British electronic dance duo The Chemical Brothers wrote their ninth studio album No Geography during one of the UK’s hottest summers on record last year. They also unearthed 90s synthesisers for nostalgia’s sake and penned their most emotional album in decades.

“I guess it’s hard to not have intense feelings in the UK right now – there’s a lot going on in our country from Brexit to climate change and that definitely shaped the music this time,” says Ed Simons, who formed the group with his classmate Tom Rowlands in 1989.

The Chemical Brothers, Ed Simons (left) and Tom Rowlands, return to Australia next month.Credit:

“We’ve been accused of creating dance music that lacked any warmth or feeling in the past, but with No Geography we’ve definitely made more impact. It’s not a political album, though, it doesn’t tell people what to think but it does express a sadness and anger about what’s happening here, that’s for sure,” he says.

Simons, who lived in Australia for a year in the late 80s, working at a Scarborough Beach hotel making ice-cream sundaes and bodysurfing in his spare time, never expected to become known for his electronic dance skills.

“I went to Australia at 18 and thought I’d stay a while,” he recalls.

“You guys were discussing climate change back then, and that was 30 years ago – a concerning topic and still ever relevant today. I was working in a hotel owned by Alan Bond, they were happy days,” he says.

The Chemical Brothers became known for their big beat electronic dance music, collaborating with everyone from Beth Orton and Noel Gallagher to St Vincent, releasing the dance hit Hey Boy Hey Girl (which turned 20 years this month) and happily riff on a similar mood on the latest album.

People know the Chemical Brothers for the music not our faces and that’s allowed us a longer life.

A performance at Glastonbury in June was hailed as one of their best live sets. They took over the spot from the Prodigy (after the death of the Prodigy's Keith Flint), delivering a spectacular visual feast courtesy of regular collaborators Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall.

It’s these same visuals that will be on show in Australia – an epic scene of sci-fi themes, giant Japanese superheroes and cosmic projections to complement the big beat party. “We’ve had a good response to the summer shows and will change the songs up a bit and add some new aspects for the Australian shows,” he says.

No Geography blends psychedelic sounds with a dance floor pejorative and vocals by Norwegian pop singer Aurora. They also sample US poet Michael Brownstein in the title track.

“With previous collaborations, we’ve often flicked songs to singers and they put their vocals on a track. Aurora actually came into the studio and hung with us and it was a really organic process,” Simons says.

“No Geography felt like going back to how we originally started making music.

“Tom has a very nicely appointed studio in his house and upstairs is a museum of old synthesisers covered in dust. For whatever reason, we decided to get some of this old gear from the 90s to create a retro studio within a polished one. It definitely felt like returning to the ark,” he says.

“The main difference between making this album and anything we did in the 90s is we didn’t have the illusion of youth putting us in a boot-camp sort of environment to make it around the clock,” he says.

“We took our time, took breaks and ate great food. There weren’t working sessions through to 5am and then up again at 9am to do it all again.”

They pair have won four Grammys over the years, for Block Rockin’ Beats in 1998, Galvanize in 2006, Push the Button and We Are the Night in 2008 – and with both members approaching 50 years of age, they aren’t ready to hang up the headphones just yet.

“Every day Tom and I are grateful we never became famous,” Simons says.

“People know the Chemical Brothers for the music not our faces and that’s allowed us a longer life. I mean, Tom had his long hair and yellow glasses and was a bit of an icon back in the 90s, but I remember playing a club in San Francisco once and wandering out to talk to some people and didn’t have the right wrist band and got thrown out of my own show,” he says with a laugh.

“We're in a good position … we can headline Glastonbury one day and the next walk down to the fish and chip shop and no one gives us a second look.”

The Chemical Brothers play The Dome, Sydney Showgrounds, on November 2; and Melbourne Arena on November 5.

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