From Dance Floors to Dirt - Groove Armada’s Andy Cato Trades Music Rights for Regenerative Farming
Added 21 hrs ago
Groove Armada’s Andy Cato calls it “pure madness” selling the rights to his music to pursue a radically different life in regenerative farming.
One half of the iconic UK dance duo alongside Tom Findlay, Cato was returning from a gig over 15 years ago when he came across an article exposing the environmental toll of industrial food production. A single line stuck with him: “If you don’t like the system, don’t depend on it.” That moment changed everything.
“I’d never planted a seed in my life,” he told RNZ’s Nine to Noon. “But when I saw those seeds turn into plants, and plants into food — it was miraculous. I fell deep into the rabbit hole.”
Driven by a desire to live more sustainably, Cato sold his publishing rights — what he calls “a musician’s pension” — to buy a farm in France. There, he began experimenting with regenerative farming, an approach that works with nature, prioritising soil biology over synthetic chemicals.
“If you care about health, biodiversity, climate change or clean water — it all begins with how we grow our food.”
Regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring soil life, reversing damage caused by conventional farming, and boosting carbon capture. But Cato admits the transition hasn’t been easy. “Trying to change the food system is definitely tougher than DJing.”
Now based back in the UK, Cato has helped 110 farms across the UK and France join the regenerative movement. He recently featured on Clarkson’s Farm, demonstrating his nature-based farming methods.
Still connected to his musical roots, Cato is taking a short break from farm life for a four-date DJ tour in New Zealand, starting with Auckland’s Gardens Music Festival on March 1. Expect reworked Groove Armada classics, spanning “30 years of house, disco, and everything in between.”
He says the duo’s 2010 album Black Light remains a personal highlight — but Superstylin’ is the crowd-pleaser that always brings the house down. “It’s a unique blend of sounds, and it just keeps reinventing itself. When that groove hits, it’s a proper out-of-body experience.”
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