In various incarnations, Underworld has served as a musical outlet for Karl Hyde and Rick Smith since they began recording together back in the 80s.
Hyde and Smith began recording in a band called The Screen Gemz while the two were working together at a diner during college. In 1983 they shifted their attention to the growing synth pop scene, recording as Freur.
In 1987, Freur broke up, and Hyde, Smith and other formers members renamed themselves Underworld. They released two records, based around a more guitar-oriented funky electropop sound on before disbanding again in 1990.
After dabbling in the graphic arts with design group Tomato, Hyde and Smith returned to music alongside Essex DJ Darren Emerson, releasing first as Lemon Interupt but eventually reclaiming the Underworld moniker.
Fusing Hyde's surreal, Beat-influenced lyrics with the kind of melodic techno practiced by bands like Orbital, Underworld managed to reach a wide audience and test the boundaries of electronic music's usual song structures all at once.
Their first album as Underworld V2, dubnobasswithmyheadman, is now considered a classic of early 90s electronic. Fusing Hyde's surreal, Beat-influenced lyrics with the kind of melodic techno practiced by bands like Orbital, Underworld managed to reach a wide audience and test the boundaries of electronic music's usual song structures all at once.
Their reputation was further burnished with the release of their second LP, Second Toughest In The Infants, which coincided with the massive success of single "Born Slippy," which was featured in the movie Trainspotting.
A couple albums later, the group was again reduced to its base membership of Hyde and Smith, Emerson having left to pursue his successful DJ career and run his Underwater record label. As the decade ended, the group hinted at yet another new direction, a more downtempo, jazzier sound, while retaining Hyde's famous vocals.
