Morcheeba biography: early years, success, influence
Morcheeba - a well-known electronic group formed in London in the middle 1990s. The team included Skye Edwards (vocals) as well as brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. The group became famous for its ability to harmoniously combine trip-hop, rock, folk and R&B, seasoning the tracks with Edwards' soulful vocals ... At the beginning of the 2000s, Sky left the band for a while, namely 6 years. Later, Paul left the band... However, these changes, as well as the bold experiments that distinguish Morcheeba from any other classic pop group, did not prevent listeners from being imbued with the creativity of the southern English band... Two of their ten albums entered the top ten in the UK, and the videos are gaining millions of views on YouTube! And if you didn't know about Morcheeba yet, then this article is especially for you (as well as for fans of the group)!
How it all began? early years
The history of this amazing group originates approximately in the middle 1990s: That's when Paul and Ross Godfrey left their small town of Saltwood and moved to London. Paul was already a DJ and producer, and Ross was a multi-instrumentalist. So, at a party in Greenwich, they met Edwards, who at that time sang in a funk band and played the guitar. Very soon they formed a trio and began to record their first tracks: the first recordings took place in a home studio, together with an engineer Pete Norris.
First contract with China Records followed by first EP called Trigger Hippie… Debut LP Who Can You Trust released in April 1996: It combined Paul's hip-hop roots with Ross's psychedelic rock influences. All this charm was complemented by a powerful soul vocals Edwards… Soon the band started playing live all over Europe and North America! By this point, Morcheeba had acquired her own recording studio...
Big success!
With the advent of more professional equipment, the Godfrey brothers began to develop bright ideas for a second album. This time around, the band has moved on to a more mainstream sound... 1998 Big Calm has moved away from trip-hop to a more pop-oriented sound. The best example of this is the revised "Moog Island", which became a pop track"The Music That We Hear". As a result, the single "The Sea"became a radio favorite, and the record gained great commercial popularity! This provided Morcheeba with breakthrough success…
Third album Fragments of Freedom though repeated success Big Calm, it was already more coolly accepted by critics ... After the release of the fourth album Charango The band embarked on their first major tour of the United States...
Leaving Edwards
At the end 2003 Skye Edwards left the group due to creative and personal differences... However, the public interest in Morcheeba still remained alive: this led to the release The Antidote - fifth studio album with vocals Daisy Marty... As for Marty, her career as part of Morcheeba was short-lived: the girl was fired in the middle of a promotional tour, and she was invited to take her place Jody Sternberg. Subsequently, Marty sued the band for breach of contract and defamation... Remarkably, Sternberg didn't stay a part of Morcheeba for long either... Ross Godfrey later said:
“We just felt like we couldn’t breathe… We realized that Morcheeba is a kind of family, and that we really wanted her true story to continue… It was a very difficult period for Paul and me: we were on the verge of destruction…”
Sixth album Dive deep went out in 2008: This time the Godfrey brothers returned to their role as producers, choosing five vocalists to perform their songs.
reunion
In 2009 Skye Edwards and the Godfrey brothers met to discuss the potential return of the vocalist to the band. Sky was initially hesitant as she enjoyed "doing solo stuff and writing her own lyrics". But in the end, to the great delight of the fans, there was a reunion of the usual line-up ...
Soon the trio began work on the album Blood Like Lemonade. From this point on, Edwards' role within the group changed as she "became more confident" in her "capacity as a singer-songwriter":
“In the process of recording Blood Like Lemonade, we were more honest with each other…” — said the singer.
The album, described by Paul as "a warm fluffy blanket of psychedelia", was released in the summer 2010. Sky herself added that the album's lyrics are full of "dark themes". The singer also noted that the brothers again made her part of the creative process. After release Blood Like Lemonade The band embarked on an 18-month US and European tour...
Lastly
After the release of the album head up high the composition was left by Paul Godfrey. His brother, Ross, commented:
“Paul and I haven’t gotten along musically or personally in a long time…”
Paul has since established his recording studio, Sacrosync Sound, in Hastings. Ross and Sky continued to release albums: the LP Blaze Away came out in 2018. It was followed by work Blackest Blue (2021), featuring multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood and guitarist Brad Barr.
