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The Chemical Brothers Australia 2024

One of the most acclaimed and innovative electronic duos in the world - The Chemical Brothers – will bring their world-renowned live shows to Australia in February – March 2024.  With show direction by the iconic Smith & Lyall , these mind-bending shows mark their first visit to our shores since 2019!

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The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers will bring their world-renowned live shows to Australia in 2024.

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The Dome & Exhibition Halls Sydney Showground

Hey Boy Hey Girl, Superstar DJs, here we go...

The Chemical Brothers will bring their world-renowned live shows to Australia in 2024. With show direction by the iconic Smith & Lyall - their first visit to our shores since 2019! Kickstarting the party will be special guest DJs: The Presets DJ Set, Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd!

For three decades, they have defined the cutting edge of electronic dance music both on their multi-platnium selling records with their hugely lauded hallucinogenic live shows which have played to millions at festivals and arenas all over the world. With huge global hits, 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', 'Galvanize', 'Go' & 'Block Rockin Beats' these are instantly recognisible tracks that make The Chemical Brothers a household name worldwide.

Please note this event is 18+ only

Date and time

Thursday 29 February 2024

Event times

5:00pm: Gates open

5:00pm: James Holroyd

6:15pm: Anna Lunoe

7:15pm: The Presets DJs

8:30pm: James Holroyd

9:00pm: The Chemical Brothers

Event information

Consider all available travel options to Sydney Olympic Park ahead of time. Plan your trip at transportnsw.info

Allow for extra travel time to and from the event as traffic may be heavier than usual. Find real-time traffic conditions at livetraffic.com

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Whether you're a card-carrying diehard or a first-timer, here's your next chance for a rave with The Chemical Brothers .

British electronic music royalty, brothers-in-beats Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons will bring the goods to three huge shows on the East Coast early next year. They play Brisbane and Sydney in February, and Geelong's Mt Duneed Estate early March as part of A Day On The Green.

The visit correlates with the upcoming release of The Chemical Brothers' tenth studio album, For That Beautiful Feeling , arriving in our earholes 8 September.

The record follows on from No Geography (the second best album of 2019 according to us) and so far, it's sounding great. We've heard excellent lead single 'No Reason' , 'Live Again' and most recently, a reunion with Beck for 'Skipping Like A Stone'.

You'll get to witness that new material alongside all the certified Chem Bros. Bangers: 'Block Rockin' Beats', 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', 'Galvanize', 'Go', 'Setting Sun', 'Star Guitar', 'Let Forever Be' – we could go on but you get the brief.

One of the key names of UK's Big Beat wave, the duo transformed dance music through the '90s from an alternative concern into a festival-sized sensation with a tentpole spectacle to match.

As such, The Chemical Brothers have been crafting mammoth, masterful live experiences for decades , and you can be sure they will rattle the senses when they return to our shores for the first time since 2019.

They're joined by some very special guest " superstar DJs ", too. Here we go!

The Presets  are currently on the tail-end of a 20th anniversary DJ tour , and will be hitting the decks at the shows in Sydney and Geelong.

World-renowned dance music star Anna Lunoe  will spin the wheels of steel at all shows, and ditto  James Holroyd , the Chemical Brothers tour DJ who regularly warms up their crowds. 

Sound good? Tickets are on sale 8 September, 1pm AEST, and a Frontier Members pre-sale is happening from Wednesday 6 September. 

View the dates below, supported by Double J, and more info at Frontier Touring . 

Tues 27 February – Riverstage: Turrbal Jagera Land, Brisbane with special guest DJs  Anna Lunoe  and  James Holroyd

Thrs 29 February – Sydney Showground: Gadigal Land, Sydney with special guest DJs  The Presets, Anna Lunoe  and  James Holroyd

Sat 2 March – A Day On The Green - Mt Duneed Estate: Wadawurrung Land, Geelong with special guest DJs  The Presets, Anna Lunoe  and  James Holroyd

The Chemical Brothers are master craftsmen of the live electronic music experience

Inside the Boiler Room — how the Big Day Out changed Australia's perception of dance music

The Presets announce 20-date DJ tour to celebrate 20th anniversary

The Chemical Brothers – No Geography

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The legendary British electronic duo are bringing their epic live show to Sydney

Hey boy, hey girl – brace yourself, they’re gonna ‘Do It Again’. British electronic duo the Chemical Brothers have confirmed an Australian tour in early 2024.

One of the most acclaimed and innovative electronic acts in the world, the Chemical Brothers (Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons) will bring their world-renowned live shows to the East Coast in February and March. These mind-bending shows, exploding with lights and epic visual displays – their first visit to our shores since 2019 – will hit Brisbane, Sydney and Geelong. 

