Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay kicks off the second in Harmless Recording’s new Watch The Ride series with tracks from the likes of Lindstrom, Claude Von Stroke, The Greenskeepers and Kaos, as well as a couple of exclusives from Tom’s own band Sugardaddy, and remixes by The Glimmers, Joakim, Magik J and Riton.'Watch The Ride' is Harmless' new DJ mix series which features the best up-and-coming and established DJ talent that the UK, Europe and the rest of the World has to offer. Focusing on genres including Hip-hop, Breakbeat, Drum & Bass, House and Techno, the emphasis is without doubt firmly on contemporary dance music. Kicking off the series were the Scratch Perverts (aka Prime Cuts, Tony Vegas and Plus One). Harmless Records, one of the first UK connoisseur collectors’ labels, showcasing over the past 10 years, boasts the most influential and amazing artists from the world of funk, soul, disco through to the more contemporary sounds of today. Launching in 1996 with a much-acclaimed and first Masters At Work compilation, Harmless have gone on to release titles including their most popular series, Pulp Fusion, The Wonder Of Stevie, the Lifestyles series headed up by Kenny Dope Gonzalez, Bugz In The Attic, 4 Hero, Coldcut and DJ Spinna. And most recently the Gold Digging As Sampled by series which featured artists Kayne West, Jay Z and 2 Pac. Tom Findlay is best known as the groove in Groove Armada. Their first Groove Armada production, a 700 limited edition 7” ‘At The River’ surpassed everyone’s expectations: radio stations loved it; Zoe Ball, then presenting on Radio 1, so much so she immediately booked them to DJ a sunset set on her Ibiza Special radio show. From this success it was a short hop and skip to worldwide fame as one of the best known and loved dance acts. Uniquely, Groove Armada straddled the worlds of upbeat dance music and mellow chill-out tunes. They’ve sold over 1.2 million in total of 5 albums – ‘Northern Star’ (1998), ‘Vertigo’ (1999), ‘Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)’ (2001), ‘Lovebox’ (2002) and ‘Best Of’ (2004) – all the Gold-selling except for their debut. Their 1999 ‘I See You Baby’ was played on the loop on the small screen to help Renault shift cars.

They remixed Madonna’s ‘Music’ single, DJed for Elton John before stars like Johnny Depp, Giorgio Armani and Liz Hurley, toured the world several times over and in 2005 enjoyed (survived) a summer weekly residency at We Love Sundays at Space Ibiza.

In 2005, Tom made a seminal move into the world of digital music by launching tunetribe.com. A unique download site it offers hot-from-the-sound-desk mp3s of live sets from festivals and champions up-and-coming artists.

Tom says, ‘I see it as a credible antidote to i-tunes and Napster with an aim to keep the soul of the high street record store alive online.’

Last but by no means least, the latest project is Sugardaddy, featuring collaborations with David Jordan, Tim Hutton, who co-wrote the album, on vocals and Plantlife’s lead singer Jack Splash. Tom describes it as having a contemporary as well as a ‘black’ 80s edge. ‘It’s the boogie electro side of the 80s, black but rootsy, with lots of old drum machines’, he says.

TOM FINDLAY - WATCH THE RIDE TRACKLISTING:

1. Sugardaddy - Intro 2. Lindstrom - I Love Space 3. Sugardaddy - Love Honey 4. Vincent Montana Jr. Ft. Goody Goody - Esto Parese Amor 5. Phreek Plus One - New York Dolls 6. Antena - Camino Del Sol (Joakim Remix) 7. Kaos Ft. Snax - Feel Like I Feel (Balearic House Dub By The Glimmers) 8. Sugardaddy - Chasing My Tail (12 Edit) - Exclusive 9. Nick Holder - Player 1 (Magik Johnson Edit) 10. Bodzin and Huntemann - Rubin 11. Claude Von Stroke - The Whistler 12. Greenskeepers - Money 13. The Aliens - Robot Man (Riton Re-rub) 14. Andy Caldwell - Warrior (Claude Von Stroke Sharp Toof remix) 15. Buraka Som Sistema - Yah!