Groove Armada formed after Cato and Findlay had been introduced by a mutual friend and soon started their own club night in London, called Captain Sensual at the Helm of the Groove Armada, after a 1970s discothèque. By 1997, they had released a few singles, including "4 Tune Cookie" and the song that first brought them minor fame, "
At the River", which sampled "
Old Cape Cod" by
Patti Page. The song went on to be one of Groove Armada's best-known tracks and has been found on numerous
chill out compilations. Their first album,
Northern Star, was released in 1998 on
Tummy Touch Records, and was followed by a second,
Vertigo, in 1999, which had a more mainstream and 'polished' sound, making the UK Album Chart's upper 20 and being certified silver in the UK. It also included "At the River" which was re-released as a full-fledged single. An album of remixed tracks from
Vertigo entitled
The Remixes followed in 2000, along with their contribution to the
Back to Mine mix album series. The next studio album
Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) was released in 2001 and marked a departure from their trip-hop roots to more upbeat music – as demonstrated on the
Grammy-nominated single "
Superstylin'". Another mix album followed, this time for the
Another Late Night series, and in 2002, less than a year after
Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), Groove Armada produced
Lovebox, which included a variety of genres including
rock, such as "Madder" and "
Purple Haze", while others were closer to the band's traditional
house and
trip hop roots, such as the title track "Lovebox", and "Remember", with the latter containing vocals made up entirely of samples of
Sandy Denny's vocals for
Fairport Convention. An additional bonus track was later released on their website entitled "Fairport".
Lovebox also contained a song called "Hands of Time" which was subsequently used in the 2004 film
Collateral. A
greatest hits album, entitled
The Best of Groove Armada, released in 2004 – the last of their releases with Pepper Records – before their studio album
Soundboy Rock was released in 2007. The album marked a notable departure from the multi-genre-influenced previous album, featuring tracks such as "Get Down" and "Groove Extracts", which followed the contemporary
house music trend, tracks with
rock elements, and "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" featuring the vocals of ex-
Sugababes singer
Mutya Buena, hailed by online music guide
Popjustice as one of the best songs of 2007. Following the successful
Soundboy Rock singles, an updated best-of set titled
Greatest Hits was released in October 2007. This was accompanied by
GA10: 10 Year Story, a 2CD rarities collection released in November 2007 to celebrate their tenth anniversary as a band. The band has spoken in-depth about the compilation, and cited it as an "emotional experience", with both members selecting their personal favourite songs and mixes from their history. Groove Armada also released a collaboration with
The Japanese Popstars through
Strictly Rhythm, via
Beatport, in April 2008. In the same year, Groove Armada engaged in a deal with
Bacardi to distribute their new 4-track
EP using a
file sharing platform called B-Live Share. During 2009, Findlay and Cato repeatedly confirmed the existence of a pending new album. While on the Bacardi Express tour in Australia, Findlay said it will be called
Black Light and "is going to be the darker side of Groove Armada, which is finally coming out after 12 years." The first single, released on 23 November 2009, was "I Won't Kneel", featuring Groove Armada's new vocalist,
Saint Saviour. The album's second single, "Paper Romance", was released on 22 February 2010, and the album was released in Europe on 28 February. In October 2010, Groove Armada released a remix album,
White Light, which contained recent studio re-recordings of alternative live versions of many songs from
Black Light as well as other classic Groove Armada songs. Groove Armada headlined Uber Cool festival at
Jersey Live on 3 September. The duo embarked on a series of secretive "living room" sets, performing intimately across the country for audiences of close friends. Little information was given about these private performances, but the tour kicked off in
Brighton in late January, 2011. The group has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including
Max Taylor,
Neneh Cherry, DJ Gramma Funk,
Sophie Barker,
Nappy Roots, Fudge Dog,
Sunshine Anderson,
Mutya Buena,
Jeru the Damaja,
Richie Havens,
Will Young, Brodanse and
Joel Culpepper. In February 2014, the EP
Pork Soda was released. It included three brand new tracks: "Pork Soda", "Hyde & Freak" and "Jack in Black". In 2015, Groove Armada released their eighth studio album,
Little Black Book. The album has been described as "somewhere between [an] album, mix CD, and compilation". The first disc features their own original music and remixes, while the second disc features remixes of their music by other artists. Groove Armada released their ninth studio album
Edge of the Horizon in 2020 featuring vocal performances from Nick Littlemore, James Alexander Bright, Todd Edwards, She Keeps Bees, Roseau, Paris Brightledge. The duo played their last ever concerts in Australia and New Zealand in 2022. In 2025,
PinkPantheress and Groove Armada collaborated on a remix of her song, “
Stateside.” ==Other work==