Australia’s own legendary electronic duo the Presets will kick off the party with a DJ set (Sydney and Geelong only), with Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd also hitting the decks at all shows.

The Chemical Brothers will be playing songs from their forthcoming tenth studio album For That Beautiful Feeling (which drops on September 8) as well as classic hits like ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’, ‘Go’, ‘Galvanize’, ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’, ‘Star Guitar’, ‘All of a Sudden’, ‘Do It Again’ and ‘Got To Keep On’.

The tour hits Sydney Showground on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Frontier Members pre-sale commences Wednesday, September 6 from 2pm local before the general public on sale kicks off Friday, September 8 from 1pm local over here .

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Gloria Brancatisano / May 1, 2019

The Chemical Brothers to bring live show to Australia

English electronic duo The Chemical Brothers are set to bring their world-renowned live show to Australian stages this October and November.

See available tickets

The Chemical Brothers are set to return to Australia for some special shows as part of their No Geography Live tour – but be warned, they’re only promising one show in each city.

The tour follows the release of The Chemical Brothers’ ninth album  No Geography,  and will be the duo’s first visit to our shores since 2013.

The Rolling Stone described the album as “a euphoric, multi-faceted odyssey of blistering synths and deep grooves,” while others have said it’s their finest record since their 1999 classic,  Surrender  – and we are completely aware that that is a HUGE call.

No Geography saw Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons return to their old ways. They filled a tiny room with the gear that had been collecting dust in Rowlands’ attic for the last twenty years, and through that process found the freedom they had on their first two albums.

The show that accompanies the new record is on a whole new level – even for The Chemical Brothers. If their UK run is anything to go by we should be expecting everything from “voodoo priests made of lights” to “scary clowns and giant robots soundtracked by a war zone indie-rave” (thanks The Guardian UK ). So really, we should be expecting the unexpected here.

The pair are no strangers to the spotlight. With six #1 albums in the UK under their belts and more than 12 million album and six million singles sold worldwide, it’s safe to say The Chemical Brothers have held down an illustrious career. Add to that their four Grammy awards (did you know they were the first electronic act to ever receive a Grammy?) and you should be expecting nothing short of world-class when the show rolls in.

As an added bonus, Australian duo The Avalanches will perform a DJ set as special guests on the night. From their 2000 debut  Since I Left You  to their long-awaited return in 2016’s  Wildflower, The Avalanches have remained at the forefront of dance music, and there is no better accompaniment for the night.

The Chemical Brothers Australia 2019 onsale info:

• Telstra Thanks Presale:  Friday 3 May @ 10am (AEST) until Sunday 5 May @ 10am (AEST)
• Frontier Members Presale:  Tuesday 7 May @ 10am (AEST) until Wednesday 8 May @ 10am (AEST)
• General Public Onsale:  Thursday 9 May @ 10am (local time)

The Chemical Brothers will perform at Riverstage, Brisbane on Thursday 31 October and The Dome, Sydney Showground on Saturday 2 November. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com.au.

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Chemical Brothers Announce Australian Tour with The Presets and Anna Lunoe

By Jules LeFevre

The Chemical Brothers have announced they’ll be returning to Australia in 2024 for a three-date east coast tour. It hasn’t come entirely out of the blue: on Monday we reported that a ‘Hold Tight’ landing page had appeared on Frontier Touring, signalling that headline dates for Sydney and Brisbane were coming down the pipeline.

Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons will play a headline show in each of those cities at the end of February, followed by A Day on the Green set at Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong. The duo will be joined on the road by dance export Anna Lunoe , veterans The Presets (just Sydney and Brisbane), and perennial Chemical Brothers opener James Holroyd . See all the dates and details below.

The Chemical Brothers: ‘Got To Keep On’

The shows will in be support of the band’s forthcoming album For That Beautiful Feeling . It’s the band’s 10th studio record, and the follow-up to 2019’s acclaimed No Geography. We’ve heard a few of the tracks from the album: ‘ No Reason ‘, ‘The Darkness That You Fear’, and ‘Live Again’, featuring Halo Maud.

“Each track on  For That Beautiful Feeling  was born out of a desire to find that point of vision in the studio, a point that could then be refracted back onto the dancefloor through the music,” a statement about the album reads.

“As a result, it’s a collection of music that’s vividly colourful and confident and deeply psychedelic; impossible beauty carved from noise and chaos and endless fluid rhythm.”

For That Beautiful Feeling will be released on Friday, 8th September.

