All Systems Are Go!

By Joe Kavanagh

Sometimes names can be misleading. In military and administrative parlance, The Go Team is group of individuals 'which responds to aircraft accidents and other transportation-related catastrophes, consists of trained, experienced and professional accident investigators who are ready at a moment's notice to respond to an aircraft accident or any other major accident.'

In contrast to this rather morose definition, UK act, The Go! Team is a group of colorful individuals whose effervescent, infectious grooves are characterized by the inherent happiness they exude, which often provokes frantic dancing and euphoric delusions in those lucky enough to experience it.

Already the beneficiaries of critical acclaim, the Brighton-based sextet now look set to go global with the release of their highly-awaited second album next month. The Go! Team began as the brainchild of Brighton-based musician, Ian Parton, who set out at the turn of the millennium to make music that incorporated 'Sonic Youth-style guitars, double-Dutch chants and car chase horn music.'

Working in a homemade studio set up in his parents' basement, Parton (under the nom de guerre: The Go! Team) released the flute driven instrumental, Get It Together, which received broad critical appraise in the UK underground and was even given an enthusiastic thumbs-up by the late-great, John Peel.

Parton's joy was short lived however, as a series of legal problems soon overtook his music career, and it would be another three years before he returned with sumptuous Junior Kickstart EP, driven by big beats, catchy hooks and the type of horns not heard since the halcyon days of 70s cop shows.

With the mandate now clear and the public's appetite sufficiently whetted, Parton set about making his debut album.

Although offers of studio time and space came in by virtue of his earlier work, Parton decided against tinkering with his formula and continued to use his parents house as his base of operations.

By 2004 he was ready to unleash his talents upon the UK music world and the outstanding Thunder, Lightening, Strike was released on local indie label: Memphis Industries.

Incorporating a heady mix of soul, 60s girl groups, 80s electro, funk, hip hop and a host of other influences that kept the overall sound just on the right side of chaos, The Go! Team exploded onto the scene with a fanfare of critical praise that bordered on the obsequious.

Calling upon friends and friends of friends, he eventually assembled a group of musicians, characterized by their versatility in a live setting. Sam Dook (guitar, banjo, drums), Chi 'Ky' Fukami Taylor (drums, vocals), Jamie Bell (bass) and Silke Steidinger (vocals, guitar, synths, melodica) formed the backing section of the group (until the latter was replaced last year by Kaori Tsuchida), while Parton successfully recruited London rapper, Ninja, to be the charismatic face of the band.

Given the fact that Parton initially thought that the album might make wave solely on the underground, he had not received permission to use all the samples used and after a multitude of phone calls, negotiations and threats of lawsuits, he was eventually forced to release a new version of the album, free of all the samples that he could not receive clearance for.

The new 'legal' version of the album appeared in 2005 and was the recipient of a Mercury Music Prize nomination only weeks later, resulting in a wave of publicity that the band rode all the way to the SXSW Music Festival in Texas.

Their fresh sound, superb live show (featuring members regularly swapping instruments) and the fact that their lineup of three boys and three girls is not unlike the United Colors of Benetton played well with both US audiences and industry folk alike, all smitten by their fresh sound and look.

In contrast to many other UK acts who often spend millions attempting to break into the world's largest music market, The Go! Team achieved a level of success in America that would be the envy of most European bands.

Making their achievement all the more remarkable was the fact that it was essentially done by virtue of the internet and word of mouth.

Music chatrooms and personal blogs lit up with talk of this new, genre busting UK group.

The band capitalized on this momentum by taking their act on the road with bands like Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, playing to packed houses and often saw punters leave venues talking solely about the opening act.

By early 2005 The Go! Team were the subject of a bidding war between the major labels, until Colombia Records secured the band's signature, putting their debut out in October of that year to near universal praise.

By August of last year they were back in the studio beginning work on their follow up but - in contrast to their first effort - all six members now were encouraged to have more of a say in the creative process.

The fruits of their labor became evident with the release of new single, Grip Like A Vice, released in July of this year and exhibiting all of the facets that made them such compulsive listening in the first place.

Word also emerged that their latest album, Proof Of Youth, will hit shelves in both the UK and US in September, featuring nine vocal tracks and two instrumentals.

One critic has already described the work as being 'brighter, harder, faster and more goddamned fun than anything else in 2007' and the band themselves claim that the album will contain fewer lulls as they attempt to create something that is almost 100% energy.

Sets at places as far flung as Glastonbury and a festival in China have only reinforced the notion that The Go! Team has upped the ante for the entire indie world.

From their first hesitant steps the six-piece now intend to make a concerted effort at 'breaking' the US market with a more refined blend of music inspired by everything from Fat Albert and blaxploitation flicks to rock n' soul.

Their US tour in October will be their most ambitious to date and pundits on both sides of the Atlantic are counting on the Brighton band becoming a truly global name by year's end.