Globally revered hip-hop and electronic dance music pioneers Stereo MC’s have hinted at new music for 2025 – and are currently packing out venues and wowing audiences on their 17-date tour of the UK and Ireland.
Following a sell-out UK tour with Happy Mondays earlier this year, Stereo MCs’ Rob Birch (Rob B), Nick Hallam, Cath Coffey and Tansay Omar kicked off their tour in September at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall and will close it in Brighton on 23rd February 2025.
Fans can expect to hear tracks from across the Brit award-winning band’s seven studio albums, including the smash hit singles “Connected”, “Step It U
p”, “Creation”, “Ground Level” and “Deep Down & Dirty”. In addition, fans are the first to hear tracks from the group’s new album, slated for release in 2025.
Nick said: “There’s a lot of new music that’s being developed as we go, some club orientated in keeping with our label and recent outlook, and some more in the Stereo MC’s known mould. When the two merge as one we will be there.”
Rob adds: “There are many influences in the melting pot being shaped by this time we live in. In the same way as we look back for inspiration, we are charged by the present and that’s how we work: combining old methods with modern technology. The more diverse our music becomes the happier I feel.”
Stereo MC’s are probably best known for their international top 20 hit single “Connected”, which was released in 1992 and taken from the album of the same name and year. The album reached # 2 in the UK album chart and also contained “Step It Up”, “Creation” and “Ground Level”, and led to the group winning two Brit awards for ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Album’ in 1994.
Being childhood friends and neighbours, Rob and Nick formed Stereo MC’s in the mid-eighties, with the pair inspired to make music by their combined love of early hip-hop, funk and electronic music.
The Stereo MC’s initially pressed their first 12” vinyl and started their own independent record label called G Street Records, with Kiss DJ Richie Rich and budding entrepreneur Jon Baker. When G Street attracted the attention of 4th & Broadway in 1989, the duo recorded the debut Stereo MC’s album, “33-45-78”.
Nick said: “When we started getting gigs around that time we thought it would be great to have live drums, even if they made the turntables bounce around. But when we went to the States, the U.S. branch of our record company said, ‘We’re not paying for a drummer to come on tour, because you don’t do that with this type of music’.
“There were a few barriers to cross before dance music was established as a live music force and was given equal rights in the touring and festival scene. Island Records had a good attitude to developing young acts though, and we were given time to grow, both in the studio and on the road.”
After releasing “33-45-78”, the band toured with De La Soul, Living Colour and A Certain Ratio. They then headed to New York to record their second album, “Supernatural” in 1990, bearing the singles “Elevate My Mind” – which made it into the United States r&b chart – and “Lost in Music” which was a club hit in the UK and US. This success was further cemented when they supported Happy Mondays on a US tour.
Stereo MC’s were in demand for remix work from the likes of U2, Madonna, Tricky, Pressure Drop, David Holmes, Terranova and Mo’ Wax Records, as well as earlier mixes for The Jungle Brothers, Latifah and RZA.
Rob said: “If we weren’t on the road or making our own tracks we were remixing for other artists. Life didn’t have a clock, you just worked and vibed until you dropped on the sofa and woke up in your clothes six hours later.
“The summer of 1992 saw us finish our 3rd LP, ‘Connected’, which we toured solidly for about 18 months after its release. It was a big success for us and everybody involved and was a beautiful moment in our development.
“Navigating our way through the aftermath of over-touring fatigue and life catching up with you was challenging, and for a while the creative spark was hard to find, so we went into recluse mode and built our own studio again so we could get out of the music biz domain.”
After making a mix album for the DJ Kicks series on Studio!K7 in 1999, 2001 saw the release of the band’s fourth album “Deep Down & Dirty”, followed by a tour that included opening for Jane’s Addiction in the US. The album’s title track became Stereo MC’s fifth consecutive top 20 hit single.
Following recordings for Pias, K7 and Graffiti they continued their long relationship with club music, starting the label “connected” in 2015, initially to release their own new music, but also releasing other artists, and have since become established in the ever-popular Afro House genre.
They have also collaborated with some of the biggest current names in house music, via releases with Adam Port and Keinemusik and Stil Vor Talent, and have featured guest spots with Re.You , Anja Schneider, Fred Everything and many others.
- The remaining dates on the current UK tour are:
7 Nov – Oxford O2 Academy
8 Nov – Bristol Thekla
21 Nov – Leicester O2 Academy
22 Nov – Manchester O2 Ritz
23 Nov – Liverpool O2 Academy
21 Feb – Southend Chinnerys
22 Feb – Isle of Wight Strings
23 Feb – Brighton Concorde 2
Rob B’s “Track Record”…
1. First song you recall hearing as a child?
Chopin: “Prelude in E Minor”. My father trained as a concert pianist and one of my first musical memories is of him playing it.
2. First single you owned?
“Jamming” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. I was born in a village without a record shop, however there was an electrical appliance shop that had a little vertical rack for 45’s. I was attracted by Island’s palm tree logo as I hadn’t encountered reggae at that point to any degree. Ironically, we made our first four albums on Island.
3. First LP/album you owned?
The Clash: ‘The Clash”. Well rinsed!
4. First CD you owned?
I think it was one of our records. I never bought cd’s back then, just vinyl.
5. Last music you bought and in what format (CD/vinyl/digital download)?
Sticky Dub: “Open The Floor (Nice Up d’Dance 4Real)”. Digital off Bandcamp.
6. Which album would you be happy to receive as a gift?
Kelan Phil Cohran And Legacy: “African Skies”.
7. Favourite album? (Choose more than one if need be…)
“Second Time Around” by Cymande.
“Dread Beat An’ Blood” by Poet and the Roots.
“For A Few Dollars More” by Ennio Morricone.
8. Best record ever made (can be single/album/EP – and choose more than one if need be)?
Manuel Göttsching: “E2-E4”.
9. Guilty secret (or anything unusual or perhaps unexpected) in your music collection?
“Bird Song Of Britain” album.
10. What does music mean to you and how does it make you feel?
Focus. Harmony. Self-Realisation. Inner Peace. Way of Life. Energy.
11. Which song or album is a guaranteed mood booster?
Floyd Lavine: “Masala (Pablo Fierro Remix)”.
12. Which song or album would be the soundtrack to a film about your life?
“Natural Mystic” by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
13. Your favourite driving track – or music to exercise to?
Amapiano. [Amapiano, a South African music genre taken from the Zulu word for “pianos”, is a subgenre of kwaito and house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s.]
14. Best song or album for a romantic moment?
“Natural Collie” by Freddie Mcgregor.
15. Which song was played for the “First Dance” at your wedding (if you are married) or which song would you choose if you did get married?
Miriam Makeba: “Qongqothwane”.
16. Your choice of song to sing at karaoke?
“Being Boiled” by The Human League.
17. Which song takes you back to your childhood – and to which specific memory/memories?
“The Look Of Love” by Burt Bacharach. My mum played it on repeat in my dad’s car.
18. Favourite band (or bands)?
Fela Kuti Africa 70.
19. Favourite singer (or singers)?
Nina Simone.
20. Which song would you like played at your funeral?
“Fight The Power” by Public Enemy.
- The images in this feature were all shot by our ace snapper Liam Battersby on 18th Oct 2024 at an exclusive portrait shoot and during their live show in Southampton – the ninth gig of the current 17-date tour.
