Cuba were a Big Beat

Big beat

Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...

 superduo formed by Christopher Andrews and former Chapterhouse

Chapterhouse

For the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse are a British shoegazing band originally of the early 1990s, from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...

 drummer Ashley Bates. The group was known for their club performances in Europe and recordings for 4AD Records

4AD

4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...

. Their sound demonstrated a range of electronic, pop, and rock influences, and they were frequently compared with Primal Scream

Primal Scream

Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...

.

Background

Although Andrews hailed from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, the group was originally named Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in honour of his mother, who was born in the island nation. The name was later changed to "Air Cuba" for the US release of the group's album.

During the 1990s, Andrews was married to Slowdive

Slowdive

Slowdive were an English shoegaze band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...

 vocalist/guitarist Rachel Goswell

Rachel Goswell

Rachel Goswell is a singer-songwriter who was a vocalist with shoegazing pioneers Slowdive. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and former Chapterhouse member Simon Rowe became Mojave 3 when Slowdive transitioned to a more country/folk rock style...

 (their marriage dissolved in 2000). She performed on some of the band's recordings, and Cuba also collaborated with Angie Brown

Angie Brown

Angie Brown born is a female singer/songwriter from Brixton, in South London.Brown, whose vocals have been featured on tracks of diverse acts ranging from Fatboy Slim to Lisa Stansfield & The Wah Brothers, is more famous as the featured vocalist on Bizarre Inc's two #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play...

 of Bizarre Inc, Shara Nelson

Shara Nelson

Shara Nelson is a British singer and songwriter. She is notable for her work with the band Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and for her solo career in which she garnered five UK Top 40 hit singles...

, and Mau (alias of Michael Giffts).

Recordings

The group's first single release, "Cross the Line," was called "pretty appealing" in a Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

review, which recommended Cuba as "a blistering cure for the summertime blues." Their sole full-length studio album on 4AD, Leap of Faith, was described as an "updated Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

 with the ecstasy-induced excesses" by Canada's major music publication Chart Magazine

Chart (magazine)

ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....

.

Albums

• Leap of Faith (4AD CAD9014, 13 September 1999)
  1. "Cross the Line" (featuring Mau)
  2. "Devil's Rock"
  3. "Black Island" (featuring Shara Nelson
     Shara Nelson
     Shara Nelson is a British singer and songwriter. She is notable for her work with the band Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and for her solo career in which she garnered five UK Top 40 hit singles...
     
     )
  4. "King of Kelty"
  5. "Starshine" (featuring Angie Brown
     Angie Brown
     Angie Brown born is a female singer/songwriter from Brixton, in South London.Brown, whose vocals have been featured on tracks of diverse acts ranging from Fatboy Slim to Lisa Stansfield & The Wah Brothers, is more famous as the featured vocalist on Bizarre Inc's two #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play...
     
     )
  6. "Peak Flow"
  7. "Winter Hill" (featuring Rachel Goswell
     Rachel Goswell
     Rachel Goswell is a singer-songwriter who was a vocalist with shoegazing pioneers Slowdive. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and former Chapterhouse member Simon Rowe became Mojave 3 when Slowdive transitioned to a more country/folk rock style...
     
     )
  8. "Havana" (featuring Mau)
  9. "Hail Mary"
  10. "Urban Light"
  11. "Foxy's Den"
  12. "Fiery Cross"

Singles

• "Urban Light" (4AD TAD8010, 11 May 1998)
  1. "Urban Light" (7:00 PM)
  2. "Urban Light" (12:00 AM)
• "Cross the Line" (4AD BAD8012, 27 July 1998)
  1. "Cross the Line"
  2. "Raise the Alarm"
  3. "Foxy's Den"
• "Havana" (4AD BAD8019, 30 November 1998)
  1. "Havana"
  2. "Leap of Faith"
  3. "Havana" (Daniel Aufbäger Remix)
• "Black Island" (4AD BAD9016, 30 August 1999)
  1. "Black Island"
  2. "Isla Negra"
  3. "Black Island" (Groove Armada
     Groove Armada
     Groove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
     
     's Desert Island Disc)
• "Starshine" (4AD BAD9019, 1 November 1999)
  1. "Starshine" (Edit)
  2. "White Shadow"
  3. "Starshine" (Rae and Christian Remix)

General

• Charlie Porter, "Singled Out - Music", The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
  (London, England), July 25, 1998, Sec. features, pg. 12.
• "Weekly Reviews of New Releases", Chart
  Chart (magazine)
  ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....
  
  , September 7, 1999.

External links

• Cuba on 4AD's website
• Cuba fan site