artist: Groove Armada country of origin: UK style(s): Lounge, trip hop, funk, house, soul essential releases: Vertigo (1999, Jive Electro) Goodbye Country Hello Nightclub (2001, Jive Electro)

Despite mountains of dodgy compilations, it should never be forgotten that during "chillout" music's commercial apogee in the UK and Europe in the early to mid-2000's some very fine albums were released. With roots deep in US house music, Groove Armada (DJ's Andy Cato and Tom Findlay) might have seemed easy targets when the inevitable backlash came, given the tendency of house audiences to put fashion and style ahead of substance. Listening to Groove Armada's second and third albums now, however, is to hear nothing less than two classic works of modern lounge.

Vertigo is the album that cemented the duo's reputation, applying slick house production aesthetics over a broad canvas of instrumentals, vocal and part-vocal tracks. The duo's organic and always rhythmic sound encompasses landscaped synths, funky basslines and guitar, hip hop breaks and scratching, percussive bongo grooves and dreamy ambient tunes. It's a sample-heavy album, some of which are gleefully obscure. Only fans of 1940's and 50's jazz/pop, for example, would spot the snatches of crooner Dick Haymes on the wonderfully soaring, minimalist midtempo funk of "Inside My Mind". Other borrowings are much more recent; despite its live funk guitar the sublimely layered instrumental "Chicago" would be a very different thing where it not for a couple of uncredited samples from a The Chemical Brothers track.

The pair's live trumpet/trombone playing can be stunningly pretty. Check its sweet tones on the shimmering instrumental "Dusk You And I" and the euphoric trip-hop lounge of the pair's most famous song "At The River". The album has a few aberrations, most obviously the gimmicky club hit "I See You Baby" which, despite a sassy rap from guest Grandma Funk, is totally devoid of both bassline and chords and thus any funk whatsoever. "At The River and "Inside My Mind" excepted, it's the instrumentals that provide Vertigo's heart and soul.

Despite its title and a few extra 4/4 house tracks, Goodbye Country Hello Nightclub offers plenty of slow-to-midtempo lounging. While this time there's a far bigger ratio of live musicians to samples, Cato and Findlay lend the same inspired production creativity and studio tricks to another broad range of songs and instrumentals. "Little By Little" starts as a slow, cinematic breakbeat tune with strings and piano before brilliantly segueing into a warm folksy song by guest Richie Havens. Gorgeous strings elevate the slow liquid funk of "Lazy Moon" and "Edge Hill", two of Groove Armada's finest instrumentals. The Top 40 vocal hits "Superstylin" and "My Friend" flirt with Caribbean influences and Cream-style rock respectively were two of the more credible songs floating around on FM radio at the time.

Since Goodbye Country Hello Nightclub Groove Armada has morphed into a more conventional dance-rock act, probably a reflection of the duo's evolution into a full live band playing to large audiences.

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