The Chemical Brothers 2024 Australian Tour Dates

• Tuesday 27 February – Riverstage, Brisbane, QLD
• Thursday 29 February – Sydney Showground, Sydney, NSW
• Saturday 2 March – Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, VIC (A Day on the Green)

Sign up for pre-sale on Frontier Touring. General tickets go on sale Wednesday, 6th September.

Further Reading

The Chemical Brothers Look Set to Announce Sydney and Brisbane Headline Shows

The Chemical Brothers Release New Track, ‘All Of A Sudden’

The Chemical Brothers Release New Single ‘No Reason’, Working on a Follow-Up to ‘No Geography’

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The Chemical Brothers are a multi award winning electronic dance music duo hailing from Manchester, England, consisting of Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands.

The successful double act, often grouped with other dance music stars of the 90’s such as Fatboy Slim and The Progidy, are considered innovators of the Big Beat sound and have achieved commercial and critical success.

Simons and Rowlands were both born in London and were childhood friends attending the same school. The pair shared similar music tastes growing up, with a mutual fondness for late 80’s hip-hop such as Eric B and Public Enemy.

The duo ended up at the University of Manchester together in 1989, where they began DJing at Hip-Hop and Techno nights under the name “The Dust Brothers.” They claim that they only decided to start producing tracks when they had “ran out” of music to play at clubs.

The Dust Brothers found moderate success, with their initial tracks being played by various DJ’s around the country. But they started to gain recognition upon the release of their debut EP, “Fourteenth Century Sky”, with the standout track “Chemical Beats”, announcing their trademark “Big Beat” sound onto the world.

They eventually ended up playing at celebrity hangouts in London during the 90’s and remixed the likes of The Charlatans and Manic Street Preachers, however as they grew, they were forced to change their name for legal reasons, and thus The Chemical Brothers were born.

In 1995 the Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records released their successful debut album “Exit Planet Dust”, which launched them as bona fide dance music stars. Since then they have regularly released popular and much played anthems, such as the massive “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” and the robot inspired single “Push The Button.”

The Chemical Brothers have become known for their epic, arena style live shows, whatever the venue. They have played around the world from Ibiza and the USA, to festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds.

Live reviews

Chemical Brothers is up there on my list of favorite live performances. They were the headliners of Coachella 2010 and I could not be more excited. I waited for what felt like more than 30 minutes for the group to arrive on stage. They were having technical difficulties as one of the segments on the giant screen was not working properly. Even though they were not able to get it going, it did not make a difference at all. I have never felt so much joy watching a live performance with seemingly thousands of my best friends. There were indeed tears of love and delight. They are always one of the first artists I go to when I am going on a long road trip. Each of their albums follows a feeling of cohesiveness and brilliant flow in its entirety. They manage to tell a story with minimal lyrics. They also tell / assist in telling stories with some of the films they appear in. They released a documentary not too long ago which followed a night at one of their shows in Japan. I saw it in theaters and without a doubt I felt like I was thousands of miles away in that very crowd. The next best thing was for us to dance in the theater isles, and that we did. The score for the 2010 film Hana was also composed by them, it turned out to be one of my favorite movies. This of course had a lot to do with the Chem Bros.

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Where to begin... They have been around for a long long time and this shows on their ability to put out great music and great shows. They understand music composition and what it is all about, a great experience! I have seen them live a few times and every time they have been able to blow my mind. Not only is their music great, their visuals are in sync with the music to the point that you get sucked into them and they take you on a little adventure. They play everything from "Lost in the K Hole" to "Swoon," mixing them very smoothly.

The atmosphere has always been great when I have seen them as they tend to attract an older crowd in their late 20s / early thirties. Overall this is an experience I recommend to everyone that has appreciation for electronic music and is looking to get their mind blown. I must point out that I do not take any substances other than cold brews to enjoy my music. If you do, any bass is good for you so please keep your zombie self away from the Chemical Brothers. If you enhance feelings with substances and are functional, I am sure you will have your mind blown by them.

The Chemical Brothers, otherwise known as Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were a driving force in the UK garage and electro movement of the 90's releasing an innovative take on traditional dance music. Scoring a string of number one albums from 1997 to 2007, the duo have a huge amount of material to wow crowds with during their immersive and surreal live show.

Alongside their experimental music, the pair were known for experimenting with their live show. Innovators of their time, the visual elements now amaze the crowds and help to emphasise classic tracks such as 'Galvanize' and 'Setting Sun'. A barrage of light illuminates the entire audience throughout the show and makes the fragmented dance beats of 'Out Of Control' even more trippy.

