After waiting 6 years, not knowing when they will be heard from again, the British electronic duo Underworld, comprised of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, finally have decided to announce their first new single release in far too long. “I Exhale” was debuted yesterday to the world, ending the multi year silence that the group was holding since they released their most recent studio album Barking, accompanying this single release was the news that the duo’s 6th studio album, Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future, will drop onto the market on March 18th via Astrel Werks with “I Exhale” being the first track on the LP.

The band Underworld has gone through many stages of evolution to reach where they are now, as a matter a fact, the band was formed of several other members before it became a two man show. Back in 1987, after many years of working together on multiple projects and studying their craft, Hyde and Smith were joined by bass played Alfie Thomas, drummer Byrn Burrows, and second bass player Baz Allen to form the band Underworld. This initial band project was more guitar-oriented with a funky electropop fusion, and after releasing their first album Underneath the Radar in 1988, Burrows was forced to depart from the band. The album Change the Weather followed in 1989 just before this version of the band disbanded in 1990 and were obligated to take a break, this version of the band was later referred to as Underworld Mk1.

Once Hyde and Smith regrouped they decided to recruit a new member to the group, DJ Darren Emerson, in order to add a more techno/rock fusion to their poppier tracks and providing a new flavor to their style, creating Underworld Mk2. The trio released their first album dubnobasswithmyheadman crossed a large spectrum of EDM, which was considered more comprehensible by the audience compared to the group’s earlier material, abandoning their normal signature lyrics to create lyric-free electronica. Several years passed as the trio went on to create two more albums that achieved strong commercial success, but in 2002 Emerson chose to leave the group in order to pursue and focus on his solo career, making the trio a duo once more.

In the subsequent years Hyde and Smith worked as a duo to create multiple albums and projects such as A Hundred Days Off (2002), The RiverRun Project (2004-2006), Oblivion with Bells (2007), and their most recent studio album Barking in 2010, to which upon completion the pair decided to take a hiatus from creating new music and LP’s. Instead the duo has concentrated on their solo careers as well as a few small project that kept fans wondering when they would reemerge.

Since 2010 nothing has been heard from by the duo Underworld as far as new music goes, but after a long break from their craft the pair has returned with their single “I Exhale”, the first track off the new LP Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future.  it is a thunderous return by one of Britain’s most consistently brilliant electronic bands. Building around a relentless and irresistible rhythm track, a colossal two-note bass riff and a wild, wide-eyed monologue, it’s the sound of Underworld reborn. If this track is any indication of what the full album will sound like, one can wholeheartedly say that Underworld is back, ready to take charge again, and better than ever. The band looks to return to the stage, which they have not set foot on since 2003, at Coachella Music Festival where they plan on displaying their long awaited but not forgotten talents.