At the River

"At the River" is a song by British duo Groove Armada. It was released as a single in 1997 on 7" vinyl, limited to 500 copies.[2] The song appeared on the duo's debut album Northern Star and again on their second album, Vertigo, released in April 1999.

For the song for voice & piano, S. 214 (K. 6B54), see Charles Ives. For the American hymn, see Shall We Gather at the River?

"At the River"
Single by Groove Armada
from the album Northern Star
Released
  • 1997
  • 26 July 1999 (re-release)
Recorded1997
Genre
Length6:33
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Cato
  • Findlay
  • Allan Jeffrey
  • Claire Rothrock
  • Milton Yakus
Producer(s)Groove Armada
Groove Armada singles chronology
"At the River"
(1997)		 "I See You Baby"
(1999)
1999 re-release
Cover of the CD single

Production and content

The song was written and produced whilst the duo were staying in a cottage in Ambleside in the Lake District, writing material for their first album.[2]

A sample of Patti Page's "Old Cape Cod" forms the basis of the song: the lines "If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air/Quaint little villages here and there", sung in Page's multi-tracked close-harmony, is repeated throughout the song, with the addition of synthesizer bass and slowed-down drum programming. The band found "Old Cape Cod" when they bought a 1950s compilation album from a bargain bin in a shop in Ambleside for 50p. Tom Findlay suggested that the use of only one section of the song's lyric left the track open to interpretation, "giving it a slightly eerie, melancholy quality", although he admitted that this wasn't by design but because the sampler they were using could only record ten seconds of audio at a time. A blues-style trombone solo inspired by the spiritual song "At the River" was performed by Andy Cato to produce a more chill-out track. According to Cato the only reason he had taken his trombone to the Lake District was because he wanted to practice before an upcoming jazz concert: when he wanted to record the trombone melody, he had to improvise a microphone by swapping around the wires in a speaker from the cottage's Alba hi-fi as the duo didn't have a microphone with them and were staying in a remote location. Cato credited this as giving the recording "a real vintage character".[2]

Release

"At the River" was originally released as a single on 7" vinyl in 1997 in a limited pressing of 500 copies, and appeared on the duo's debut album Northern Star as well as its follow-up, Vertigo, in 1999. Rob da Bank made it his single of the week in DJ Mag: he subsequently handed a copy to Zoe Ball, who started playing it on The Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Although the BBC Radio 1 playlist committee initially believed the song was too slow for radio, support from radio producers and listeners meant that it forced its way into rotation.[2] On 26 July 1999, the single was re-released on 12" and CD. This re-release peaked at number 19 in the UK Singles Chart.[3]

It was used in adverts for Marks & Spencer Food in 2006, and in the films About Time and The Low Down.[4][5]

Track listing

All songs were written by Andy Cato, Tom Findlay, Allan Jeffrey, Claire Rothrock, and Milton Yakus, except where noted.

7" vinyl
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."At the River" 
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Disco Insert"Tim 'Love' Lee 
12" vinyl
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."At the River (English Riviera Mix)"6:13
2."At the River (Original Version)"6:33
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."At the River (Presence Mix)"5:45
CD
Pepper Records release
No.TitleLength
1."At the River (Radio Edit)"3:14
2."At the River (English Riviera Mix)"6:13
3."At the River (Presence Mix)"5:48
4."At the River (English Riviera Edit)"3:49
Jive Electro release
No.TitleLength
1."At the River (Radio Edit)"3:14
2."At the River (English Riviera Mix)"6:13
3."At the River (Presence Mix)"5:48
4."At the River (English Riviera Edit)"3:49
5."At the River (Original Version)"6:33

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "10 years of Groove Armada". Resident Advisor.
  2. Dave, Simpson (20 November 2018). "Groove Armada: how we made at the River". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. "At The River". Official Charts archive. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. richardjshaffer (21 July 2007). "M&S Advert" – via YouTube.
  5. "The Low Down (2000)" – via imdb.com.
  6. "British single certifications – Groove Armada – At the river". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
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