Morcheeba To Bring Their Most Intimate Australian Shows Yet

Following their sold-out 2024 tour, UK trip-hop legends MORCHEEBA, featuring the iconic Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey, celebrate thirty years of genre-defying music with a tour that blends nostalgia, innovation, and pure sonic magic. With over ten million albums sold, Morcheeba’s signature fusion of downtempo grooves, psychedelic textures, and soulful melodies has left an indelible mark on global music. From their hypnotic debut Who Can You Trust? to the platinum-selling Big Calm, collaborations with David Byrne, and cinematic work with Steven Soderbergh, their legacy runs deep.

Their latest album Escape the Chaos continues to evolve their lush, immersive sound. Expect timeless hits like The Sea, Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day, Trigger Hippie and Otherwise, alongside newer material that reaffirms their place at the forefront of contemporary music.

Morcheeba’s 2026 Australian tour promises an unforgettable celebration of artistry, legacy, and connection. With Skye’s unmistakable voice and Ross’s psychedelic flair, audiences will be treated to a live experience that’s equal parts nostalgic and transcendent. Ross Godfrey catches up with Rob Lyon to talk more about the tour.

When you tour Australia does the excitement increase ten fold?
Yeah, I think it’s been about two years since we were last there, and the previous tour was really successful. They wanted us back, and we were genuinely excited to return. I think we’ve only played Adelaide once before, at WOMADelaide, and it was fantastic, we really enjoyed it. The first time we were supposed to play Adelaide, around fifteen years ago, the show was cancelled for some reason, and I was really upset because I was actually already there, hanging out with friends for a week beforehand. So that was a real shame. But now we’re all coming back in a couple of weeks, and we’re really excited. Adelaide is honestly one of my favourite cities in the world, I’ve got a lot of friends there.

What feels different this time around, coming back, compared to other tours?
I think as we’ve grown older, we’ve become interested in different things. We used to be all about partying, staying up late, doing crazy stuff, and now we’re more into daytime activities and cultural things. The gigs themselves are a bit more sober these days, but in a good way. We actually play better now; we’re more focused, and after thirty years of doing this, we’re getting pretty tight.

There’s a real deep affinity there with Australian fans. What do you think it is that resonates most with fans here?
I’m not sure, but I think the music’s quite laid‑back and atmospheric, and people seem to connect with that. Songs like The Sea make sense in Australia, people love the beach, so there’s a natural connection there. But in general, it’s the overall laid‑back feel and the almost cinematic sound of the band that seems to resonate. Australia is such a beautiful place with incredible scenery, and people live a pretty relaxed lifestyle, certainly compared to rainy South London, where I am now.

Are there any particular memories from past tours that still stick with you?
Oh God, yeah, so many memories. The first time I toured Australia, we’d just come off a tour of China, which was really strange. We were there for about a month on a cultural exchange between the British and Chinese consulates. After that, instead of flying back to the UK, my friend James, who’s from Adelaide and I decided to fly into Cairns, rent a car, and drive all the way down to meet the band and start the tour.
It was an epic drive. We stopped at some incredible places, I remember swimming at Mossman Gorge, which was completely mind‑blowing, and we went to the Whitsundays, which was just fantastic. We spent quite a bit of time in Byron Bay too. Then we drove all the way down, and I think the tour was supposed to start in Adelaide, but that show ended up being cancelled. After that we played Melbourne, Sydney, and then went back to Byron Bay to do the Blues Festival, which is always great fun. But honestly, the best gig we’ve ever done in Australia was probably WOMADelaide a couple of years ago. It was amazing, the crowd was huge, everyone was singing along… that’s probably my favourite memory. WOMADelaide.

Must be pretty stoked as well with a lot of these shows either selling out or heading to be sold out as well, particularly here in Adelaide, no risk of that being cancelled this time?
We’re really excited. It’s always great to have a hot ticket, you know what I mean? On the last European tour we played some big venues, in Paris we did a six thousand capacity arena but we find those places a bit impersonal. They’re just big concrete sheds. So, it’s amazing playing in a small theatre or club where it’s sweaty, everyone’s right there, and you can actually see the audience getting into it. There’s this feedback loop, the more excited they get, the more excited we get and those are the gigs that really make you feel it. Standing on a huge stage with a barrier and the crowd far away might be good financially, but from a musician’s point of view, there’s not much vibe. Adelaide’s a really cool little club, and we’re looking forward to that. We’ll have a slow‑motion mosh pit and a bit of stage‑diving going on.

