The Utah Saints
| Utah Saints | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Electronica, house, hip hop, trance, big beat, trip hop |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | London, Echo |
| Associated acts | Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Van She, Annie Lennox |
| Website | utahsaints |
| Members | Jez Willis Tim Garbutt |
| Past members | Keith Langley |
Utah Saints are an English electronic music group based in Leeds, Yorkshire. The band's members, Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt, were joined on-stage by additional musicians when they played live from 1991 to 2001. Since then they have performed as DJs. The band had three top ten and another five top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart in the 1990s, as well as number one dance tracks in the UK and USA. They were notable for their pioneering use of sampling technology – in particular, their practice of manipulating samples from mainstream pop and rock songs and combining them with contrasting dance beats, using the samples in an entirely new context. The band wrote, produced and mixed all their own music.
They were one of the first electronic "rave" acts to play live and supported both The Shamen and U2 live at 10 stadium shows.
Utah Saints ran clubs from 1988 to 1994, particularly "Rickys" and "The Gallery" (later the Pleasure Rooms). They booked new DJs, including Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Justice, Annie Mac and Zane Lowe.
They had five further UK Top 40 singles between 2000 and 2012, and continue to produce music, DJ in clubs and at festivals, promote nights, curate festival stages and write music for film.
Utah Saints were described as "the first true stadium house band" by the KLF's Bill Drummond, though their music is difficult to place into one genre. The dance group originally met as music promoters and DJs for the Mix Nightclub in Harrogate in the early 1990s. They began as MDMA (Mega Dance Music Allegiance), featuring two former The Cassandra Complex members Jez Willis and Keith Langley, along with former Executive Slacks member Bobby Rae and guitarist Martin Scott. They became The Utah Saints with the departure of Rae and Scott and the addition of Tim Garbutt - Jez Willis played drums with the band in the early days and has provided artwork and photography for a number of their releases.
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