ARTICLE BY CHRIS MOLINA
PHOTO BY PEROU
“Vision C’mon…”
After nearly three decades, Underworld continues to search, reinvent and push the conventions of art, technology and music culture through a plethora of various outlets. Their broad range of extracurricular projects (film scores, art installations, live Internet radio jams and collaborations) keep their creative palette in a constant surge of overdrive that ultimately circles back into their music compositions. Debut album (under a new iteration of the band) dubnobasewithmyheadman set a precedent for the electronic and dance scene in the early ’90s, long before the current pinup DJ influx had infected the globe. In addition, while parallel to generating tunes, Underworld also coexists with their own art collective—TOMATO—which was also founded by band members Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. TOMATO equally has been critically and commercially acclaimed for its work across multiple disciplines of visual language and is a key component to many aspects of the band’s stage presentation.
Although Underworld is mostly unsung in the U.S., they continue to be a source of inspiration among their peers, including such acts as Bjork and Radiohead, who mentioned them in a dedication of “Everything in It’s Right Place” at last year’s All Points Festival at Liberty State Park. Local L.A. band West Indian Girl also dropped a plug for the boys in an interview with The Scenestar. In a day and age where fame and fortune often distort many core values, Underworld manages to extend their sincerity to the distance, keeping themselves grounded with the utmost humble composure. From a hole in the dark, deep in Essex, England, Karl Hyde took a moment to chat with The Scenestar via conference call.
