Time to get Connected at Summer Festival
12:21pm Wednesday 9th July 2008
When the Stereo MCs headline the Croydon Summer Festival this Saturday, the crowd will be waiting for one song in particular, but they might be pleasantly surprised by the others.
The electronica band shot to fame in the 1990s when single Connected hit the charts, was used in a Carphone Warehouse advert and you couldn't move for want of hearing it.
The album of the same name was a huge success and they collected BRIT awards in 1993 for Best Group and Best Album, but while their profile might have faded since then, they've gone on to make five more albums, the latest of which, Double Bubble, is due out this month.
"It's a departure for us," said member Nick Hallam.
"We have probably put a bit more of our electronic influences into it as we were just enjoying a lot of dance music that's around.
"Our roots are in a lot of electronica music and I think we just wanted to make this album a lot more up tempo and a bit more dance club friendly than the last one."
Having been making music for almost twenty years, Nick know the business quite well but is not impressed with its current state.
"The music business, even more so now than ever, is such a fickle place," he said.
"People are always searching for the next big thing and five minutes later they are searching for the next big thing again. The main thing is getting your nose in."
Having DJed throughout Europe recently the group have enjoyed playing the new music live, but know a lot of people come to hear their old stuff, like Connected.
"It's kind of fun and nice to go out and play a branch of our new material," Nick said.
"There's a certain section of the crowd that want to hear those old songs but we are not about to make new versions of them because I really hate it when people do that.
"I remember when we recorded Connected down Old Kent Road. When we put the vocal on it there was a little vibe in the air and we knew it was going to do well. It's great to play it and having everyone like it."
Croydon Summer Festival, Lloyd Park, Coombe Road, July 12-13. Visit croydonfestival.com.