The oversized human shadows who frolic on the huge screens behind the duo's heads keep the vibe surreal before they delight the crowd with fan favourites such as 'Superflash'. The finale of 'Block Rockin' Beats' is amass of light, fire and music; a euphoric and hedonistic climax as the stage lights continues to pulse ominously long after the music fades away.

Absolutely amazing show. Well worth the money. Light show and graphics were mesmerising. The lasers are truly wonderful. I’ve never seen CB before and I would love to see them in an open air environment, you know....a summers evening, a bit pissed with a lot of like minded people. Love their ♫ and beat was an earth moving experience. Only disappointment was the venue. Birmingham Arena sucks ass..... Big time. I’m from Birmingham so it doesn’t make me happy to say that. But it is a crap venue. Food and beer too expensive. Bar staff are on downers or some kind of relax drug I’m sure. Toilets are too few and the queuing system to get in!!!!! Shoddy and disorganised. However CB are more than worth seeing again and again.

Incredible. The best.

The was unquestionably the best concert I've ever been to - despite how great The Prodigy and Justice were recently. I had high expectations but I was totally blown away. It was exactly what I was looking for as a high-energy dance catharsis. I knew all of their songs, the mix had seamless transitions and hyped the energy at all the right times. The lighting design had perfect synchronicity between colour, timing and effect for what the music represented. It was highly theatrical and entertaining. The audience was euphoric. It was unforgettable. I will attend wherever possible.

Bloody brilliant night out watching Chemical Brothers @ O2...

Awesome light show with a great set list. I've always regretted never seeing this duo before and I'm so glad I finally did.

In today's world, I normally find the larger venues have far too many people sitting down watching the event like they're at home watching TV and the atmosphere is lacking. Not with Tom & Ed, 99.9% of the pretty much packed auditorium were up & havin' it large! Kudos to The Chems...

For DJ's who've been banging it out since before the mid 90's, they've still got it...

Highly recommended.

Chemical Brothers volvían a España y con ellos la posibilidad de disfrutar de los DJ sets de Erol Alkan y 2 many djs. Ambos fallaron en su labor de entretener y calentar al publico que deseaba ver a el dúo de Manchester asumir el control de los decibelios.

Tom Rowlands y Ed Simons acompañados de un espectáculo visual infalible, nos mostraron todo su potencial y buena parte de su gran repertorio. si tienes la ocasión de verles no lo dudes, GO!

Ich bin Fan der beiden seit der ersten Single. Habe sie vor 15 Jahren in London erlebt. Gestern in der Festhalle in Frankfurt wiedergesehen. Die beiden haben nichts von ihrer Energie eingebüßt. Einmalig. 2 Stunden Super Videoshow und tolle Gadgets. Weiter so. Sehr zu empfehlen. 100 % Party von der ersten Minute an. Das Konzert war das Geld mehr als wert. Danke.

The show itself was great. Lights, sound, music were all fab. The venue (hydro, Glasgow) was a big disappointment though. We missed half the show due to the queues. The management there need a good shake. When you've got a busy night, hire more staff and let your paying customers get on with enjoying themselves instead of queueing for hours for entry and drinks!

super show, great atmosphere. loved the visuals, the music, the people. Another proof that music brings us together regardless of where we come from and who we are. I am not a huge fan of electro but the feeling you get when you see so many happy people is awesome, and they know how to prep the show!

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The Chemical Brothers 2024 Australia Tour

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Seminal electronic dance music group The Chemical Brothers return to Australia in 2024.

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The Chemical Brothers: 'When It Sounds Good, People Will Respond In An Excited Manner'

This month, The Chemical Brothers are returning to Australia with their transportive audio-visual live show for the first time since 2019.

The Chemical Brothers (Source: Supplied)

The Chemical Brothers remain one of dance music's most enduring – and vital – acts. Three decades in, they are determined not to coast off nostalgia. The Brits are as popular as ever, but they're also progressing. The Chemicals may yet match Beyoncé Knowles as multiple Grammy winners.

In 2023, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands headlined Coachella the same day as Bad Bunny , released the blockbuster album For That Beautiful Feeling , and published a milestone book, Paused In Cosmic Reflection . "We went through this thing together – the lockdowns and the COVID [pandemic] – and came out with a bang," the typically unassuming Simons swaggers. "So we were certainly back out amongst it."

Simons is likewise an expert in time management. Astonishingly, he currently leads a double life as a Chemical Brother and psychotherapist.

It's Monday morning in London and Simons has switched his Zoom video off. Joking about the indecently early start, the tired musician is croaky but cheerful. The following day, The Chemicals will fly to Japan for consecutive concerts in Tokyo – their first since Mexico in November. How does Simons cope?

