Simian Mobile Disco--The Radio Sessions-Electronic Beats On Air with SMD, 2009-10

An obsession in unorthodox electronic sounds brought university student James Ford and Jas Shaw together in the ‘90s. While at university they formed the band Simian with classmates Simon Lord and Alex MacNaughte. Shortly afterwards, they signed a major record deal and became a touring band. Nonetheless, James and Jas were not satisfied and began booking DJ dates alongside the band. Their thirst for electronic music was quenched as they began playing as Simian Mobile Disco.
A major turning point materialized when Simian Mobile Disco teamed up with then-unknown producers Justice and as the cliché goes: the rest was history. The “Never Be Alone” remix was the ultimate party anthem in both the electronic and indie scenes. It also began the trend of fusing the two genres.
Soon, Simian Mobile Disco were DJing everywhere from the Club NME Tour to superclub Fabric. They also began to release tracks on the French labels Kitsuné and Click Click Bang. Shortly thereafter, Wichita label, home to Bloc Party and Bright Eyes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, offered Simian Mobile Disco a multi album deal. It became evident that their side-project was now a full-time gig. Still they didn’t want their songs to sound too techy and programmed, so they recorded them all on analogue machines, and kept mistakes.
Participants in the Electronic Beats Festival at Cologne in the spring of 2009 experienced their amazing live show and eclectic tastes. Now they’ve made a DJ mix with some of their favourite tunes for the Radio Sessions - Electronic Beats On Air.