Editing Morcheeba (section)

===1995–2001: Beginnings and mainstream success===
Originally from the small village of [[Saltwood]],<ref name="Beaujon">Beaujon, Andrew (May 1998). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=RCoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27 Morcheeba: Look Back in Languor]". ''[[CMJ#CMJ New Music Monthly|CMJ New Music Monthly]]''. Issue&nbsp;57. p.&nbsp;26-28; here: p. 27.</ref> just north of [[Hythe, Kent]], the Godfrey brothers—[[DJ]]/[[record producer|producer/engineer/Lyricist]] Paul and [[multi-instrumentalist]] Ross—moved to London when they were gaining traction from [[A&R]] people.{{technical inline|date=March 2025}}<ref name="BBC Kent">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jp32s "BBC Kent"] Ross Godfrey interviewed on BBC Radio Kent by Jacob Rickard, 12 October 2013 (UK only)</ref><ref name="Paul credits">{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Paul+Godfrey |title=Paul Godfrey Discography at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Ross credits">{{cite web|author=Ross Godfrey |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ross-godfrey-mn0000351587/credits |title=Ross Godfrey &#124; Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Chaos Control" /> Sometime in the mid-1990s, at a party in [[Greenwich]], the brothers met Skye Edwards, who was singing backup in a [[funk]] band, and also played guitar; before too long the three began recording songs together, and formed the trio Morcheeba.<ref name="Beaujon"/><ref name="Skye High">[http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/music/skye-high-as-morcheeba-return.22648266 "Skye Edwards interview"] Teddy Jamieson, 'Skye high as Morcheeba return' ''The Herald (Scotland)'', 15 November 2013.</ref> At first Paul produced tracks at their home studio in his bedroom,<ref name="Beaujon"/> with engineer Pete Norris helping with the wiring.<ref name="Chaos Control" /><ref name="Pete Norris" />

They were eventually signed to [[China Records]]<ref name="Beaujon"/> by Angus Blair (A&R) and the band released their debut ''Trigger Hippie'' EP in October 1995.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Bush |first=John |title=Morcheeba Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/morcheeba-mn0000597736 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> At the same time, Paul Ablett came on board temporarily as the second manager.<ref name="Pete Norris">{{Cite web |last=Flint |first=Tom |date=October 2000 |title=Pete Norris: Recording Morcheeba's 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day' |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/pete-norris-recording-morcheebas-rome-wasnt-built-day |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.soundonsound.com}}</ref> The band's debut album, ''[[Who Can You Trust? (album)|Who Can You Trust?]]'', was released in April 1996 and fitted snugly into the trip hop genre through a combination of Paul Godfrey's [[hip hop]] roots, Ross Godfrey's [[psychedelic rock]] influences and Edwards' soul-styled vocals.<ref name=":1" /> A second single, "Tape Loop", appeared in July 1996 and was a hit on BBC Radio 1 and TV. The band began to play live non-stop in Europe and North America,<ref name="tour 1996">{{cite web|url=https://www.songkick.com/artists/496494-morcheeba/gigography?page=25 |title=Morcheeba Gigography, Tour History |publisher=Songkick |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> with a live band that included five additional members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/morcheeba/3475|title=Live review - New York City Town Hall|last=Levy|first=Doug|date=16 November 2000|website=NME|language=en-US|access-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> At this point, the band had outgrown the bedroom recording set-up and the brothers were renting their own studio in Battersea as Paul was heavily influenced by the Beastie Boys and wanted a space with total creative freedom, having engineered many different styles in Kent before starting the project and being a record junkie, sample seeker, he felt he knew the most versatile ways to keep albums interesting.<ref name="SoundonSound studio">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050410105439/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/dec97/morcheeba.html "Sound On Sound Morcheeba studio 1997"] Sue Sillitoe, 'Morcheeba: From Clapham to The Orb' ''Sound on Sound'', December 1997 (archived 25 November 2016)</ref> In 1997, after a mind-blowing phone call Paul had with a huge hero, they contributed to the [[David Byrne]] album [[Feelings (David Byrne album)|''Feelings'']], participating in the recording and production of the release when they weren't on the road.<ref name="Chaos Control">{{Cite web |last=Gourley |first=Bob |date=1998-11-07 |title=Interview with Ross Godfrey of Morcheeba |url=https://chaoscontrol.com/morcheeba/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=Chaos Control Digizine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="MTV 1996">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131021112459/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/508675/david-byrne-collaborates-with-morcheeba.jhtml "Byrne collaboration"] Gil Kaufman 'David Byrne Collaborates With Morcheeba', ''[[MTV]] News (Addicted to Noise)'' 3 December 1996</ref><ref>Beaujon, Andrew (May 1998). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=RCoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 Morcheeba: Look Back in Languor]". ''CMJ New Music Monthly''. Issue&nbsp;57. p.&nbsp;26-28; here: p. 28.</ref>