"Well, it's the usual balance that I do," he shares. "I work as a psychotherapist a couple of days a week. I take some time out every now and again to go away, but the gigs are usually at the weekends." Fate has lately introduced another complication. "I've just added a newborn baby to the mix," Simons continues. Bonkers . "It is quite a lot," he acknowledges. "But I like the balance of the life. It's all me at the heart of it. I work with Tom and I have that relationship, and then I do something which is relating to other people and outside it. But I have agency within all that."

Pressed, Simons admits that, as a sleep-deprived parent at the end of last year, he did question his many commitments. "You get used to it. I've been doing that kind of dual life for quite a long time now – about 12 years, I think. So it makes sense to me. Other people sometimes find it a bit hard to kind of fathom… I mean, [being awake] at four in the morning when the baby was first born and then having some clients later that day was quite a lot."

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This month, The Chemicals are returning to Australia with their transportive audio-visual live show for the first time since touring behind 2019's triumphant comeback, No Geography . They'll play three East Coast dates, culminating in the Victorian winery event A Day On The Green , supported by renowned UK club DJ James Holroyd .

In the early 2000s, the long haulers routinely joined Antipodean super-festivals like Big Day Out (in the Boiler Room) and Future Music – Simons conceding that it's proven "an adjustment" headlining their own venues here, bringing extra pressure. "We really hope to see everyone out there," he says. "Who knows? Let's have a good time while we still can."

The prep for the live spectacular is intensive – Simons refers to it as a "travelling circus." The Chemicals assemble "a vague setlist" before they "spend a lot of time doing some programming and experimenting," as their design cohorts Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall create the imagery – "a long process." Finally, the outfit have a production rehearsal and discuss the logistics with a road crew. "We go to a big warehouse in Birmingham for a couple of weeks and figure it all out."

Simons and Rowlands crossed paths in the late '80s as history students at The University Of Manchester, both outsiders revelling in the city's club culture. "If you look in [ Paused In Cosmic Reflection] , there were lots of photos of us – and we'll look at a photo when we're students together, just all in our mid-20s, and it's starting to look like those sepia-tinted pictures of the past," Simons observes.

Rowlands, then a member of the underground group Ariel , formed a new DJ partnership with Simons – the two unwisely borrowing the handle 'Dust Brothers' from the Californian beatmakers associated with the Beastie Boys until legalities prompted a rethink. In the meantime, the duo's plunderphonics track Song To The Siren (inspired by This Mortal Coil 's dream-pop cover of Tim Buckley 's folk number) impressed tastemaker DJ Andrew Weatherall .

Rebranding as The Chemical Brothers, the DJ/producers pioneered big beat – a hybrid of house, hip-hop and indie-rock – at London's fabled Heavenly Sunday Social Club. They'd go mainstream with 1995's irreverently titled debut Exit Planet Dust – The Charlatans ' frontman Tim Burgess and Beth Orton cameo-ing.

Signed to Virgin , The Chemicals spearheaded a British electronica invasion Stateside alongside The Prodigy and Fatboy Slim . They won their inaugural Grammy for the Schoolly D -sampling Block Rockin' Beats (for Best Rock Instrumental Performance) off Dig Your Own Hole .

The Chemicals ushered in ever more psychedelic – and exploratory – sonics, the pair liaising with lionised guest vocalists: Oasis ' Noel Gallagher (a clubber at The Haçienda) on the UK chart-topping classic Setting Sun , Mazzy Star 's elusive Hope Sandoval and A Tribe Called Quest 's MC Q-Tip . The 2007 novelty The Salmon Dance , with The Pharcyde 's Fatlip , is an Aussie fave.

Alas, The Chemicals initially found the US EDM boom alienating with its braggadocio. The combo's activity slowed after they completed 2015's ambitious Born In The Echoes , home to their first collab with Beck when Simons announced that he was quitting the fold as a live performer due to mystery "academic pursuits" – subsequently revealed to be a Masters in Psychotherapy. Instead, Rowlands would be accompanied by Smith at Glastonbury. Happily, Simons and Rowlands reunited ahead of No Geography (a showcase for eccentric Norwegian AURORA), winning two more Grammys.

Ironically, The Chemicals unleashed a collection of modish dance bangers, For That Beautiful Feeling, in tandem with a lavish retrospective tome – "a strange mix of the new and the old," Simons notes. But the roll-out was surprising for an unrelated reason.

On stage, The Chemicals strive to be inconspicuous – and they're reluctant celebrities. "We've kind of kept ourselves to ourselves," he says. Because of that, Paused In Cosmic Reflection , described as The Chemical Brothers' "definitive story", felt "exposing". The duo, conducting virtual interviews with author Robin Turner , "ended up probably speaking more about ourselves than we have done in 30-odd years," Simons offers. They then had to promote the enterprise. "It wasn't hard, but it was different for us."

