Very rarely do/have the duo performed live, but should they ever be in the limelight, they have an arsenal of over 10 albums and several EP's worth of content to showcase, each with their own unique vibe and sound design.
The debut Kin (1996) immediately marks the pair as artists with extraordinary melodic gifts. Listen to Triangle as just one example of their ability to build and layer multiple lines with the kind of finesse summoned by Berlin's old-school ambient trance pioneers. Explorations of tones and melody seem to be at the centre of everything that Sounds From The Ground creates. This is not listening electronica that alienates - it seduces, humanises, liberates. What's more, despite rarely being over the 100 bpm tempo mark, it makes you want to dance.
Terra Firma (2000) shows the duo expanding their horizons - not that they were ever narrow to start with - and succeeding in everything they try their hand at. Marshmello is a piece of 21st century jetset lounge that wouldn't sound out of place in a James Bond film, while the electric piano groove and brass flourishes of The Cut suggest a nod to nujazz. The creeping grooves of Bodega Bay, Drugstore and Rye explore a kind of brooding emotional twilight that's neither happy nor sad and yet utterly compelling.
The female vocals of Natural Selection (2003) marked an unexpected and not particularly interesting attempt at a pop-orientated collection. Fortunately the duo's fourth album Luminal (2004) followed a year later and is a solid return to form. This time the dark side looms larger than on any other SFTG album, but depressing it is not. Tumbledown ropes in pedal steel player BJ Cole whose liquid guitar lines lift the crunching, snails-pace groove into a strange and beautiful realm. Move On proves that lyrics on ambient dub tracks are just fine, playing a filtered female vocal against shimmering keys and a slow techy groove and suggesting that (gasp!) trip hop is alive and well in 2004. As before, nearly every track on Luminal is a mini-epic and that's particularly true of the album's closer. The slowly unfolding London Fields is one of the best sunrise anthems Orbital never made, with ghostly looped chords that morph ever so gradually into a 120 beats-per-minute broken beat blissfest.
SFTG went on to release High Rising (2006) on Waveform Records. High Rising sees the duo experiment with more ambient longform tracks, creating an album with subtle grooves and a summer cityscape vibe. Notable collaborations in this album include renowned world-fusion & electronica artist Gaudi, and fantastic vocals from the likes of Juno Reactor vocalist Taz Alexander.
2008 saw another Waveform records release, Brightwhitelight focusing more on dub-centric sounds. The duo come through with classic bass oriented groovy downtempo. Shortly proceeding Brightwhitelight, SFTG released Thru the Ages (2009), a "from the vaults" compilation of unreleased works dating back as far as the Kin era.
The Maze (2010) followed; a Waveform Records release which has the duo reaching their hands into more psychedelic & acid soundscapes, layering them onto classic dub grooves. One further Waveform Records release follows, with the likes of Widerworld (2012) which has the duo stretch towards more varied styles including rhythmic experimentation and even the introduction of live acoustics on Fields Of Green And Yellow - Widerworld really showcases the diversity of styles that SFTG can fit into an album. Widerworld would be the duo's last release with Waveform Records as the owner, Forest, would go on to start further projects in Maui.
Simultaneously, SFTG also made headway with three EP's: In The Cool Of The Shade EP (2009), Spectral EP (2010), and Tonic Radio EP (2011). These EP's highlight the duos more subtle approach to the ambient dub style; a fantastic mix of straight dub tracks and ambient soundscapes.
The span of 2012 to 2017 saw 4 new albums and an EP on Upstream Records as well as a couple of remasters.
Ready, Steady, Slow (2012) sees the duo absorbed into smooth sultry chillout and atmospheric production, creating a beatless album filled with fantastic ambient landscapes. Followed by Tribes (2013), where the duo experiment with modern bass sounds and more punchy sounding beats. Tribes is a great example of modern, clean production from the duo. Alchemy (2015) sees the duo take a step back in time with the production, showcasing their technical prowess with analogue equipment reigning from the Kin era. Finally, Native Soul (2017) sees an interesting mix of the previous 3 albums' styles amalgamated into one place, taking the clean cut bass & drum sounds, analogue synths, and ambient atmospheres into one classic SFTG package.
This era also saw the remastering of Mosaic & Luminal, 2 keystone SFTG classics. Rhythm And Reason EP (2016) is a fantastic little set of diverse styles, incorporating energetic modern electronic sounds, analogue drum beats, and subtle ambient melodies.
2019 starts the next era for Sounds from the Ground, celebrating 25 years of their existence, the duo greet us with their forthcoming album Binary on the 25th March.
Moving Into a New Space
Sounds from the Ground Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of this illusion
Will be no illusion for you
And you will see
I never loved you and you think you know me
You never knew me
Moving freely like my conscience
Moving into a new space
In my movie
My projection is healing for me
Moving into a new space
So call me up and tell me what you've been doing
Or don't call me, don't tell me what you've been doing
Whatever game you play you never knew me
And you think you know me
And if I keep myself here whenever calm eludes me
I know these strong emotions will hold no power for me
Let me grow surely, steadily, with you or without you
"Moving Into a New Space" by Sounds from the Ground is a reflective song that speaks about a shift in perception and the potential for personal growth that comes with moving on from past experiences. The opening lines speak to a realization that the singer has had, that the illusion they thought they were living in will no longer seem like an illusion at some point in the future. It is possible that the singer is recognizing that their experiences and relationships were not what they thought they were. The lines "I never loved you and you think you know me / You never knew me" highlight the dissonance between the singer's true feelings and what others perceive about them. The singer is acknowledging that people may have had preconceived notions about who they are, but they may not have actually had a true understanding of the singer's inner self.
The chorus of the song speaks to the idea of moving into a new space, both literally and metaphorically. The singer is allowing time to heal, which allows them to move forward with a new perspective. They are shedding the old and entering a new phase in their life. The lines "My projection is healing for me / Moving into a new space" suggest that the singer is actively working to create a new reality for themselves, one that is constructive and healing.
The final lines of the song reflect a desire for personal growth and development. The singer recognizes that strong emotions can hold them back, but they are determined to move forward regardless of whether others are with them or not. This song ultimately speaks to the transformative power of introspection and the possibility for change.
Line by Line Meaning
The time will come when you will know that
There will be a moment in your future where you will realize
All of this illusion
That everything you believed in as true was just a figment of your imagination
Will be no illusion for you
But the truth rather than an illusion
And you will see
You'll come to understand
I never loved you and you think you know me
That I never had any affection for you and yet you believe you comprehend me
You never knew me
But really, you never truly understood me
Moving freely like my conscience
I'm able to move around without impediment like my moral values
Time is healing
As time passes, things are getting better
Moving into a new space
I'm headed towards a different part of my existence
In my movie
In my vision of things
My projection is healing for me
A reflection of myself is supporting my well-being
Moving into a new space
Venturing into a new circumstance
So call me up and tell me what you've been doing
Communicate with me and inform me of your actions
Or don't call me, don't tell me what you've been doing
Or disregard telling me about what's going on in your life
Whatever game you play you never knew me
Your scheme, whatever it may be, never comprehended who I really am
And if I keep myself here whenever calm eludes me
If I remain in this spot when I'm unable to relax
I know these strong emotions will hold no power for me
I am confident that these intense emotions will not control me
Let me grow surely, steadily, with you or without you
Allow me to grow positively, gradually, whether or not you are present
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ELLIOT MORGAN JONES, NICK WOOLFSON, NICOLA CORINNE HITCHCOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind