Photo: Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Underworld
Underworld began in Romford as an ordinary late-80s synth-pop group, then scrapped everything and came back in the early 90s as something stranger and much bigger: the duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith making long, hypnotic dance records. "Born Slippy .NUXX," picked up for the Trainspotting soundtrack, turned that second act into one of the defining sounds of 90s electronic music, and their mix of trance, techno, and Hyde's half-spoken fragments of city life still shapes how dance records get made.
Start here
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994). It's the album where the reinvention happened, and it's still the clearest way in. "Cowgirl," "Dark & Long," and the slow-building "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You" show the whole formula: rolling rhythms, layers of texture, and words that feel overheard rather than written.
Biography
Underworld are a British electronic music group formed in 1987 in Cardiff, Wales, and the principal collaborative project of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith.
After briefly performing as a funk and synth-pop outfit, resulting in two albums between 1988 and 1989, Underworld gained prominence after pivoting to dance and techno, releasing albums including Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994), Second Toughest in the Infants (1996) and Beaucoup Fish (1999), as well as singles "Born Slippy Nuxx" and "Dark & Long (Dark Train)".
Known for their atmospheric, progressive compositions, Hyde's cryptic and stream of consciousness lyrics, and dynamic live performances, Underworld have influenced a wide range of artists, and have featured in soundtracks and scores for films and television.
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Studio albums
Discography
Official studio albums and EPs.
- 2024Strawberry HotelAlbum
- 2020DRIFT Series 1 - CompleteAlbum
- 2019Drift Episode 5EP
- 2019Drift Episode 4EP
- 2019Drift Episode 3EP
- 2019Drift Episode 2EP
- 2018Drift Episode 1EP
- 2018Teatime Dub EncountersEP
- 2016Barbara Barbara, we face a shining futureAlbum
- 2015Junior Boys Own presents: Baby Wants to RideEP
- 2010BarkingAlbum
- 2007CrocodileEP
- 2007Oblivion With BellsAlbum
- 2006I'm a Big Sister, and I'm a Girl, and I'm a Princess and This Is My HorseEP
- 2006The Misterons MixEP
- 2006The Riverrun SeriesEP
- 2005Pizza for EggsEP
- 2005Lovely Broken ThingEP
- 2002A Hundred Days OffAlbum
- 1999Beaucoup FishAlbum
- 1996Second Toughest in the InfantsAlbum
- 1996Pearl’s GirlEP
- 1994DubnobasswithmyheadmanAlbum
- 1989Change the WeatherAlbum
- 1988Underneath the RadarAlbum
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