The Chemicals prefer to face forward – or, at least, the present – than reminisce. Coincidentally, Exit Planet Dust will turn 30 in 2025, and Simons is unsure how the two will celebrate it. He paraphrases Liam Gallagher, who dismissed the trend for LP reissues in an interview with The Guardian : "We don't wanna be that band who keeps putting their records back in cellophane."

"I suppose we've done more looking back than we have done before," Simons ponders. "I guess we will probably mark it. It's a confused anniversary because we recorded Exit Planet Dust in one year, and then we had to wait a year to put it out because we had to change our name… The anniversary is always a bit blurry."

Unprepared to be dad ravers, The Chemicals cut a mega techno album in For That Beautiful Feeling , led by an alternative version of 2021's pandemic anthem The Darkness That You Fear . Any vocals are sparing, with Beck singing Skipping Like A Stone and French art-popster Halo Maud heard on three songs. 

"We're putting out new music, and we don't feel like we've become a heritage band," Simons reaffirms. "When we come and play live [this] month in Australia, we'll play a lot of the new material. And we feel it's every bit as exciting for people as hearing, I don't know if it's 'nostalgia', but having those memories of songs that meant a lot to you in the '90s or the early part of the 21st Century even."

Simons and Rowlands are tuned into contemporary dance. Indeed, they occasionally DJ – notably rocking Amnesia in Ibiza. The Chemicals will "scour" Bandcamp and Beatport for tunes. "We don't follow every twist and turn of every new genre. But we're still really excited about the power of a good bass drum in a club with people in an elevated state and ready to party."

Essentially, Simons is a bedroom DJ. "I've got a little DJ set-up in my house – and I still like to go down there and let off a bit of steam, get a mix on, get a friend round, and play some records. I think if I lost that, that would be a lot to lose."

The Chemicals have commissioned elite remixes of For That Beautiful Feeling's singles – Australia's HAAi transforming The Darkness That You Fear into steamy disco . Mind, the buzziest might be Chris Lake 's prog house take on No Reason . "It's kind of everything like we do, but a bit more upfront – and [it] grabs those big dancefloors with the flashing lights and confetti-type dancefloors, which we need to reach."

"The answer to that is we don't know really yet," he says. "I mean, 10 seems like a nice round number, but then five probably seemed like a nice round number at the time. If there's something else to say and we feel creatively excited again [we'll do it]. I think right now probably a bit of a gap is required. Tom's working on something separately maybe. But we'll see... We've got these tours. But, yeah, I don't know. Never say never."

Back in 2010, The Chemicals presented a neglected visual album, Further . The next year, they delivered their sole soundtrack, scoring Joe Wright 's thriller Hanna – the English director on the ascent with his silver screen adaptations of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement .

In fact, The Chemicals' involvement with Hanna resulted from a previous connection. "Joe Wright actually used to be part of the team that did our visuals [Smith's Vegetable Vision ]," Simons explains. "He's a really old friend and then went off and became this huge Hollywood director. [But] he was doing this kind of magic realist strange fairytale with lots of chase scenes and action. It was a perfect fit for us, really – and working with Joe sort of gave it a different energy."

Saoirse Ronan portrayed the titular child assassin, Hanna, opposite Australian stars Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett . Laughing, Simons mimics Blanchett's ruthless CIA operative: "Why now, Erik?" He can't recall attending a film premiere, though The Chemicals met Ronan. "We're not massively red carpet people. But, if asked, we'll put on a suit. We're not averse to traipsing the red carpet." Their score won a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award. On learning that Bana lives quietly in Melbourne, Simons enthuses, "Get him to come to the gig!"

The Chemicals were later attached as composers to a heist film – 2012's Now You See Me – but, Simons says, "We really haven't had something we'd wanna do since Hanna ." With Simons preoccupied, Rowlands made This Is Not A Game (featuring Miguel and Lorde ) for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 . And they're open to future film proposals. "Soundtracks are really exciting to us," Simons stresses. "So if something like [ Hanna ] came along again, it would definitely be something we'd be interested in." The Chemicals talk to Wright. "I think Tom is actually working with Joe on a project at the moment."

More than big beat, techno is inherently futuristic. However, some pundits maintain that even that sub-genre is reproductive rather than innovative – the music critic Simon Reynolds famously decrying ' retromania '. But, while The Chemicals resist stasis, Simons ultimately holds that it isn't necessary to reinvent electronic dance music, as it transcends generations. He personally gets a kick out of spotting friends' teenage offspring sporting tie-dye Chemical Brothers T-shirts backstage at shows.

