Hot Chip | |
|---|---|
_-_cropped.jpg) Hot Chip performing at thePositivus Festival in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | New Build |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | hot-chip |
Hot Chip is an Englishsynth-pop band formed inLondon in 2000. The group consists of multi-instrumentalistsAlexis Taylor,Joe Goddard,Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for live performances and studio recordings. The group primarily produces music in the synth-pop andalternative dance genres, drawing influences fromhouse anddisco.
Hot Chip began as a bedroom recording project for Taylor and Goddard, who met while students atElliott School, Putney; their earliest lineup included Smoughton as their drummer. After completing two EPs,Mexico (2001) andSan Frandisco (2002), the group released their debut album,Coming on Strong (2004) and added Doyle, Clarke, and Martin to their lineup. The band's second album,The Warning (2006), was nominated for theMercury Prize. Their follow-up,Made in the Dark (2008), included the single "Ready for the Floor", which was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The band have subsequently released the albumsOne Life Stand (2010),In Our Heads (2012),Why Make Sense? (2015),A Bath Full of Ecstasy (2019), andFreakout/Release (2022).
Outside of Hot Chip, the band members, individually and in partnership with each other, are active in other musical acts and occasionally performDJ sets.
Hot Chip were formed around 2000 by the duo ofAlexis Taylor andJoe Goddard, who met as students atElliott School, Putney.[1] With a shared love ofR&B andhouse music, they started collaborating on music around 1998, initially playing in a more stripped back acoustic style before gradually becoming more electronic over time.[2] Early formative releases included 2001'sMexico EP on Victory Garden Records (VG14),[3] and the self-releasedSan Frandisco EP in 2002.[4] After years of self-releasing records, they signed withMoshi Moshi in 2003 and released their debut LPComing on Strong in 2004.[5] During this period, they were joined by Owen Clarke, Felix Martin andAl Doyle. They started working on their second album and signed a UK and US record deal withDFA Records andEMI. DFA andAstralwerks released their debut album for the first time in the United States in late 2005.
The Guardian namesRoxy Music,Prince,Royal Trux,Arthur Russell andMadonna as influences on Hot Chip;[6] the band have also paid "homage" toOMD.[7]
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In 2006, Hot Chip released their second album,The Warning. Now signed to EMI in the United Kingdom, the band gained more mainstream appeal as well as the attention of critics. The album was shortlisted for the2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize and was Mixmag's Album of the Year 2006.[8] This album spawned also twoUK top 40 singles: "Over and Over" in March 2006 and "Boy from School" in May 2006. "Over and Over" received attention for itsmusic video, which was directed byNima Nourizadeh, and was also named as the best single of 2006 by British music magazineNME.[9]
The band released their third studio album,Made in the Dark, on 4 February 2008. The first song to be released from it was "Shake a Fist", which was released as a limited one-sided 12-inch vinyl in August 2007. The second release was "Ready for the Floor" in January 2008, which peaked at number six on theUK Singles Chart.[10] In order to promote "Ready for the Floor", the band appeared onFriday Night with Jonathan Ross in January 2008, and Joe Goddard appeared onNever Mind the Buzzcocks on 31 January. In February 2008, the band performed on the American talk showsJimmy Kimmel andCarson Daly. At the end of 2008, "Ready for the Floor" received aGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording nomination, but the song later lost out to "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)" byDaft Punk.[11] On 7 May 2008, the group performed their third single, "One Pure Thought", on Radio 1'sLive Lounge.[12] The hypnotic clip for "One Pure Thought" was selected as one of the best music videos of 2008 byAllMusic.
Having completed a world tour in February 2009, Hot Chip returned to London and began writing and recording their fourth album,One Life Stand.
In early 2009,Alexis Taylor toldNME that the band recorded new songs including "Alley Cats", which the band played regularly while touring in 2008/2009. Initially, Taylor hinted that the album was going to be "a bit calmer this time" in comparison toMade in the Dark with songs that are "more mid-tempo and disco influenced", although the two tracks released prior to the album, "Take It In" and "One Life Stand", suggest that it will be more upbeat than first suggested, and may be more influenced by early house music.[13] Alongside the regular band members, Hot Chip collaborated on several of the album tracks with the drummerCharles Hayward fromThis Heat[14] andCamberwell Now, Leo Taylor, drummer from the London-based bandThe Invisible[15] and the Trinidadian steel pan player Fimber Bravo.
One Life Stand was released on 1 February 2010.
Their self-produced fifth studio albumIn Our Heads was released on 11 June 2012 byDomino.[16]
About the album, Taylor stated, "I thinkIn Our Heads was a bit speedier, and made with less pressure, but more fun – partly due to people in the band not having too many hang ups about how good the material was – we seemed to be happy with the songs we were writing and they came quickly – and partly due to the fact that we had been enjoying ourselves elsewhere, whether at home, or on tour, or recording with our other projects, or DJing. I think that is right about [having a] subtler confidence, but it may also be that we are a bit more accepted these days as we keep doing what we want, and gradually people stop saying 'why' to everything and each decision. The songwriting developed quickly from songs that were dreamt ('Now There is Nothing'); songs that were written via email file sending (fully fleshed out instrumentals from Joe developing into songs with added percussion/chord changes and singing by me; e.g. 'Flutes'); songs that we bashed out in collaborative writing sessions between Joe and myself ('Don't Deny Your Heart', 'How Do You Do?'); songs that one or the other of us wrote largely separately 'These Chains'– Joe/'Look at Where We Are'- Alexis); songs that a few of us in the room wrote more of: 'Dark and Stormy', or to some extent "Let Me Be Him" (at least in chorus terms); or finally songs that were written after we completed the last album and which were still in our minds: 'Always Been Your Love', 'Doctor'."[17] "Dark and Stormy" has been since released as a non-album single.
