Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 2000. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for live performances and studio recordings. The group primarily produces music in the synth-pop and alternative dance genres, drawing influences from house and disco. Hot Chip began as a bedroom recording project for Taylor and Goddard, who met while students at Elliott School, Putney; their earliest lineup included Smoughton as their drummer. After completing two EPs, Mexico (2001) and San Frandisco (2002), the group released their debut album, Coming on Strong (2004) and added Doyle, Clarke, and Martin to their lineup. The band's second album, The Warning (2006), was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Their follow-up, Made in the Dark (2008), included the single "Ready for the Floor", which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The band have subsequently released the albums One Life Stand (2010), In Our Heads (2012), Why Make Sense? (2015), A Bath Full of Ecstasy (2019), and Freakout/Release (2022). Outside of Hot Chip, the band members, individually and in partnership with each other, are active in other musical acts and occasionally perform DJ sets. History 2000–2005: Early releases and Coming on Strong Hot Chip were formed around 2000 by the duo of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, who met as students at Elliott School, Putney. With a shared love of R&B and house music, they started collaborating on music around 1998, initially playing in a more stripped back acoustic style before gradually becoming more electronic overtime. Early formative releases included 2001's Mexico EP on Victory Garden Records (VG14), and the self-released San Frandisco EP in 2002. After years of self-releasing records, they signed with Moshi Moshi in 2003 and released their debut LP Coming on Strong in 2004. During this period, they were joined by Owen Clarke, Felix Martin and Al Doyle. They started working on their second album and signed a UK and US record deal with DFA Records and EMI. DFA and Astralwerks released their debut album for the first time in the United States in late 2005. The Guardian names Roxy Music, Prince, Royal Trux, Arthur Russell and Madonna as influences on Hot Chip; the band have also paid "tribute and... homage" to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). 2005–2007: The Warning