"New groups of young kids get excited by the thing that we all got excited about; that shared excitement. And that can just be a really amazing loop of really funky great drum sounds – you know, there's [hi-] hats that scream at you…

"Sometimes it doesn't need more. [I don't agree with] the idea that things have to always evolve or become different. It's just kind of like that really primal thing about a really good beat and a really exciting sound and a room full of people, or a field full of people, who are just tuned into that same moment is always gonna be exciting.

"It's just different people doing it as we go along. My Instagram feed is full of huge raves and whole swathes of people just immersed in the power of electronic music. It doesn't matter so much what the actual style is; it's just that kind of primal response. When it sounds good, people will respond in an excited manner – hopefully."

The Chemical Brothers return to Australia in late February for three special shows. They’ll be joined by special guests The Presets, Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS

2024 australian tour, with the presets + anna lunoe + james holroyd.

Tuesday 27 February – Meanjin/Brisbane, Riverstage*

Thursday 29 February – Eora/Sydney, Showgrounds

Saturday 2 March – Djilang/Geelong, Mt Duneed Estate

*The Presets not appearing

Tickets:  frontiertouring.com

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Arts & entertainment, design & style, travel & leisure, search concrete playground, hey boy, hey girl: iconic electronic duo the chemical brothers are touring australia in 2024.

There'll be block rockin' beats, including from their new album 'For That Beautiful Feeling', when the UK pair head back Down Under.

Don't hold back: one of the biggest acts in electronic music for the past three decades is returning to Australia. Superstar DJs The Chemical Brothers have a new album about to drop in September, and have just announced three Down Under dates for February and March 2024 to unleash their latest round of block rockin' beats live. And, as their massive Coachella sets demonstrated earlier in 2023, they're certain to put on one helluva show.

The Chemical Brothers have locked in three Aussie shows, starting their next visit in Brisbane before hitting Sydney , and then doing their only Victorian gig of this tour at A Day on the Green in Geelong . Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons will play Riverstage with Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd in support, and Sydney Showground and Mt Duneed Estate with the pair as well as The Presets doing a DJ set.

It isn't just their astonishing Coachella set that proves The Chemical Brothers are a must-see live act. Every tour — including their last stint Down Under back in 2019 — always matches a spectacle of mindbending visuals to the duo's iconic tunes. For this one, the setup will include tracks from their tenth studio album For That Beautiful Feeling , which drops on Friday, September 8.

Accordingly, expect recent singles 'No Reason', 'Live Again' (featuring Halo Maud) and 'Skipping Like a Stone' (reteaming The Chemical Brothers with Beck after 2016's 'Wide Open') — and also a wealth of songs from a back catalogue that spans back to 1989. No, it wouldn't be a Chemical Brothers gig without 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Block Rockin' Beats' and 'Galvanise' getting a whirl.

The pair's current setlist also includes everything from 'Go', 'Swoon' and 'Star Guitar' to 'Setting Sun', 'Chemical Beats' and 'Escape Velocity'.

Holroyd joining Rowlands and Simons on the tour is always a given, as The Chemical Brothers' long-standing opening DJ.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2024:

Tuesday, February 27 — ​Riverstage , Brisbane with Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd ​ Thursday, February 29 — ​Sydney Showground, Sydney with The Presets (DJ Set), Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd Saturday, March 2 — ​Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong at A Day on the Green with The Presets (DJ Set), Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd ​ The Chemical Brothers are touring Australia in February and March 2024, with pre-sale tickets available from 2pm AEST on Wednesday, September 6 and general sales from 1pm AEST on Friday, September 8. Head to the tour website and A Day on the Green website for further details.

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The enduring relevance of The Chemical Brothers

Ahead of their highly anticipated Australia tour, we explore why the electronic duo continue to resonate so strongly today

In partnership with Frontier Touring

With nearly 30 years at the top of the game, The Chemical Brothers are a one-in-a-million act that not only pioneered but prevailed. Unlike many trailblazers, they were not consumed by the fire they ignited but instead managed to stay ahead of it. Still touring and releasing groundbreaking albums in 2023, The Chemical Brothers are the very definition of perennial.

• READ MORE: The Chemical Brothers – ‘For That Beautiful Feeling’ review: electronic titans as future-focused as ever

Ultimately, The Chemical Brothers’ longevity is owed to two main factors. The first is the most obvious and self-evident truth that they wrote, and continue to write, songs that people love. Since the era when physical sales ruled the earth, The Chemical Brothers have shifted upward of 15million records. In the streaming world, they top 3.5million monthly listeners on Spotify alone.

