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Lager and cheese >> Underworld slip into town with new tunes and a faaaabulous light show! by KRISTA
These are lyrics from the song "Born Slippy," made famous by a movie about heroin addiction and written by three self-described "average British blokes" who call themselves Underworld. Karl Hyde (lyricist), Rick Smith (engineer and technical genius) and Darren Emerson (world-famous DJ) formed the group back in the early '90s because they all shared a common interest: they wanted to "make interesting music." It sounds clichéd, I know. But just take a look at the rock star level of success that they have achieved, and you'll see that they've managed to tap into a sound that appeals to more than just the ravers. They shrug off the "rock stars" title, though, claiming that they're just not like that. "We're terrible... we're shamelessly cheesy, really," says Emerson of the group's day-to-day identities. "Rick looks like a school teacher, and Karl and I are not really stylish at all. We have a good light show, though..." Hyde and Smith, both fathers and husbands, had no rave or club background when the group first came together. Emerson--the underground link, so to speak--has been a DJ since the age of 17, playing all over London and at venues as small as the local pub to as big as Ministry of Sound. The group's first hit came back in 1993 with "Rez," a song which, for those of us who were there right when rave was first hitting North America, was like nothing we had ever heard: emotional, beautiful and weird. Then in 1994 Underworld released their debut album. Slippy success Dubnobasswithmyheadman, which received praise in the U.K. and Europe as the most important album in years, pushed the band to the forefront of the press. Suddenly they were being held responsible for moving dance music into the mainstream, despite the fact that the album was one of the most strangely diverse musical journeys embarked upon by any electronic band. Album number two, Second Toughest in the Infants, wasn't released until fall 1996, and prior to that time all they put out was the nine-minute techno-chugger "Born Slippy." The tune received scant press coverage until its re-release as part of the Trainspotting soundtrack, whereupon it sold more than 400,000 copies. Meanwhile, the three members remain involved in quite different activities outside the band. They're really just a bunch of artsy boys who make techno music for fun on the side. Hyde, for instance, tours literary festivals, and Rick writes ads for television. Darren, of course, plays your average DJ gigs, like the Chemical Brothers world tour. "Karl and Rick are parents, so they aren't into the whole nightlife bit," says Emerson of his bandmates. "Whether we're touring or not, we don't really go out. They hang out with their kids. I go to the pub if I want a drink, I go to the cinema, I drive around in my Rover, I go scuba diving. Just your regular urban pursuits." Their new album is due out early next year. "It's been harder to get this one done than it was the last two albums," claims Emerson, "but it's the best work we've done by far." Organically growing Now that they have finally amalgamated all the necessary elements, Emerson hopes that the new sound will move beyond crossover status. The band has already been playing some of the tracks during the first part of the Hang the DJ tour. "We're quite into doing that, 'cause it's music and it's organic--it needs to grow into us, too. To wait to play your own material until the record comes out seems a bit contrived, really." For their Montreal show, however, Darren and the boys have something special in store. "We're only bringing the essentials in terms of equipment, so we'll be pared down to perfection. But you won't be able to see us because of the great light show we'll have behind us," Emerson tells me in a bubbly tone. "That's our style." And what can we expect to hear from the trio on Friday night? A great big epic mash-up of breakbeats and thunderous pulses, an array of twisted synth noises backed by deep rolling basslines, music to change our lives forever? "Naw," says Emerson with a little chuckle. "I figure we'll just play 'Born Slippy' right 'til the end, in true cheesy fashion, over and over again. Maybe 'Rez' for good measure, cause we love all the old stuff, too." Well, if that's the case then maybe I'll finally figure out the rest of the lyrics to the song. For now all I can hear is "lager lager lager..." At Metropolis, Friday, November 20 with locals Pfreud and Rob Brown. Tickets are $30 ($45 including Saturday night's Hang the DJ event), available at Admission outlets
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"Shouting lager, lager, lager, lager, mega mega white thing, mega mega white thing, shouting lager lager lager, so many things to see..."