band that plays electronica

Utah Saints

Intro
band that plays electronica
Record Labels
News

Utah Saints are an English electronic music duo. 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 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 a new context. The band wrote, produced and mixed all of their own music.

They were one of the first electronic groups to play as a live collective 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 then ran their own Sugarbeat club night from 1998 - 2010 in Leeds, Edinburgh and London where they booked a diverse range of acts such as Soulwax, Erol Alkan, Felix Da Housecat, Zane Low, Annie Mac and Tiga. They continue to book electronic acts and DJs, curating a stage at Beatherder Festival for 3 days every year since 2007.

They had five further UK Top 40 singles including a top 10 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.