Biography
The UK-based trio unites DJs Andy Childs and Paul Roberts with multi-instrumentalist Steve Grainger. Their approach fuses up-to-the-minute dance production with funk and rock touches rooted in the 1960s and 1970s. Childs and Roberts first crossed paths in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where they launched an ill-fated retail venture called Boom Tunes selling clothes and records. Once that project collapsed they threw themselves into the rising club culture of the early 90s. Recording as Funk Junky, Childs delivered the track ‘Bulldozer’ to a Plymouth-based label, yet it vanished without impact. Disappointed, he shifted to Totnes in Devon and there met the classically trained Grainger. Their sharply contrasting backgrounds sparked a creative alliance; after cutting demos they attracted attention from London publishers and record companies. The debut release on Infectious Records, ‘Man In A Towel’, fused 60s references with a contemporary fixation on somewhat kitsch lounge music. It was singled out as Record Of The Week by the UK’s national Radio 1 FM, although sampling-clearance difficulties blocked any full commercial issue. Their October 2000 debut album Barefoot & Shitfaced, which at times recalled the work of Black Grape, Mansun and the Charlatans, brought in further funky soundtrack textures, rock guitar, saxophone and lo-fi percussion.