next 12 months we'd want to get some new music out there. Bacardi was looking for a band that could rock it live, that appealed in different countries, who were up for putting out some new material and working together on an interesting way to do that. The two went hand in hand, and both parties got what they wanted.
JamBase: What pros and cons have you experienced in your relationship with Bacardi versus Sony?
Andy Cato: Well, the Bacardi deal was defined on our own terms, the deal with Sony wasn't. It was a continuation of the contract we'd signed with Jive (bought by BMG, who were then bought by Sony). Of course, if you stick to the traditional label route, you don't get the “sell out" accusation. But, if you think about it, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Artists have always needed help from big business to get their music out there and to get on the road. There's nothing more or less corporate about a Bacardi or a Sony dollar.
How have the Bacardi live shows been so far? Has this relationship changed your touring or shows?
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We've had some great ones. Mexico was memorable, being in a blow up arena (a first for us) and alongside some true local talent. Athens was another first - the DJ set was hooked up to lasers and visuals. I think every show you do feeds into how you do the next one. Or at least it should if you want to get better.
Can you explain what the Bacardi B-Live Share platform is all about?
We live in a world of free music. Aside from the problem of musicians getting paid, that runs the risk of making music disposable. We wanted to do something that didn't fight against the idea of music being free - there's no point - but tried to put a little love back into the downloading process.
Is the official EP title The Four?
It has no title. The official tune titles are “Go!," “Drop The Tough," “Pull Up (Crank It Up)" and “El Padrino." It's a four track EP, simple.
Continue reading for more on Groove Armada...
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It seems in many ways Bacardi acts as the record label for you at the moment, so when you were making this EP what influence did Bacardi have on the actual music?
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They're not a record label and never set out to be. We collaborated on devising the release system, but in the studio we did our own thing. That was always the deal.
What brought about the decision to record some of this material with your live band for the first time?
Normally in the studio, I play the live instruments we use. This has worked fine but when you hear the energy of our live rhythm section playing together it seemed crazy not to record that. So, that's what we did. The forthcoming album builds on that and is sounding like our best record.
How did that affect the final product?
Well, there's two sides to it. The band style tunes (the first two) and the housey tunes. You can hear the live element on “Go!" and “Drop the Tough." It sounds pretty organic, in a 21st century kind of way. The club tracks are just us and the machines. We're releasing a pure house album later in the year as well.
What can you tell us about Saint Saviour?
She has a band called The RGBs, she's a brilliant singer and has been laying down some big tunes for the new album recently. You'll be seeing a lot of her.
What can you say about the track “Pull Up (Crank It Up)" with Slarta John? There already seems to be some hype building around that one.
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It's a big one. It's been road tested and the roof came off. It feels like the reaction “Superstylin" had in the early days.
How do you guys you create songs? Can you walk us through an example, perhaps how one of the new songs was made? And can you explain the difference between doing a track with the band versus without?
Tom and I jam on synths, guitars, program beats, throw in the odd sample sometimes. Once it has a direction, we build it up with a view to either laying it down with the band at the next session or taking it down the house route. The next stage is deciding if it needs a vocal, and if so who, getting hold of them and putting it all together.
When you guys are performing live, what turns a good or average night into a special night?
The crowd. Nights like we had at Centennial Park, The Horden, The Bowl in Melbourne, at the Big Oz festivals, there the crowd made it special before we'd played a note.
You mentioned you'll be releasing two full albums later this year. What can you tell us about those and why two separate ones instead of one double?
The reason is that now we're off a major [label] so we can do what we want. And what we want to do is really pursue the sound of our DJ sets on one record and the live festival sound of the band on another.
Do you have any thoughts as to how you will release the albums?
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It's top secret but it's another all new system to be revealed before long.
Do you think you will ever have another traditional record deal?
No.
Groove Armada is a lot of things now - DJ sets, a live band, house, downtempo, rock, samples, loops, a little mash-up. How would you define yourselves right now, and how do you incorporate all these styles and still keep it Groove Armada?
GA is anything that Tom and I are really into. And we're really into lots of things. The new records we're working on feel like the best yet because they get to the essence of what we've been doing on stages and in booths around the world for a long time.
As you've grown older, what have you noticed to be the biggest change in how you approach your craft?
To get back to doing things because you enjoy them.
Do you have any sort of philosophy to the way you create music? Obviously, you want people to dance, but is there anything beyond that?
I'd like someone a few years from now to say, “I found this record. I don't know much about them. It's a weird name, but you've got to check it out."
Be sure to go here and get involved with the new EP.