With a slightly more high end analogue recording set-up and the fact the brothers had written most of the "Big Calm" songs in an altered Xmas-evening in 1995<ref>https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/classic-album-morcheeba-on-big-calm-601271</ref> before the release of their debut, they began developing their ideas for the second album, with Norris involved again as technician, the band moved towards a more varied sound, with Ross' skills and   collaborators brought in by Paul.<ref name="SoundonSound studio" /> At the same time, Edwards started a trend and appeared on the [[BBC]] charity single "[[Perfect Day (Lou Reed song)|Perfect Day]]".<ref name="LarkinDM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1998|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0252-6|page=227/8}}</ref> The follow-up, 1998's ''[[Big Calm]]'', drifted slightly away from trip hop, incorporating a more Californian, folk song-based sound.<ref name="LarkinDM"/> One of the album's singles, "The Sea", became a radio favourite. The album proved to be a big seller and ensured Morcheeba as an influential act of the zeitgeist.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book
| first= Martin C.
| last= Strong
| year= 2000
| title= The Great Rock Discography
| edition= 5th
| publisher= Mojo Books
| location= Edinburgh
| page= 660
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> In 1998, Morcheeba collaborated with [[Hubert Laws]] to record the classic song "[[Summertime (George Gershwin song)|Summertime]]" for the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation album ''[[Red Hot + Rhapsody]]'', a tribute to [[George Gershwin]], which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing [[AIDS]] awareness and fighting the disease.

In 2000, Morcheeba released their third album, ''[[Fragments of Freedom]]''. This repeated the sales of ''Big Calm'' but being too far ahead of the [[nu-disco]] trend it received a less positive critical response. Despite achieving success in Europe including their home country of the U.K., the band didn't find as much success in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2002/music/reviews/morcheeba-4-1200547115/ | title=Morcheeba | date=28 July 2002 }}</ref> Although ''Fragments of Freedom'' was high charting in several European countries, it disappointed some fans. But the band's fourth album, ''[[Charango (album)|Charango]]'', released in 2002, saw a return to their roots. The singles "Otherwise" and "Way Beyond" followed. The lyrics for "Undress Me Now" and appearance on "What New York Couples Fight About" were written with [[Lambchop (band)|Lambchop]]'s [[Kurt Wagner (musician)|Kurt Wagner]]. Other collaborators on the album were rappers Pace Won and old-school legend [[Slick Rick]]. In January 2003, the band undertook their first significant tour of the world since 1998.<ref name="Inquirer">{{cite web |last=Klinge |first=Steve |url=http://articles.philly.com/2003-01-17/entertainment/25469146_1_morcheeba-skye-edwards-paul-godfrey |title=Singer can't label Morcheeba - Philly.com |publisher=Articles.philly.com |date=17 January 2003 |access-date=11 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104065113/http://articles.philly.com/2003-01-17/entertainment/25469146_1_morcheeba-skye-edwards-paul-godfrey |archive-date=4 November 2013  }}</ref> In 2001, the Godfrey brothers contributed three songs to the [[Jim White (guitarist)|Jim White]] album ''No Such Place''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Jim-White-No-Such-Place/release/2386553 |title=Jim White - No Such Place (CD, Album) at Discogs |date=26 April 2004 |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>