The Chemical Brothers are about to be a man down when the iconic electronic music duo do their live touring again. Ed Simons, one half of The Chemical Brothers and known as "Ed Chemical" in a recent interview with the festival, Bugged Out Weekender, stated that he was stepping away from The Chemical Brothers live show to focus on his academic work.
He explains in the interview, " I have committed to academic pursuits over the last few years so I won't be able to be part of the live show. It's been a really difficult decision but it doesn't work for me to be away from home for the periods of time touring requires. Tom is continuing with the live show, he wants to take this music to the people." Simons continues, "The academic work I'm continuing with is too meaningful for me to break from right now. I'm really excited to see how the new show looks and on the plus side, one day I will get to see a Chemical Brothers show from the audience's perspective."
This does not mean The Chemical Brothers are breaking up. Ed Simons is just taking a step back from the live touring to focus on his other work, saying. As noted by Mixmag, Simons will still be involved in Chemical Brothers DJ sets and be an integral part in producing records under The Chemical Brothers name. Simons clarifies this point stating, "We're still very much together and making this record together and DJing together."
Tom Rowlands, the other half of The Chemical Brothers, has started to pursue his own career and is slated to release his own EP coming sometime soon. The duo have not released an album since their 2010 effort Further, and have taken to scoring soundtracks, including adding a track to The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack. Listen to "This Is Not A Game" featuring Lorde and Miguel below.
