Beginnings
Originally from the small town of Saltwood,[4] just north of Hythe, Kent, the Godfrey brothers—DJ/producer Paul Godfrey and multi-instrumentalist Ross Godfrey—moved to London when they were in their late teens.[5][6][7][8] Sometime in the mid 1990s, at a party in Greenwich, the brothers met Skye Edwards, who was singing backup in a funk band, and also played guitar; before too long the three began recording songs together, and formed the trio Morcheeba.[4][9] At first they produced tracks at their home studio,[4] together with engineer Pete Norris.[8][10]
They were eventually signed to China Records[4] by Angus Blair (A&R) and the band released their debut Trigger Hippie EP,[11] in October 1995. At the same time, Paul Ablett came on board as manager.[10] The band's debut album, Who Can You Trust?, was released in April 1996 and fitted into the trip hop genre through a combination of Paul Godfrey's hip hop roots, Ross Godfrey's psychedelic rock influences and Edwards' soul-styled vocals. A second single, "Tape Loop", appeared in July 1996. The band began to play live around Europe and North America,[12] with a live band that included five additional members.[13] At this point, the band had outgrown the home recording set-up and the brothers purchased their own studio.[14] In 1997, they contributed to the David Byrne album Feelings, participating in the recording and production of the release.[8][15][16]
Mainstream success
With a more professional recording set-up, the brothers began developing their ideas for a second album. Much of the material had already been written, and, with Norris involved again, the band moved towards a more mainstream sound.[14] At the same time, Edwards appeared on the BBC charity single "Perfect Day". The follow-up, 1998's Big Calm, moved away from trip hop towards a more pop-oriented, song-based sound. This was exemplified by the band's reworking of "Moog Island" (from their debut) into the pop-song "The Music That We Hear".[17] One of the album's singles, "The Sea", became a radio favourite. The album proved to be a big seller and ensured Morcheeba's success as a breakthrough act.[18] In 1998, Morcheeba collaborated with Hubert Laws to record the classic song "Summer Time" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
In 2000, Morcheeba released their third album, Fragments of Freedom. This repeated the sales success of Big Calm but received a less positive critical response. The band's fourth album, Charango, was released in 2002 and saw a diminished role for Edwards. The singles "Otherwise" and "Way Beyond" followed. The lyrics for "Undress Me Now" were written with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, while other collaborators on the album were with rappers Pace Won and Slick Rick. In January 2003, the band undertook their first significant tour of the US since 1998.[19] In 2001, the Godfrey brothers contributed three songs to the Jim White album No Such Place.[20]
Split
By the end of 2003, the Godfrey brothers split with Edwards, citing creative and personal differences.[21] Edwards received "a phone call from our manager saying that it was over. It was a relief to think we didn't have to continue".[22] She was under the impression that the band had ceased to operate. A greatest hits compilation, Parts of the Process, helped to retain interest in the band and featured two new tracks: "What's Your Name" (featuring a rhyming cameo from Big Daddy Kane) and "Can't Stand It". At around the same time, they released the live DVD Morcheeba: From Brixton to Beijing. A decade later, Ross Godfrey reflected on this period, saying: "We just felt like we couldn't breathe, I'd been in the band and on the road since I was 18, so to have any kind of break from that was just amazing".[23]
The two brothers reunited the year after, leaving Paul to explain that "Ross and I realised that Morcheeba was kind of our family company, and that we wanted very much to keep it going, hence the change".[24] In 2005, Morcheeba released their fifth studio (and first post-Edwards) album, The Antidote. Daisy Martey (formerly of the band Noonday Underground) was recruited to replace Edwards as the album vocalist. However, Martey's period with the band was brief and she was sacked in the middle of the promotional tour, to be replaced by Jody Sternberg. Martey subsequently sued the band for breach of contract and defamation.[25] Sternberg's own tenure with the band was similarly brief, and she only appeared to have been part of the band to fulfil tour dates. According to Ross, the entire episode "was difficult to say the least. It left us in near-ruin".[26]
After a break of several years, Morcheeba released their sixth studio album, Dive Deep, in February 2008. On this album, the Godfrey brothers fell back into their role as producers, selecting five vocalists to perform their songs. The folk-rock singer Judie Tzuke, Norwegian born Thomas Dybdahl and blues singer/guitarist Bradley Burgess appeared as lead vocalists together with the Korean-American rapper Cool Calm Pete and French singer Manda (Amanda Zamolo).[27] Both Manda and Burgess toured with Morcheeba as lead singers on their 2008 tour.