On 10 February 2015, the band announced their sixth studio album,Why Make Sense? and released the first single, "Huarache Lights". The album was released on 18 May 2015.[18]
On 4 April 2019, the band announced that their seventh studio album,A Bath Full of Ecstasy, would be released on 21 June 2019. The first single from the album, "Hungry Child", was released on the same day.[19] They released the second single, "Melody of Love", on 29 May 2019.[20]
On 23 October 2020, the band released the single "Straight to the Morning", featuringJarvis Cocker.
It was announced on 19 April 2022 that Hot Chip would release their eighth studio albumFreakout/Release on 19 August 2022, with the lead single "Down" preceding the release. The announcement coincided with Hot Chip's US, UK and European tour, which began in San Francisco on 19 April 2022.[21] They released a second single, "Eleanor", on 7 July 2022, which is aboutSamuel Beckett drivingAndré the Giant to school.[22]
In July 2025, the group announced the greatest hits albumJoy in Repetition and released a new song, "Devotion", which was included on the compilation.[23]Joy in Repetition was released on September 5, 2025.
During live performances, Hot Chip reinvent their studio compositions to form what has been described byGlide magazine as "heavy beat-driven improvisation[s]" that create "an atmosphere of excitement, energy and the unexpected."[24] Festival appearances includeV Festival,Dour Festival,Glastonbury,Treasure Island Festival,Roskilde festival,Sónar,Benicassim,Electric Picnic,Bestival,Lovebox Festival,Bonnaroo, theReading and Leeds Festivals, theBig Day Out,Melt! Festival,T in the Park,Summer Sundae,Splendour in the Grass,Lollapalooza andLollapalooza Chile, the Brazilian TIM Festival,Oxegen,Coachella,Way Out West Festival,Austin City Limits,Ultra Music Festival, and theOsheaga Festival.
The band is also known for its DJ talent; they have released several mix CDs and mixes for national and international radio stations and they all DJ regularly worldwide.
Al Doyle played guitar withLCD Soundsystem on tour and was present during their concert atMadison Square Garden in 2011.
In April 2012 "Boy from School" featured inThe Simpsons episode "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again".[25]
On 29 May 2017 "Over and Over" was featured in theAmerican Dad episode "Bazooka Steve".[25]
Hot Chip played atGlastonbury Festival 2023 on Friday, 23 June.[26]
Hot Chip released aDJ-Kicks compilation album in 2007, and the mix albumA Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip in 2009 on the Bugged Out label.[27]
In 2007 some official remixes were released, which they produced forKraftwerk.[28][29]
In 2008, the band released an EP which included collaborations withRobert Wyatt. Wyatt sang and reworked versions of three tracks fromMade in the Dark, and theHot Chip with Robert Wyatt and Geese EP also included a remix byGeese, a string quartet based in London who have regularly contributed to Hot Chip's recordings.[30]
Alexis Taylor released a solo album in 2008,Rubbed Out, which saw him focusing more on the fundamental sounds used by Hot Chip. This led to a more downtempo and bluesy album than his works with Hot Chip.[31]
Joe Goddard has also released solo productions including "Bassline '12" and "Gabriel", the latter of which was featured in the 2013 video gameGrand Theft Auto V.[32] He has also remixed songs from other artists includingDisclosure,Breach,Dirty Projectors,Nneka, andKanye West.
The band covered theWilliam Onyeabor song "Atomic Bomb" for theLuaka Bop compilationWhat?! in 2014.[33]
Current members
Former members
Guest members
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | A Bath Full of Ecstasy | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated | [37] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "Hungry Child" | Independent Video of the Year | Won | [38] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Over and Over" | Video of the Year | Won | [39] |
| Most Fun Video | Won | |||
| "And I Was a Boy from School" | Best Art Direction | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | "Ready for the Floor" | Nominated | [40] | |
| 2012 | "Don't Deny Your Heart" | Best Animated | Nominated | [41] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | "Positive" | Best Song | Nominated | [42] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Need You Now" | Best Music Video | Nominated | [43] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Ready for the Floor" | Best Art Direction | Wood Pencil | [44] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Ready for the Floor" | Best Dance Recording | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Need You Now" | Best Editor | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "I Feel Better" | Best Underground Dance Track | Nominated |
| 2013 | "Flutes (Sasha Remix)" | Best Progressive Track | Nominated |
| Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | "Need You Now" | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Over and Over" | Best Contemporary Song[45] | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Warning | Mercury Music Prize | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "And I Was a Boy from School" | Best International Video | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Over and Over" | Best British Pop Single | Nominated |
| 2008 | "Ready for the Floor" | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Boy from School" | Song of the Year | Nominated | [46] |
| "Over and Over" | Nominated | |||
| The Warning | Album Art/Packaging of the Year | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Ready for the Floor" | Best Video | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "I Feel Better" | Best Dance Anthem | Nominated | [47] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Ready for the Floor" | Best Indie/Alternative Video | Nominated | [48] |
| Best Art Direction in a Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing in a Video | Won | |||
| 2010 | "I Feel Better" | Best Dance Video | Won | |
| Best Editing in a Video | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | "Night & Day" | Best VFX in a Video | Nominated | [49] |
| Best Dance Video – UK | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | "Need You Now" | Nominated | [50] | |
| 2019 | "Hungry Child" | Nominated | [51] | |
| 2021 | "Straight to the Morning" | Best Dance/Electronic Video - UK | Won | [52] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "I Feel Better" | Best Video | Nominated |
| One Life Stand | Best Album | Nominated |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