How does the Australian leg influence your setlist choice? Do you do anything specific or tailored, or are you focusing on a particular album this time?
We’ve just got a new drummer. For about ten years we had Skye’s son, Jaeger, playing drums, but he’s just been pinched by Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has basically stolen him from us. We’re actually really happy for him; he can’t play in his mum’s band forever. So, now we’ve got a new drummer called Samson, and we’re in rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday. We’re going to run through about twenty five songs, a lot of classics, some more obscure album tracks, a couple of covers, and of course a few from the new record. Every night we’ll write a custom setlist based on the vibe. If we’re playing a packed, sweaty indoor venue, we’ll lean into the upbeat tracks and the ones we can improvise and jam on. If it’s a bigger theatre where everyone’s seated, we’ll go for something more atmospheric and spacey. We’ve also got a great lighting engineer and a fantastic crew, so I think it’s going to look and sound really cool. What we’re aiming for is a nice blend of the songs people love from the past, some new material, and a couple of surprises along the way.

I love Escape the Chaos, it’s a fantastic album. Do you feel like you’re in a new chapter creatively, having done this album?
Kind of, yeah. We’ve just made three albums back‑to‑back pretty quickly and toured the world on each one, and that’s taken about seven or eight years. I feel like we’re probably going to have a bit of a gap after this. Skye’s working on some solo material, and I’m planning to do some soundtrack work and a few other things, so this will likely be the last album for at least three, maybe four or five years and I think we made a really good one — Escape the Chaos.

We were really happy with it. We didn’t abandon familiar territory, but we definitely ventured into some weirder places. There are some great instrumental tracks. I love Cooler Heads, which has this very 90s old‑school hip‑hop feel and I really love Paradolia, which features my wife, Amanda Zamelo, she’s a singer from France. That track is really psychedelic and strange. It sounds like… well, like if Jimi Hendrix went to Brazil and made a record. It’s this mix of tropicalia and late‑60s acid rock, which happen to be two of my favourite genres.

Three or four years before the next one. Does that give you loads of time to think what might be next for Morcheeba?
A few years is quite a long time in rock and roll, and people do tend to forget about you for a while. It’s a bit like how farmers leave a field fallow to let the nutrients build back up before planting again. Music works the same way, we need to let our creativity and our subconscious recharge until we genuinely want to write and release new songs. If you treat it like a day job and show up nine to five trying to force ideas out, it doesn’t really work. The music comes when it’s ready. We’ve always believed in following the music rather than trying to shoehorn it into a production style or a deadline. We let it lead us, and when it’s ready to come out, that’s when we release it.

Do you have any sort of collaborations in mind? What you’d like to do in the future?
At a summer festival last year we hung out with a lot of other bands, and it’s always great meeting people and talking about possible collaborations. One person who really blew us away was Iggy Pop. We spoke with him, and he’d be incredible to work with, his voice has that gruff, gravelly power that would pair beautifully with Skye’s sweet molasses tone. So yeah, my dream collaboration would be to work with Iggy Pop.

Now you’ve got the connection with Gorillaz, that might be possible as well.
Yeah, I think Skye sang with them at a gig in London, and Damon said, you know, if you ever need any help in the studio, give us a shout, so there you go.

Do you have any must‑see visit places when you’re here in Australia, now that you’ve been here a few times?
We’re flying into Perth first, and I’d love to go to Cottesloe Beach for a swim as soon as we arrive. It’s winter here at the moment, so I’m going to be very happy to see some sunshine. We always try to find places where we can swim, beaches, anywhere with water. I also like hanging out in the hipster parts of cities. Fitzroy in Melbourne is always fun for a couple of beers, and The Rocks in Sydney is great too, all the old pubs make for a really good night out. Mostly, I just like meeting up with friends and letting them take me to places I haven’t been before. Australia is huge, and no matter how many times you visit, there are always new wonders to discover. I’ve just ordered a load of, like, vests and wife beaters, just in case it’s so hot I can’t even get dressed.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Morcheeba on the following dates, tickets from Destroy All Lines…