The other secret to their enduring success is that their live show is regarded as one of the world’s best. This is affirmed by The Chemical Brothers’ ability to sell out arenas globally – excitingly, their tour will make landfall Down Under next year – and their near-constant inclusion on the world’s most sought-after festival lineups – with six jaunts at Glastonbury , and a staggering seven visits to Coachella , to name but two.

Enter Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall; the production geniuses who have masterminded The Chemical Brothers’ live show for over 25 years. Along with lighting director Jean-Christophe Aubrée and audio engineer Shan Hira, Smith and Lyall present The Chemical Brothers in a stunning concert experience that is a tightly conceptualised and executed marvel of sight and sound.

The production team use the setlist as a roadmap – working with cinematographers, dancers and performers to create abstract characters, which are then projected onto a giant screen at the back of the stage. Behind it is a kinetic lighting rig perfectly mapped to the video content… projecting through the screen, becoming part of the characters and giving them extra depth.

On top of all this is a house rig of lights, lasers, strobes and just about anything else you can think of, providing endless possibilities for syncing the music with stimulating optics. Much as the setlist changes regularly, so too do the visuals, meaning that seeing one show is not seeing them all. Each tour is a new and exciting experience that encourages repeat visitation.

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The results are as jaw-dropping to witness as they are groundbreaking to make. While the band are tethered to their equipment, the choreography of the lights and projections is their stage presence – the third member of the band. Up close or from a distance, the audience is drawn into an immersive fantasy world of sensory hallucination.

• READ MORE: Prepare yourself for The Chemical Brothers’ exclusive show in Victoria with these 12 songs

Hence The Chemical Brothers’ universality. Their music has proven to be timeless – appealing to older, long-term fans, while continuing to enlist each new generation. Age is irrelevant, as is the depth of one’s fandom. From the hardcore fan to the casual, such is the spectacle of The Chemical Brothers’ live show that it is magical with or without the context of knowing each song.

So even though their emergence was part of a movement that emanated from the ’90s UK nightclub scene – a very specific time and place – The Chemical Brothers transcended both. Their music stayed cutting edge, they never stopped making records or touring, and as a result their popularity continued to grow over the years, like a snowball rolling down a mountain.

The Chemical Brothers’ immortality is also rooted partly in the inclusion of their music in movies and TV shows. From The Sopranos to Vanilla Sky to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider , these are works that have their own enduring popularity. For The Chemical Brothers to be embedded in a movie or TV show is a permanent tribute… a reminder of their lofty place within pop culture at large.

The Chemical Brothers are bigger today than ever – with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They have an incredible legacy, are still producing vital work, and their live show is a pinnacle of production. Thus, their enduring relevance is simply a question of quality… they are, without question, one of greatest electronic acts of all time.

The Chemical Brothers tour Australia in February-March 2024, performing one-night-only east-coast shows at Riverstage Brisbane (February 27), Sydney Showground (February 29) and A Day On The Green at Mt Duneed Estate Geelong (March 2). Find tickets and more info here

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Listen now to the new Chris Lake remix of 'No Reason'

Greetings chemical brothers, sisters & siblings,

Happy New Year from Chemical HQ!  We're kicking off 2024 with a brand new remix of 'No Reason' from producer and DJ Chris Lake!

More news soon from Chemical HQ.

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The Chemical Brothers to perform live for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 23 March

Listen to the new 'goodbye' dj seinfeld remix, for that beautiful feeling - the new album everywhere now, new single 'skipping like a stone' featuring beck, paused in cosmic reflection: the definitive story of the chemical brothers., live again: new track online everywhere today, skipping like a stone (ft. beck).

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The Chemical Brothers

One of the most acclaimed and innovative electronic duos in the world - THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS - will bring their world-renowned live show to a day on the green at Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong on Saturday 2 March, 2024. 

This mind-bending show will be the duo’s ONLY VICTORIAN SHOW ! Kickstarting the party will be special guest DJs THE PRESETS , ANNA LUNOE and JAMES HOLROYD.

For three decades, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS have defined the cutting edge of electronic dance music, both on their multi-platinum records, and with their hugely lauded live shows. 

With huge global hits, 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', 'Galvanize', 'Go', 'Block Rockin' Beats', 'Star Guitar', 'All Of A Sudden', 'Do It Again', 'Got To Keep On', 'Free Yourself' and 'Mad As Hell', this will be the six-time Grammy Award-winners first visit to Australia since 2019 and the duo’s first appearance at a day on the green .

Superstar DJs … here we go!

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