Reunion
As a solo artist, Edwards remained with the same management company as Morcheeba—Chris Morrison the CM of CMO Management represented both artists—which led to a chance meeting in their London offices sometime in 2009. Edwards and the Godfrey brothers met again to discuss her possible involvement in a new project. Initially the singer was hesitant and pointed out that she "really enjoyed doing my solo stuff and writing my own lyrics".[28] Eventually, Edwards rejoined the band and the trio began work on a new album,[21] with Edwards still on tour promoting her solo album, Ross Godfrey living in California and Paul Godfrey in France.[29] On 12 February 2010, NME revealed that Edwards was once again back with the band, which was confirmed by Paul Godfrey the day after on the band's Myspace blog. Edwards made her live return with the band at the Caprices Festival, Switzerland on 9 April 2010.[30] Edwards' role in the band changed, as she had "become more confident" in her "ability as a singer and a songwriter", and found that during the recording process they were "more honest with each other", and thus they produced "a more honest record".[22]
Morcheeba released their seventh album, Blood Like Lemonade, on PIAS in June 2010, preceded by the single "Even Though". It was produced by Paul Godfrey, who described the album as "a warm, fuzzy blanket of psychedelia", while Edwards described the lyrics as "having dark themes".[22] She also remarked on how the brothers had made her part of the creative process again.[28] An eighteen-month tour followed that saw the band play around the Americas and Europe.[31]
Their eighth album, Head Up High, was released on 14 October 2013, again on PIAS.[32] In 2014, the band toured Australia,[33] with a line-up consisting of Skye Edwards (vocals), Ross Godfrey (guitars), Steve Gordon (bass), Richard Milner (keyboards), Martin Carling (drums) and James Anthony (decks).
Departure of Paul Godfrey
In 2014, Paul Godfrey left the band.[34][35] Ross Godfrey later explained that: "Paul and I had not been getting on musically, or personally for a long time, and after the Head Up High album in 2013, Paul told us he was leaving the band, and he wanted Skye and I to buy him out of his share of the name. We disagreed on how much it was worth so no deal was struck. Skye and I thought it best to just release the record we had made under our own names. There will be no more Morcheeba albums".[2] Paul Godfrey has since established a recording studio, Sacrosync Sound, in Hastings and recorded a new album "Cool Your Soul" with Rachel Cuming under the moniker Morcheeba Productions.[36][37]
Ross Godfrey and Skye Edwards announced a new project in 2016 named Skye & Ross.[38] They have toured, and released an eponymous album on 2 September 2016.[39] The band started as an acoustic duo but soon included Edward's son Jaega (drums), her husband Steve Gordon (bass) and Godfrey’s wife Amanda Zamolo (backing vocals).[40][41] Edwards took responsibility for the lyrics while Ross Godfrey noted that the recording process was "a very organic experience".[42]
Call It Love
Morcheeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Call it whatever you want if it suits you
Take what you need
Take everything that this world has to give you
And you won't owe anyone a thing when it's said and done
Go on now have your fun
Go on now have your fun
I can't believe I thought you'd be mine
And now you're saying you're too tired to try
And like a fool I'm asking you why
You call it love
And you took everything I could give you
And now you don't owe anyone a thing
'Cause it's said and done
Go on now have your fun
Go on now have your fun
And take a good look at me
Before you walk away
Don't tell me who you're trying to be
Don't tell me what you're trying to say
It's time for one of us to draw a line
So that the two of us can clearly see
And I refuse to keep on losing
To a world you don't wanna keep
You call it love
And you took everything I could give you
And now you don't owe anyone
A thing 'cause it's said and done
Go on now have your fun
Go on now have your fun
Morcheeba's "Call It Love" is a song about love and the dynamics of a relationship. The lyrics talk about making the most out of the love that's given to you, even if it ends up breaking your heart. The song suggests that we should enjoy what we have while it lasts, and not worry about what might happen in the future.
The first verse encourages listeners to call their love by whatever name they want, as long as it suits them. The idea is to live in the moment and to take everything that the world has to offer without feeling the need to repay anyone later. The chorus further drives this point home by insisting that you go out and have fun without owing anyone a thing.
The second verse deals with the pain that comes from unrequited love. The singer has been hurt by their love interest in the past, but they still can't let go. They want to know why the other person is tired of trying, but it seems like they're not going to get an answer. The bridge suggests that it's time to draw a line, so that both people can understand their position and move on.
All in all, "Call It Love" is a bittersweet reminder to live life to the fullest and make the most of what we have. The song reflects on the struggle of love, how it brings conflict and joy, and advises that we enjoy it because we do not know how it will end.
Line by Line Meaning
Call it love
You can call what we had together 'love'
Call it whatever you want if it suits you
You can use whatever label you want to describe our relationship as it aligns with your desires
Take what you need
You are free to take whatever you require to fulfill your own desires
Take everything that this world has to give you
You are entitled to all that this world offers
And you won't owe anyone a thing when it's said and done
Once everything is over, you won't be indebted to anyone
Go on now have your fun
You can go ahead and enjoy yourself however you please
I've been your fool a thousand times
I have been foolish enough to give you multiple chances
I can't believe I thought you'd be mine
I was naive enough to expect you to be mine
And now you're saying you're too tired to try
And now you're claiming to be too weary to try anymore
And like a fool I'm asking you why
Like a fool, I'm still inquiring why you feel that way
And take a good look at me
And examine me attentively
Before you walk away
Before you depart from me
Don't tell me who you're trying to be
Don't reveal to me who you are attempting to transform into
Don't tell me what you're trying to say
Don't tell me what it is that you are endeavoring to express
It's time for one of us to draw a line
It's time for one of us to set a boundary
So that the two of us can clearly see
So that both of us have a clear understanding of the situation
And I refuse to keep on losing
I decline to continue to lose
To a world you don't wanna keep
To a world that you do not wish to be a part of
And now you don't owe anyone A thing 'cause it's said and done
Now that everything is over, you aren't responsible to anyone
Go on now have your fun
So, you can now continue to enjoy yourself as you please
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES PETRALLI, S EDWARDS, P GODFREY, R GODFREY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind