The swastika () is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as Classical Antiquity. Swastikas have also been used in other various ancient civilizations around the world. It remains widely used in Indian religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, primarily as a tantric symbol to evoke 'shakti' or the sacred symbol of auspiciousness. The swastika is also a Chinese character used in East Asia representing eternity and Buddhism.

Following a brief surge of popularity in Western culture, the right-facing swastika was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of Germany in 1920. The Nazis used the swastika as a symbol of an alleged Aryan race. After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s, a swastika was incorporated into the Nazi party flag, which was made the State Flag of Germany. As a result, the Swastika became strongly associated with Nazism and related ideologies such as Fascism and White Supremacism since the 1930s in the Western world and is now largely stigmatized in the West. It has notably been outlawed in Germany if used as a symbol of Nazism. Many modern political extremists and Neo-Nazi groups such as the Russian National Unity use stylized swastikas or similar symbols.

Name

The word ''swastika'' came from the Sanskrit word '''', meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote auspiciousness. It is composed of ''su-'' meaning "good, well" and ''asti'' "to be". ''Suasti'' thus means "well-being." The suffix ''-ka'' either forms a diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and ''suastika'' might thus be translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being," corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious." The word in this sense is first used in the Harivamsa. As noted by Monier-Williams in his Sanskrit-English dictionary, according to Alexander Cunningham, its shape represents a monogram formed by interlacing of the letters of the auspicious words ''su-astí'' ('''') written in Ashokan characters. The Sanskrit term has been in use in English since 1871, replacing ''gammadion'' (from Greek ). Alternative historical English spellings of the Sanskrit phonological words with different meanings to include ''suastika'', ''swastica'' and ''svastica''.

Other names for the shape are: ''crooked cross'', ''hook cross'' or ''angled cross'' (Hebrew: ''צלב קרס'', German: ''''). ''cross cramponned,'' ''~nnée'', or ''~nny'', in heraldry, as each arm resembles a crampon or angle-iron ().

''fylfot'', chiefly in heraldry and architecture. The term is coined in the 19th century based on a misunderstanding of a Renaissance manuscript.

''gammadion'', ''tetragammadion'' (Greek: ), or ''cross gammadion'' (; French: ), as each arm resembles the Greek letter Γ (''''). ''tetraskelion'' (Greek: ), literally meaning "four legged", especially when composed of four conjoined legs (compare triskelion (Greek: )).

The Tibetan swastika (࿖) is known as ''g-yung drung''

The Buddhist sign has been standardized as a Chinese character (pinyin: '''') and as such entered various other East Asian languages such as Japanese where the symbol is called (). The swastika is included as part of the Chinese script in the form of the character "萬" (pinyin: ''wàn'') and has Unicode encodings U+534D 卍 (left-facing) and U+5350 卐 (right-facing). In Unicode 5.2, four swastika symbols were added to the Tibetan block: U+0FD5 ࿕ (right-facing), U+0FD6 ࿖ (left-facing), U+0FD7 ࿗ (right-facing with dots) and U+0FD8 ࿘ (left-facing with dots).

Geometry

Geometrically, the swastika can be regarded as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The proportions of the Nazi swastika were fixed based on a 5 × 5 diagonal grid.

Characteristic is the 90° rotational symmetry and chirality, hence the absence of reflectional symmetry, and the existence of two versions of swastikas that are each others mirror image.

The mirror-image forms are often described as:

clockwise and anti-clockwise;

left-facing and right-facing;

left-hand and right-hand.

"Left-facing" and "right-facing" are used mostly consistently referring to the upper arm of an upright swastika facing either to ''the viewer's'' left (卍) or right (卐). The other two descriptions are ambiguous as it is unclear whether they refer to the arms as leading or being dragged or whether their bending is viewed outward or inward. However, "clockwise" usually refers to the "right-facing" swastika. The terms are used inconsistently in modern times, which is confusing and may obfuscate an important point, that the rotation of the swastika may have symbolic relevance, although ancient vedic scripts describe the symbolic relevance of clock motion and counter clock motion. Less ambiguous terms might be "clockwise-pointing" and "counterclockwise-pointing."

Nazi ensigns had a through and through image, so both versions were present, one on each side, but the Nazi flag on land was right-facing on both sides and at a 45° rotation.

The name "sauwastika" is sometimes given to the left-facing form of the swastika (卍).

Origin hypotheses

The swastika is a repeating design, created by the edges of the reeds in a square basket-weave. Other theories attempt to establish a connection via cultural diffusion or an explanation along the lines of Carl Jung's collective unconscious.

The genesis of the swastika symbol is often treated in conjunction with cross symbols in general, such as the sun cross of pagan Bronze Age religion. Beyond its certain presence in the "proto-writing" symbol systems emerging in the Neolithic, nothing certain is known about the symbol's origin. There are nevertheless a number of speculative hypotheses. One hypothesis is that the cross symbols and the swastika share a common origin in simply symbolizing the sun. Another hypothesis is that the 4 arms of the cross represent 4 aspects of nature - the sun, wind, water, soil. Some have said the 4 arms of cross are four seasons, where the division for 90-degree sections correspond to the solstices and equinoxes.The Hindus represent it as the Universe in our own spiral galaxy in the fore finger of Lord Vishnu. This carries most significance in establishing the creation of the Universe and the arms as 'kal' or time, a calendar that is seen to be more advanced than the lunar calendar (symbolized by the lunar crescent common to Islam) where the seasons drift from calendar year to calendar year. The luni-solar solution for correcting season drift was to intercalate an extra month in certain years to restore the lunar cycle to the solar-season cycle. The Star of David is thought to originate as a symbol of that calendar system, where the two overlapping triangles are seen to form a partition of 12 sections around the perimeter with a 13th section in the middle, representing the 12 and sometimes 13 months to a year. As such, the Christian cross, Jewish hexagram star and the Muslim crescent moon are seen to have their origins in different views regarding which calendar system is preferred for marking holy days. Groups in higher latitudes experience the seasons more strongly, offering more advantage to the calendar represented by the swastika/cross.

Carl Sagan in his book ''Comet'' (1985) reproduces Han period Chinese manuscript (the ''Book of Silk'', 2nd century BC) that shows comet tail varieties: most are variations on simple comet tails, but the last shows the comet nucleus with four bent arms extending from it, recalling a swastika. Sagan suggests that in antiquity a comet could have approached so close to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible, leading to the adoption of the swastika as a symbol across the world. Bob Kobres in ''Comets and the Bronze Age Collapse'' (1992) contends that the swastika like comet on the Han Dynasty silk comet atlas was labeled a "long tailed pheasant star" (Di-Xing) because of its resemblance to a bird's foot or track. Kobres goes on to suggest an association of mythological birds and comets also outside China.

In ''Life's Other Secret'' (1999), Ian Stewart suggests the ubiquitous swastika pattern arises when parallel waves of neural activity sweep across the visual cortex during states of altered consciousness, producing a swirling swastika-like image, due to the way quadrants in the field of vision are mapped to opposite areas in the brain.

Alexander Cunningham suggested that the Buddhist use of the shape arose from a combination of Brahmi characters abbreviating the words ''su astí''.

Archaeological record

The earliest swastika known has been found from Mezin, Ukraine. It is carved on late paleolithic figurine of mammoth ivory, being dated as early as about 10,000 BC. It has been suggested this swastika is a stylized picture of a stork in flight.

In India, Bronze Age swastika symbols were found at Lothal and Harappa, on Indus Valley seals.

Swastikas have also been found on pottery in archaeological digs in Africa, in the area of Kush and on pottery at the Jebel Barkal temples, in Iron Age designs of the northern Caucasus (Koban culture), and in Neolithic China in the Majiabang, Dawenkou and Xiaoheyan cultures. Other Iron Age attestations of the swastika can be associated with Indo-European cultures such as the Indo-Iranians, Celts, Greeks and Germanic peoples and Slavs. The ''Tierwirbel'' (the German for "animal whorl" or "whirl of animals") is a characteristic motive in Bronze Age Central Asia, the Eurasian Steppe, and later also in Iron Age Scythian and European (Baltic and Germanic) culture, showing rotational symmetric arrangement of an animal motive, often four birds' heads. Even wider diffusion of this "Asiatic" theme has been proposed, to the Pacific and even North America (especially Moundville).

Historical use in the East

The swastika is a historical sacred symbol both to evoke 'Shakti' in tantric rituals and evoke the gods for blessings in Indian religions. It first appears in the archaeological record here around 2500 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization. Also, the swastika symbol was found on a number of shards in the Khuzestan province of Iran and in inscriptions on pottery in the Neolithic Europe of the 5th millennium B.C. It also appears in the Bronze and Iron Age cultures around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In all these cultures the swastika symbol does not appear to occupy any marked position or significance, but appears as just one form of a series of similar symbols of varying complexity. In the Zoroastrian religion of Persia, the swastika was a symbol of the revolving sun, infinity, or continuing creation. It rose to importance in Buddhism during the Mauryan Empire and in Hinduism with the decline of Buddhism in India during the Gupta Empire. With the spread of Buddhism, the Buddhist swastika reached Tibet and China. The symbol was also introduced to Balinese Hinduism by Hindu kings. The use of the swastika by the Bön faith of Tibet, as well as later syncretic religions, such as Cao Dai of Vietnam and Falun Gong of China, can also be traced to Buddhist influence.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the 5th century BC and spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BC (Maurya Empire). Known as a "yung drung" in ancient Tibet, it was a graphical representation of eternity.

East Asian traditions

The paired swastika symbols are included, at least since the Liao Dynasty, as part of the Chinese writing system (卍 and 卐) and are variant characters for 萬 or 万 (''wàn'' in Mandarin, ''man'' in Korean, Cantonese and Japanese, ''vạn'' in Vietnamese) meaning "all" or "eternity" (lit. myriad). The swastika marks the beginning of many Buddhist scriptures. In East Asian countries, the left-facing character is often used as symbol for Buddhism and marks the site of a Buddhist temple on maps.

In Chinese and Japanese the swastika is also a homonym of the number 10,000, and is commonly used to represent the whole of Creation, e.g. 'the myriad things' in the Dao De Jing. During the Chinese Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian (684-704) decreed that the swastika would also be used as an alternative symbol of the Sun.

In Japan, the swastika is called ''manji''. Since the Middle Ages, it has been used as a coat of arms by various Japanese families such as Tsugaru clan, Hachisuka clan or around 60 clans that belong to Tokugawa clan. On Japanese maps, a swastika (left-facing and horizontal) is used to mark the location of a Buddhist temple. The right-facing ''manji'' is often referred to as the ''gyaku manji'' (, lit. "reverse ''manji''") or ''migi manji'' (右卍, lit. "right ''manji''"), and can also be called ''kagi jūji'' (literally "hook cross").

In Chinese and Japanese art, the swastika is often found as part of a repeating pattern. One common pattern, called ''sayagata'' in Japanese, comprises left- and right-facing swastikas joined by lines. As the negative space between the lines has a distinctive shape, the sayagata pattern is sometimes called the "''key fret''" motif in English.

As a pottery graph of unknown provision and meaning the swastka-like sign is known in Chinese Neolithic culture (2400-2000 BCE, Liu wan 柳湾, Qinghai province).

Hinduism

In Hinduism, the swastika is at times in certain sects considered a symbolic representation of Ganesha. In Hindu rites, Ganesha is offered first offerings in every pooja. The swastika is made with Sindoor during Hindu religious rites.

Among the Hindus of Bengal, it is common to see the name "swastika" ( ''shostik'') applied to a slightly different symbol, which has the same significance as the common swastika, and both symbols are used as auspicious signs. This symbol looks something like a stick figure of a human being.

Jainism

Jainism gives even more prominence to the swastika as a tantra than Hinduism does. It is a symbol of the seventh Tirthankara, Suparshvanath. In the Svetambara tradition, it is also one of the symbols of the ashtamangala. All derasars and holy books must contain the swastika and ceremonies typically begin and end with creating a swastika mark several times with rice around the altar. Jains use rice to make a swastika in front of statues in a temple. Jains then put an offering on this swastika, usually a ripe or dried fruit, a sweet (, ), or a coin or currency note.

Iran

In Iran, a golden necklace of three swastikas found in Marlik, Gilan province Iran, dates back to first millennium BC.

Ural

In South Ural Mountains the swastika meets in archaeological barrows and in culture the Bashkir.

Armenia

Swastikas in Armenia can be seen on early medieval churches and fortresses, such as the principal tower in Armenia's historical capital city of Ani.

Native American traditions

The swastika shape was used by some Native Americans. It has been found in excavations of Mississippian-era sites in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. It is frequently used as a motif on objects associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (S.E.C.C.). It was also widely used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among various tribes, the swastika carried different meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clan; to the Navajo it was one symbol for a whirling log (''tsil no'oli''), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals. A brightly colored First Nations saddle featuring swastika designs is on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada.

A swastika shape is a symbol in the culture of the Kuna people of Kuna Yala, Panama. In Kuna tradition it symbolizes the octopus that created the world, its tentacles pointing to the four cardinal points.

In February 1925 the Kuna revolted vigorously against Panamanian suppression of their culture, and in 1930 they assumed autonomy. The flag they adopted at that time is based on the swastika shape, and remains the official flag of Kuna Yala. A number of variations on the flag have been used over the years: red top and bottom bands instead of orange were previously used, and in 1942 a ring (representing the traditional Kuna nose-ring) was added to the center of the flag to distance it from the symbol of the Nazi party.

Historical use in the West

In Bronze Age Europe, the "Sun cross" (a three- or four-armed hooked cross in a circle) appears frequently, often interpreted as a solar symbol. Swastika shapes have been found on numerous artifacts from Iron Age Europe (Greco-Roman, Illyrian, Etruscan, Baltic, Celtic, Germanic, Slavic and Georgian Borjgali). This prehistoric use seems to be reflected in the appearance of the symbol in various folk cultures of Europe.

Antiquity

Greco-Roman antiquity

Ancient Greek architectural, clothing and coin designs are replete with single or interlinking swastika motifs. There are also found gold plate fibulae from the 8th century BC decorated with an engraved swastika. Related symbols in classical Western architecture include the cross, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts by a number of names, especially ''gammadion'', or rather the tetra-gammadion. The name gammadion comes from the fact that it can be seen as being made up of four Greek gamma (Γ) letters. Ancient Greek priestesses would tattoo the symbol, along with the tetraskelion, on their bodies. Ancient Greek architectural designs are replete with the interlinking symbol.

In alchemy, the gammadion was used to symbolise the four cardinal corners of the world and the guardianship of this world.

In Greco-Roman art and architecture, and in Romanesque and Gothic art in the West, isolated swastikas are relatively rare, and the swastika is more commonly found as a repeated element in a border or tessellation. The swastika often represented perpetual motion, reflecting the design of a rotating windmill or watermill. A meander of connected swastikas makes up the large band that surrounds the Augustan Ara Pacis. A design of interlocking swastikas is one of several tessellations on the floor of the cathedral of Amiens, France. A border of linked swastikas was a common Roman architectural motif, and can be seen in more recent buildings as a neoclassical element. A swastika border is one form of meander, and the individual swastikas in such a border are sometimes called ''Greek keys''. There have also been swastikas found on the floors of Pompeii.

Celtic antiquity

The bronze frontspiece of a ritual pre-Christian (c. 350-50 BC) shield found in the River Thames near Battersea Bridge (hence "Battersea Shield") is embossed with 27 swastikas in bronze and red enamel. An Ogham stone found in Anglish, Co Kerry (CIIC 141) was modified into an early Christian gravestone, and was decorated with a cross pattée and two swastikas. At the Northern edge of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, there is a swastika-shaped pattern engraved in a stone known as the Swastika Stone. The figure in the foreground of the picture is a 20th century replica; the original carving can be seen a little farther away, at left of center.

Germanic antiquity

The swastika shape (also called a ''fylfot'') appears on various Germanic Migration Period and Viking Age artifacts, such as the 3rd century Værløse Fibula from Zealand, Denmark, the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, today in Belarus, the 9th century Snoldelev Stone from Ramsø, Denmark, and numerous Migration Period bracteates drawn left-facing or right-facing.

The pagan Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, contained numerous items bearing the swastika, now housed in the collection of the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The Swastika is clearly marked on a hilt and sword belt found at Bifrons in Kent, in a grave of about the 6th century.

Hilda Ellis Davidson theorized that the swastika symbol was associated with Thor, possibly representing his hammer Mjolnir - symbolic of thunder - and possibly being connected to the Bronze Age sun cross. Davidson cites "many examples" of the swastika symbol from Anglo-Saxon graves of the pagan period, with particular prominence on cremation urns from the cemeteries of East Anglia. Some of the swastikas on the items, on display at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, are depicted with such care and art that, according to Davidson, it must have possessed special significance as a funerary symbol. The runic inscription on the 8th-century Sæbø sword has been taken as evidence of the swastika as a symbol of Thor in Norse paganism.

Illyrian antiquity

Swastika was wide spread among the Illyrians, symbolizing the Sun. The Sun cult was the main Illyrian cult, and the Sun was represented by a swastika in clockwise motion, and it stood for the movement of the Sun.

Pre-Christian Europe and folk culture

Baltic

The swastika is one of the most common symbols used throughout Baltic art. In Latvian the symbol is known as either Ugunskrusts, the "Fire cross" (rotating counter-clockwise), or Pērkonkrusts, the "Thunder cross" (rotating clock-wise), and was mainly associated with Pērkons, the god of Thunder and justice. It was also occasionally related to the Sun, as well as ''Dievs'' (the god of creation), ''Laima'' (the goddess of destiny and fate). It was believed that the god of Thunder (Pērkons) was the only god which was feared by the devil. The swastika is featured on many distaffs, dowry chests, cloths and other artisanal items.

Slavic

In the Slavic tradition, swastika are found only on ornaments, such as embroidery patterns.

Currently, Slavic neo-pagans and neo-Nazis frequently use the standard and eight-pointed ("kolovrat") swastika. They believe that swastika and kolovrat are ancient Slavic pagan symbols.

Sami

An object very much like a hammer or a double axe is depicted among the magical symbols on the drums of Sami shamans, used in their religious ceremonies before Christianity was established. The name of the Sami thunder god was Horagalles, thought to be derived from "Old Man Thor" (''Þórr karl''). Sometimes on the drums, a male figure with a hammer-like object in either hand is shown, and sometimes it is more like a cross with crooked ends, or a swastika.

Medieval and early modern Europe

In Christianity, the swastika is used as a hooked version of the Christian Cross, the symbol of Christ's victory over death. Some Christian churches built in the Romanesque and Gothic eras are decorated with swastikas, carrying over earlier Roman designs. Swastikas are prominently displayed in a mosaic in the St. Sophia church of Kiev, Ukraine dating from the 12th century. They also appear as a repeating ornamental motif on a tomb in the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan. A proposed direct link between it and a swastika floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, which was built on top of a pagan site at Amiens, France in the 13th century, is considered unlikely. The stole worn by a priest in the 1445 painting of the Seven Sacraments by Roger van der Weyden presents the swastika form simply as one way of depicting the cross. Swastikas also appear on the vestments on the effigy of Bishop William Edington (d. 1366) in Winchester Cathedral.

In the Polish First Republic the symbol of the swastika was also popular with the nobility. According to chronicles, the Rus' prince Oleg, who in the 9th century attacked Constantinople, nailed his shield (which had a large red swastika painted on it) to the city's gates. Several noble houses, e.g. Boreyko, Borzym, and Radziechowski from Ruthenia, also had Swastikas as their coat of arms. The family reached its greatness in the 14th and 15th centuries and its crest can be seen in many heraldry books produced at that time. The Swastika was also a heraldic symbol, for example on the Boreyko coat of arms, used by noblemen in Poland and Ukraine. In the 19th century the swastika was one of the Russian empire's symbols; it was even placed in coins as a background to the Russian eagle.

An unusual swastika, composed of the Hebrew letters Aleph and Resh, appears in the 18th century Kabbalistic work "Parashat Eliezer" by Rabbi Eliezer Fischl of Strizhov, a commentary on the obscure ancient eschatological book "Karnayim", ascribed to Rabbi Aharon of Kardina. The symbol is enclosed by a circle and surrounded by a cyclic hymn in Aramaic. The hymn, which refers explicitly to the power of the Sun, as well as the shape of the symbol, shows strong solar symbolism. According to the book, this mandala-like symbol is meant to help a mystic to contemplate on the cyclic nature and structure of the Universe. The letters are the initial and final characters of the Hebrew word, ''אוֹר'', or "light".

Freemasons also gave the swastika symbol importance. In medieval Northern European Runic Script, a counter-clockwise swastika denotes the letter 'G,' and could stand for the important Freemason terms God, Great Architect of the Universe, or Geometry.

Western use in the early 20th century

In the Western world, the symbol experienced a resurgence following the archaeological work in the late 19th century of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the symbol in the site of ancient Troy and associated it with the ancient migrations of Proto-Indo-Europeans. He connected it with similar shapes found on ancient pots in Germany, and theorized that the swastika was a "significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors", linking Germanic, Greek and Indo-Iranian cultures. By the early 20th century, it was used worldwide and was regarded as a symbol of good luck and success.

The work of Schliemann soon became intertwined with the ''völkisch'' movements, for which the swastika was a symbol of the "Aryan race", a concept that came to be equated by theorists such as Alfred Rosenberg with a Nordic master race originating in northern Europe. Since its adoption by the National Socialist German Worker's Party of Adolf Hitler, the swastika has been associated with Nazism, fascism, racism (white supremacy), the Axis powers in World War II, and the Holocaust in much of the West. The swastika remains a core symbol of Neo-Nazi groups, and is used regularly by activist groups.

The Benedictine choir school at Lambach Abbey, Upper Austria, which Hitler attended for several months as a boy, had a swastika chiseled into the monastery portal and also the wall above the spring grotto in the courtyard by 1868. Their origin was the personal coat of arms of Abbot Theoderich Hagn of the monastery in Lambach, which bore a golden swastika with slanted points on a blue field. The Lambach swastika is probably of Medieval origin. The Danish brewery company Carlsberg Group used the swastika as a logo from the 19th Century until the middle of the 1930s when it was discontinued because of association with the Nazi Party in neighbouring Germany. However, the swastika carved on elephants at the entrance gates of the company's headquarters in Copenhagen in 1901 can still be seen today.

The swastika is seen on binders of pre-Nazi era publications of works by Rudyard Kipling. Both left and right orientations were used.

Ireland

The Swastika Laundry was a laundry founded in 1912, located on Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, a district of Dublin, Ireland. In the fifties Heinrich Böll came across a van belonging to the company while he was staying in Ireland, leading to some awkward moments before he could realize the company was older than Nazism and totally unrelated to it. The chimney of the boiler-house of the laundry still stands, but the laundry has been redeveloped.

Finland

Folklore

In Finland the swastika was often used in traditional folk art products, as a decoration or magical symbol on textiles and wood. Swastika was also used by Finnish air-force until 1945.

The tursaansydän is used by scouts in some instances and a student organization. The village of Tursa uses the tursaansydän as a kind of a certificate of authenticity on products made there. Traditional textiles are still being made with swastikas as parts of traditional ornaments.

Swedish-origin swastika in military

The Finnish Air Force uses the swastika as an emblem, introduced in 1918. The type of swastika adopted by the air-force was the symbol on luck for the Swedish count Eric von Rosen, who donated.

The swastika was also used by the women's paramilitary organization Lotta Svärd, which was banned in 1944 in accordance with the Moscow Armistice between Finland and the allied Soviet Union and Britain.

The President of Finland is the grand master of the Order of the White Rose. According to the protocol, the president shall wear the Grand Cross of the White Rose with collar on formal occasions. The original design of the collar, decorated with 9 swastikas, dates from 1918, and was designed by the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The Grand Cross with the swastika collar has been awarded 41 times to foreign heads of state. To avoid misunderstandings, the swastika decorations were replaced by fir crosses at the decision of president Urho Kekkonen in 1963 after it became known that the President of France Charles De Gaulle was uncomfortable with the swastika collar.

Also a design by Gallen-Kallela from 1918, the Cross of Liberty has a swastika pattern in its arms. The Cross of Liberty is depicted in the upper left corner of the standard of the President of Finland.

In December 2007, a silver replica of the WWII period Finnish air defence's relief ring decorated with a swastika became available as a part of a charity campaign.

The original war time idea was that the public swap their precious metal rings for the State air defence's relief ring, made of iron.

Latvia

Latvia adopted the swastika, called the Ugunskrusts ("fire cross"), for its air force in 1918/1919 and continued its use until 1940. The cross itself was maroon on a white background, mirroring the colors of the Latvian flag. Earlier versions pointed counter-clockwise, while later versions pointed clock-wise and eliminated the white background.

As the symbol of Nazism

In the wake of widespread popular usage, the Nazi Party (''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or ''NSDAP'') formally adopted the swastika (in German: ''Hakenkreuz'' (hook-cross)) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (''right''), badge, and armband.

In his 1925 work ''Mein Kampf,'' Adolf Hitler wrote that: ''I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika.''

When Hitler created a flag for the Nazi Party, he sought to incorporate both the swastika and "those revered colors expressive of our homage to the glorious past and which once brought so much honor to the German nation." (Red, white, and black were the colors of the flag of the old German Empire.) He also stated: "As National Socialists, we see our program in our flag. In ''red,'' we see the social idea of the movement; in ''white,'' the nationalistic idea; in the ''swastika,'' the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work."

The swastika was also understood as "the symbol of the creating, acting life" (das Symbol des schaffenden, wirkenden Lebens) and as "race emblem of Germanism" (Rasseabzeichen des Germanentums).

The use of the swastika was incorporated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordicist version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders. The concept of racial purity was an ideology central to Nazism, though it is now considered mostly unscientific. For Alfred Rosenberg, the Aryans of India were both a model to be imitated and a warning of the dangers of the spiritual and racial "confusion" that, he believed, arose from the close proximity of races. Thus, they saw fit to co-opt the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race. The use of the swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race dates back to writings of Emile Burnouf. Following many other writers, the German nationalist poet Guido von List believed it to be a uniquely Aryan symbol. Before the Nazis, the swastika was already in use as a symbol of German ''völkisch'' nationalist movements (''Völkische Bewegung''). In ''Deutschland Erwache'' (ISBN 0-912138-69-6), Ulric of England (''sic'') says:

[...] what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for the NSDAP was its use by the Thule Society (German: Thule-Gesellschaft) since there were many connections between them and the DAP ... from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special Nationalsozialistische library of Dr. Friedrich Krohn, a very active member of the ''Thule-Gesellschaft'' ... Dr. Krohn was also the dentist from Sternberg who was named by Hitler in ''Mein Kampf'' as the designer of a flag very similar to one that Hitler designed in 1920 ... during the summer of 1920, the first party flag was shown at Lake Tegernsee ... these home-made ... early flags were not preserved, the ''Ortsgruppe München'' (Munich Local Group) flag was generally regarded as the first flag of the Party.

José Manuel Erbez says:

The first time the swastika was used with an "Aryan" meaning was on December 25, 1907, when the self-named Order of the New Templars, a secret society founded by [Adolf Joseph] Lanz von Liebenfels, hoisted at Werfenstein Castle (Austria) a yellow flag with a swastika and four fleurs-de-lys.

However, Liebenfels was drawing on an already established use of the symbol. On March 14, 1933, shortly after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany, the NSDAP flag was hoisted alongside Germany's national colors. It was adopted as the sole national flag on September 15, 1935 (see Nazi Germany).

The swastika was used for badges and flags throughout Nazi Germany, particularly for government and military organizations, but also for "popular" organizations such as the ''Reichsbund Deutsche Jägerschaft'' (German Hunting Society).

While the DAP and the NSDAP had used both right-facing and left-facing swastikas, the right-facing swastika was used consistently from 1920 onwards. However, Ralf Stelter notes that the swastika flag used on land had a right-facing swastika on both sides, while the ensign (naval flag) had it printed through so that a left-facing swastika would be seen when looking at the ensign with the flagpole to the right.

Several variants are found:

a 45° black swastika on a white disc as in the NSDAP and national flags;

a 45° black swastika on a white lozenge (e.g., Hitler Youth);

a 45° black swastika with a white outline was painted on the tail of aircraft of the Luftwaffe, and usually using a design based on a 25-small-square subdivided square template (width of "strokes" in each of its arms, equalling the width of the space between the strokes);

a 45° black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., the German War Ensign);

an upright black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., Personal standard of Adolf Hitler in which a gold wreath encircles the swastika; the ''Schutzstaffel''; and the ''Reichsdienstflagge'', in which a black circle encircles the swastika);

small gold, silver, black, or white 45° swastikas, often lying on or being held by an eagle, on many badges and flags. a swastika with curved outer arms forming a broken circle, as worn by the SS ''Nordland'' Division.

There were attempts to amalgamate Nazi and Hindu use of the swastika, notably by the French writer Savitri Devi who declared Hitler an Avatar of Vishnu (see Nazi mysticism).

Post-WWII stigmatization in Western countries

Because of its use by Nazi Germany, the swastika since the 1930s has been largely associated with Nazism and white supremacy in most Western countries. As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol is prohibited in some jurisdictions. Because of the stigma attached to the symbol, many buildings that have contained the symbol as decoration have had the symbol removed. Steven Heller, of the School of Visual Arts, has argued that from the moment it was "misappropriated" by the Nazis, it became a mark and weapon of hate, and could not be redeemed.

Germany

The German and Austrian postwar criminal code makes the public showing of the ''Hakenkreuz'' (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. It is even censored from the illustrations on boxes of model kits, and the decals that come in the box. Modellers seeking an accurate rendition often have to either stencil on the marking, or purchase separate decals. It is also censored from the reprints of 1930s railway timetables published by the Reichsbahn. The eagle remains, but appears to be holding a solid black circle between its talons. The swastikas on Hindu and Jain temples are exempt, as religious symbols cannot be banned in Germany.

A German fashion company was investigated for using traditional British-made folded leather buttons after complaints that they resembled swastikas. In response, Esprit destroyed two hundred thousand catalogues.

A controversy was stirred by the decision of several police departments to begin inquiries against anti-fascists. In late 2005 police raided the offices of the punk rock label and mail order store "Nix Gut Records" and confiscated merchandise depicting crossed-out swastikas and fists smashing swastikas. In 2006 the Stade police department started an inquiry against anti-fascist youths using a placard depicting a person dumping a swastika into a trashcan. The placard was displayed in opposition to the campaign of right-wing nationalist parties for local elections.

On Friday, March 17, 2006, a member of the Bundestag, Claudia Roth reported herself to the German police for displaying a crossed-out swastika in multiple demonstrations against Neo-Nazis, and subsequently got the Bundestag to suspend her immunity from prosecution. She intended to show the absurdity of charging anti-fascists with using fascist symbols: "We don't need prosecution of non-violent young people engaging against right-wing extremism." On March 15, 2007, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichtshof) holding that the crossed-out symbols were "clearly directed against a revival of national-socialist endeavors", thereby settling the dispute for the future.

European Union

The European Union's Executive Commission proposed a European Union-wide anti-racism law in 2001, but European Union states failed to agree on the balance between prohibiting racism and freedom of expression. An attempt to ban the swastika across the EU in early 2005 failed after objections from the British Government and others. In early 2007, while Germany held the European Union presidency, Berlin proposed that the European Union should follow German Criminal Law and criminalize the denial of the Holocaust and the display of Nazi symbols including the swastika, which is based on the Ban on the Symbols of Unconstitutional Organisations Act. This led to an opposition campaign by Hindu groups across Europe against a ban on the swastika. They pointed out that the swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace. The proposal to ban the swastika was dropped by Berlin from the proposed European Union wide anti-racism laws on January 29, 2007.

Legislation in other European countries

In Hungary, it is a criminal misdemeanour to publicly display "totalitarian symbols", including the swastika, the SS insignia and the Arrow Cross, punishable by fine. Display for academic, educational, artistic or journalistic reasons is allowed. Note that the communist symbols of hammer and sickle and the red star are also regarded as a totalitarian symbols and have the same restriction by Hungarian criminal law. In Poland, public display of Nazi symbols, including the Nazi swastika, is a criminal offence punishable by up to eight years of imprisonment.

Latin America

The use of the swastika or any Nazi symbol, their manufacture, distribution or broadcasting, with the intent to propagate Nazism is a crime in Brazil as dictated by article 20, paragraph 1, of federal statute 7.716, passed in 1989. The penalty is a two to five years prison term and a fine. The flag of the Kuna Yala autonomous territory of Panama is based on a swastika design. In 1942 a ring was added to the centre of the flag to differentiate it from the symbol of the Nazi party (this version subsequently fell into disuse).

Media

In 2010, Microsoft officially spoke out against the use of the swastika in the first-person shooter ''Call of Duty: Black Ops''. In ''Black Ops'', players are allowed to customize their name tags to represent, essentially, whatever they want. The swastika can be created and used, but Stephen Toulouse, director of Xbox Live policy and enforcement, stated that players with the symbol on their name tag will be banned (if someone reports as inappropriate) from Xbox Live.

Satirical use

A book featuring "120 Funny Swastika Cartoons" was published in 2008 by New York Cartoonist Sam Gross. The author said he created the cartoons in response to excessive news coverage given to swastika vandals, that his intent "...is to reduce the swastika to something humorous."

The powerful symbolism acquired by the swastika has often been used in graphic design and propaganda as a means of drawing Nazi comparisons; examples include the cover of Stuart Eizenstat's 2003 book ''Imperfect Justice'', publicity materials for Constantin Costa-Gavras's 2002 film ''Amen'', and a billboard that was erected opposite the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, in 2004, which juxtaposed images of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse pictures with a swastika.

Controversies over Asian products

In recent years, controversy has erupted when consumer goods bearing the symbol have been exported to North America.

When a ten-year-old boy in Lynbrook, New York bought a set of Pokémon cards imported from Japan in 1999, his parents complained after finding that two of the cards contained the ''Manji'' symbol which is the mirror image of the Nazi swastika. This also caused a lot of concern amongst fans from Jewish communities. Nintendo of America announced that the cards would be discontinued, explaining that what was acceptable in one culture was not necessarily so in another; their action was welcomed by the Anti-Defamation League who recognised that there was no intention to be offensive but said that international commerce meant that "isolating [the Swastika] in Asia would just create more problems."

In 2002, Christmas crackers containing plastic toy pandas sporting swastikas were pulled from shelves after complaints from consumers in Canada. The manufacturer, based in China, explained the symbol was presented in a traditional sense and not as a reference to the Nazis, and apologized to the customers for the cross-cultural mixup. In 2007, Spanish fashion chain Zara withdrew a handbag from its stores after a customer in Britain complained swastikas were embroidered on it. The bags were made by a supplier in India and inspired by commonly used Hindu symbols, which include the swastika.

Contemporary use in Asia

South Asia

In the Indosphere (South Asia, Greater India), the swastika remains ubiquitous as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. In India and Nepal, electoral ballot papers are stamped with a round swastika-like pattern (to ensure that the accidental ink imprint on the other side of a folded ballot paper can be correctly identified as such). Many businesses and other organisations, such as the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange and the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, use the swastika in their logos. The red swastika was suggested as an emblem of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in India and Sri Lanka, but the idea was not implemented. Swastikas can be found practically everywhere in Indian and Nepalese cities, on buses, buildings, auto-rickshaws, and clothing. Swastika continues to be prominently used in Hindus' religious ceremonies and temples, and is recognised as a Hindu religious symbol. Interpretations of the Vedic scriptures have in recent times have pointed out the erroneous use of counter clock motion swastika in Hindu auspicious rituals that were used to evoke the 'Shakti' in tantric rituals. In India Swastik (Swasthik) is a commonly used name for persons, especially among Jain communities.

East Asia

In China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, the symbol is most commonly associated with Buddhism. They are widely used in Buddhist temples, both rural and urban.

Reflecting this usage, East Asian maps use the swastika symbol to denote a temple. For example, the symbol is designated by the Survey Act and related Japanese governmental rules to denote a Buddhist temple on Japanese maps.

Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture designates this symbol as its official flag, which stemmed from its use in the emblem of Tsugaru clan, the lord of Hirosaki Domain in Edo era. See also the section East Asian traditions in this article.

Central Asia

In 2005, authorities in Tajikistan called for the widespread adoption of the swastika as a national symbol. President Emomali Rahmonov declared the swastika an Aryan symbol and 2006 to be "the year of Aryan culture," which would be a time to "study and popularize Aryan contributions to the history of the world civilization, raise a new generation (of Tajiks) with the spirit of national self-determination, and develop deeper ties with other ethnicities and cultures."

New religious movements

Besides the use as a religious symbol in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, which can be traced to pre-modern traditions, the swastika is also used by a number of new religious movements established in the modern period.

The Theosophical Society uses a swastika as part of its seal, along with an Aum, a hexagram or star of David, an Ankh and an Ouroboros. Unlike the much more recent Raëlian movement (see below), the Theosophical Society symbol has been free from controversy, and the seal is still used. The current seal also includes the text "There is no religion higher than truth." The Raëlian Movement, who believe that Extra-Terrestrials originally created all life on earth, use a symbol that is often the source of considerable controversy: an interlaced star of David and a swastika. The Raelians state that the Star of David represents infinity in space whereas the swastika represents infinity in time i.e. there being no beginning and no end in time, and everything being cyclic. In 1991, the symbol was changed to remove the swastika, out of respect to the victims of the Holocaust, but as of 2007 has been restored to its original form.

The Tantra-based new religious movement Ananda Marga (Devanagari: आनन्द मार्ग, meaning ''Path of Bliss'') uses a motif similar to the Raëlians, but in their case the apparent star of David is defined as intersecting triangles with no specific reference to Jewish culture.

The Falun Gong qigong movement uses a symbol that features a large swastika surrounded by four smaller (and rounded) ones, interspersed with yin-and-yang symbols. The usage is taken from traditional Chinese symbolism, and here alludes to a chakra-like portion of the esoteric human anatomy, located in the stomach.

The Odinic Rite claims the fylfot as a holy symbol of Odinism, citing the pre-Christian Germanic use of the symbol.

See also

Borjgali - Georgian version of Swastika

Brigid's cross

Camunian rose

Celtic cross

Fascist symbolism

The Red Swastika Society (China)

Solar symbols

Sun cross

Swastika curve

Swastika Stone

Tursaansydän

References

Bibliography

A critical update to remove unacceptable symbols from the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 833407. 8 November 2004.

Aigner, Dennis J. (2000). ''The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles''. Laguna Beach, California: DAI Press. ISBN 0-9701898-0-X.

Clarence House issues apology for Prince Harry's Nazi costume. ''BBC News''. January 13, 2005.

Clube, V. and Napier, B. ''The Cosmic Serpent''. Universe Books, 1982.

Enthoven, R.E. ''The Folklore of Bombay''. London: Oxford University Press, 1924 (pp. 40–45).

Gardner, N. (2006) ''Multiple Meanings: The Swastika Symbol''. In ''Hidden Europe'', 11, pp. 35–37. Berlin. ISSN 1860-6318.

Jaume Ollé, Željko Heimer, and Norman Martin. "State Flag and Ensign 1935-1945" December 29, 2004. The ''Reichsdienstflagge''.

e, Steven. ''Animals and the Origin of Dance'', Thames and Hudson Inc., NY, 1982 (pp. 169–181).

MacCulloch, C.J.A. Canon, John A. (Ed.) ''Mythology of all Races''. vol. 8 ("Chinese Mythology" Ferguson, John C.) Marshall Jones Co. Boston, MA 1928 (p. 31).

ManWoman. ''Gentle Swastika: Reclaiming the Innocence'', Cranbrook, B.C., Canada: Flyfoot Press, 2001. ISBN 0-9688716-0-7.

Marcus Wendel, Jaume Ollé, et al. "Schutzstaffel/SS" December 14, 2001.

Morphy, Howard (Ed.). ''Animals into Art'' (ONE WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY; vol. 7) Unwin Gyman Ltd., London, 1989 (chapt. 11 Schaafsma, Polly).

Norman Martin et al. "Standard of the Leader and National Chancellor 1935-1945". April 9, 2004. Hitler's personal flag.

Roy, Pratap Chandra. The ''Mahabharata'', Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1973 (vol. 1 section 13-58, vol. 5 section 2-3).

Schliemann, Henry. ''Ilios'' Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, NY, 1881 (pp. 334–353).

Tan Huay Peng. (1980–1983). ''Fun with Chinese Characters''. Singapore: Federal Publications. ISBN 981-01-3005-8.

''The Swastika'': The Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migrations; with Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times. In ''Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution''. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution

Whipple, Fred L. ''The Mystery of Comets'' Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, DC 1985, (pp. 163–167).

Wilson, Thomas (Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum) (1896).

Notes

External links

;General

History of the Swastika ''(US Holocaust Memorial Museum)''

The Origins of the Swastika ''BBC News''

A Swastika Pictorial Atlas

Michel de Zmigkodzki, "History of the Swastika" ''The International Folk-Lore Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, July, 1893'', 1898.

;Dharmic religions

Swastikam - Symbol of Auspiciousness (chapter 7 of ''Vishayasuchi'' by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami)

Om, Swastika and Shivalinga (Book by Narsibhai Patel)

;Nazi use

The variants of the NS-swastika flag

Documentary about the use of the swastika in the Third Reich

From ''Flags of the World'':

*Origins of the Swastika Flag (Third Reich, Germany) (collection of links and comments)

*Neo-Nazi flags (links to other ''FOTW'' pages)

Category:Political symbols Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Symbolism Category:Symbols of Nazi Germany Category:Cross symbols

als:Svastika ang:Fylfōt ar:صليب معقوف az:Svastika be:Свастыка be-x-old:Свастыка bg:Свастика bo:གཡུང་དྲུང་། bs:Svastika ca:Esvàstica cs:Svastika da:Svastika de:Swastika et:Svastika el:Σβάστικα es:Esvástica eo:Svastiko eu:Esbastika fa:صلیب شکسته fr:Svastika gl:Esvástica gu:સ્વસ્તિક xal:Лүңтн ko:만자문 hy:Սվաստիկա hi:स्वस्तिक hr:Svastika id:Swastika it:Svastica he:צלב קרס ka:სვასტიკა kk:Свастика la:Crux gammata lv:Svastika lt:Svastika hu:Szvasztika mk:Свастика mr:स्वस्तिक ms:Swastika mn:Хас nl:Swastika (symbool) ja:卍 no:Hakekors nn:Svastika pl:Swastyka pt:Suástica ro:Svastică ru:Свастика sq:Svastika simple:Swastika sk:Svastika sl:Svastika szl:Hakynkrojc sr:Свастика (симбол) fi:Hakaristi sv:Svastika ta:சுவசுத்திக்கா te:స్వస్తిక్ th:สวัสติกะ tr:Svastika uk:Свастика vi:Chữ Vạn yi:האקנקרייץ zh:卐

Jagz Kooner is a UK born producer who has worked with Radio 4, Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream for whom he co-produced their well-known cover version of the song 'Some Velvet Morning' sung this time by the model Kate Moss, Garbage and Infadels. He has created remixes for Massive Attack, Rammstein, Siobhan Fahey, Ladytron, Adam Freeland, dEUS, Kasabian and more recently Reverend and the Makers. His remix of 'Swastika Eyes', for Primal Scream appears as one of two remixes of the track on the ''Xtrmntr'' album. He has also remixed two songs from the Oasis album, ''Dig Out Your Soul''. On the bonus CD available only as part of the Deluxe Edition, Jagz Kooner has remixed first single 'The Shock Of The Lightning', as well as, the album track 'The Turning'. He has also been keenly involved in the UK mash-up scene.

He was also a member of the bands The Aloof and Sabres of Paradise with Andrew Weatherall and Reverend and the Makers new project Reverend Soundsystem or otherwise known as RSS.

External links

Discogs: Jagz Kooner

MySpace: Jagz Kooner

DV247 interview

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:British record producers

es:Jagz Kooner fr:Jagz Kooner

name	The Chemical Brothers
landscape	yes
background	group_or_band
alias	The 237 Turbo Nutters, The Dust Brothers, Chemical Ed & Chemical Tom
origin	Manchester, United Kingdom
genre	Big beat, electronica, techno, trip hop, alternative dance, neo-psychedelia
years active	1991–present
label	Junior Boy's Own, Astralwerks, Freestyle Dust, Virgin, Ultra
website	TheChemicalBrothers.com
current members	Tom RowlandsEd Simons }}

The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.

History

Background (1984–1991)

Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and Hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A-levels, he continued on to study history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester.

Tom Rowlands, a childhood classmate of Simons', was born on 11 January 1971 in Kingston upon Thames, London. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire, during which time he became obsessed with Scotland, developing a fondness for the bagpipes in particular. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres. Initially, some of his favourites included the ''Oh What a Lovely War'' soundtrack, 2 Tone, the nascent gothic rock genre (Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim) and the electro sounds of artists such as Kraftwerk, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Heaven 17. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record that probably changed his life, and commented that "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was one of the most amazing tracks he had ever heard. Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons', achieving nine O levels and three A levels. For university, he followed Simons to Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general and the Haçienda in particular.

Rowlands was also in a band called Ariel prior to meeting up with Simons. Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan Melck and Matt Berry. Their first single was "Sea of Beats", which was essentially a white label. Before Philip Brown set up Echo Logik Records, their first promo was "Bokadilo". Other songs, released on 12", included "Mustn't Grumble" and their most well-known, "Rollercoaster". After a year on Echo Logik they signed to the record label deConstruction. They insisted that they get a female singer and they recruited former Xpansions frontwoman Sally Ann Marsh, and after some disappointing songs like "Let It Slide" (Rowlands would later describe it as "a stinker") the band fell apart. One of the last things Ariel did was the song "T Baby" which was remixed by the pair.

Rowlands and Simons then started to DJ at a club called "Naked Under Leather" in the back of a pub in 1992 under the alias of "The 237 Turbo Nutters" (named after the number of their house on Dickenson Road in Manchester and a reference to their Blackburn raving days). The pair would play hip hop, techno, and house.

The Dust Brothers (1992–1994)

Rowlands and Simons called themselves The Dust Brothers, after the US production duo famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. After a while, they began to run out of suitable instrumental hip hop tracks to use, so they started to make their own. Using a Hitachi hi-fi system, a computer, a sampler, and a keyboard, they recorded "Song to the Siren", which sampled This Mortal Coil. "Song to the Siren" was released on their own record label, called "Diamond Records" (after Ed's nickname). In October 1992, they pressed 500 white label copies and took them to various dance record shops around London, but none would play it, saying that it was too slow (the track played at 111 BPM). They sent a copy to London DJ Andrew Weatherall, who made it a permanent fixture in his DJ sets. Weatherall also signed the band to his Junior Boy's Own label. In May 1993, Junior Boy's Own released "Song to the Siren".

Around June 1993, the Dust Brothers did their first remixes. The first was "Packet of Peace" for Justin Robertson's Lionrock outfit, followed by tracks for Leftfield, Republica, and The Sandals. Late in 1993, The Dust Brothers completed work on their ''Fourteenth Century Sky'' EP, released in January 1994. It contained the ground-breaking "Chemical Beats", which epitomized the duo's genre-defining big beat sound, later taken up by Fatboy Slim and many more. The EP also contained "One Too Many Mornings", which for the first time showed the less intense, more chilled-out side of The Dust Brothers. Both "One Too Many Mornings" and "Chemical Beats" would later appear on their debut album. ''Fourteenth Century Sky'' was followed later in 1993 by the ''My Mercury Mouth EP''. "Chemical Beats" was also part of the soundtrack for the first edition of the Wipeout games series, having been featured in ''Wipeout'' for the PlayStation in 1995.

In October 1994, The Dust Brothers became resident DJs at the small, but hugely influential Heavenly Sunday Social Club at the Albany pub in London's Great Portland Street. The likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, James Dean Bradfield, and Tim Burgess were regular visitors. The Dust Brothers were subsequently asked to remix tracks by Manic Street Preachers and The Charlatans, plus Primal Scream's "Jailbird" and The Prodigy's "Voodoo People". These two remixes received television exposure, being playlisted by MTV Europe's "The Party Zone" in 1995. Early in 1994, The Dust Brothers were approached in the club one Sunday by Noel Gallagher, from Oasis, who at the time were becoming one of the most prominent guitar bands in Britain. Gallagher told the duo that he had a Balearic-inspired track which he had written and would like the Dust Brothers to remix. However, over time, Gallagher changed his mind, and in the end the Brothers did not remix it. The track was "Wonderwall".

In March 1995, The Dust Brothers began their first international tour, which included the United States – where they played with Orbital and Underworld – then a series of European festivals. Also around this time, the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action over the use of their name, and so Rowlands and Simons had to decide on a new name quickly. They decided to then call themselves "The Chemical Brothers" after "Chemical Beats" (Simons' grandmother had suggested they call themselves "The Grit Brothers").

In June 1995, they released their fourth single, the first under their new identity. "Leave Home" was released on Junior Boy's Own, as a preview of the imminent debut album and became the band's first chart hit, peaking at No. 17. It stayed at number 17 for 8 weeks, the most weeks a record has stayed at the same place in the charts (apart from Number 1's).

''Exit Planet Dust'' (1995–1996)

In July 1995, The Chemical Brothers released their debut album ''Exit Planet Dust'' (the title inspired by their name change) on Freestyle Dust/Junior Boy's Own. It entered the UK charts at No. 9 and featured guest vocalist Beth Orton on the song "Alive Alone". It eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, and was used on the soundtrack of the science fiction TV series pilot Virtuality. Shortly after its release, The Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records, to which they took their own offshoot label, Freestyle Dust. For their next single, "Life Is Sweet", released in September 1995, they again used a guest vocalist, featuring their friend Tim Burgess, singer of The Charlatans. It reached No. 25 in the singles charts. The single was also ''Select'' magazine's "Single of the Month" for October. The release included a Daft Punk remix of "Life Is Sweet".

In August 1995, The Chemical Brothers DJ'ed for Oasis at a Sheffield gig. The gig began to backfire when it became apparent that Liam Gallagher didn't seem to like any of the tracks they were spinning. The closest that they could come to pleasing him was the Happy Mondays' "Wrote for Luck". Gallagher proceeded to kick The Chemical Brothers off the turntables and procured a friend from The Verve to continue to DJ. He subsequently favoured psychedelic material to the displeasure of the crowd.

Around this period, The Stone Roses asked the Chemical Brothers to remix "Begging You", from their ''Second Coming'' album. After beginning work on a remix which they viewed as having potential, The Stone Roses changed their minds and the project was cancelled.

In October 1995, the duo returned to the Heavenly Sunday Social for a second and final run of DJ dates. They then became residents at the Heavenly Social on Saturdays at Turnmills. In November, The Chemical Brothers played the Astoria Theatre in London. At this time the Brothers usually used a fusion of "Chemical Beats" and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" as their encore. During the encore, however, Keith Flint from The Prodigy jumped up on stage to dance, wearing a T-shirt sporting the slogan "Occupation: mad bastard". A few from the crowd subsequently joined in. This resulted in a power cable being kicked loose, bringing the show to a temporary close. The Chemical Brothers confessed to not being too bothered; "because he's Keith from The Prodigy, and he can do whatever the fucking hell he likes". Just before Christmas, 1995, they played their biggest gig to date, with The Prodigy, at the Brixton Academy.

In January 1996, ''Exit Planet Dust'' went gold. The Chemical Brothers released their first new material in six months on Virgin, the ''Loops of Fury'' EP. The four-track release was limited to 20,000 copies, but is now available for digital download. It entered the UK charts at No. 13. ''NME'' described the lead track as "splashing waves of synths across hard-hitting beats". The EP also contained a Dave Clarke remix of "Chemical Beats", and two other new tracks, "Get Up on It Like This" and "(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up".

In February 1996, ''Select'' magazine published a list of the 100 best albums of the 1990s thus far. ''Exit Planet Dust'' was listed at Number 39. In August 1996, The Chemical Brothers supported Oasis at Knebworth, where 125,000 people attended each of the two shows.

During the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, Rowlands and Simons had another conversation with Noel Gallagher. Gallagher told them how much he liked ''Exit Planet Dust'', and asked if he could sing on a future track, similar to the way Tim Burgess had worked on "Life Is Sweet". They didn't think much of the offer at the time, given how busy Gallagher would be with the release of Oasis' ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', plus the complexities of dealing with each others' record companies. However, the duo later worked on a track which they thought would benefit from having a vocal on it. They sent Gallagher a tape of what they had done so far. He worked on it overnight, and left a message with them early the next morning that he was ready to record it. The track was called "Setting Sun" and was finally released in October 1996. It entered the UK charts at the top, giving the duo their first ever Number One single. "Setting Sun" was backed by a longer instrumental version, and also a new track "Buzz Tracks", which was not much more than a DJ tool. The three remaining members of The Beatles' lawyers later wrote to The Chemical Brothers, mistakenly claiming that they had sampled "Tomorrow Never Knows". Virgin Records hired a musicologist to prove that they did not sample the classic 1960s psychedelic song.

Meanwhile, in 1996, ''Live at the Social Volume 1'' was released by Heavenly Records, which became The Chemical Brothers' first mix CD (excluding ''Xmas Dust Up'', a free album that came in a 1994 issue of ''NME''). It was also the duo's first and only live album (excluding the EP ''Live 05'').

''Dig Your Own Hole'' (1997–1998)

In March 1997, the Brothers released the second track from their forthcoming album, to give the world a further taste of what to expect. "Block Rockin' Beats" went straight to No. 1 in the UK, possibly thanks, this time, to its Schoolly D vocal sample and re-working of the bassline from 23 Skidoo's single "Coup". The ''NME'' named it "Single of the Week" and said "It throbs like your head might if you had just done a length underwater in a swimming pool full of amyl." It later won them a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

In the US at this time, "Setting Sun" was sitting at Number 80 in the Billboard Top 100, after selling around 80,000 copies, an uncommon achievement for a European "dance" act. Sales from ''Exit Planet Dust'' were also around 150,000.

On 7 April 1997 The Chemical Brothers released their second album, ''Dig Your Own Hole''. It was recorded at the band's own south London studio, with the title taken from graffiti on the wall outside. The album was well received, with ''Mixmag'' rating it 10/10 and calling it "mad enough to be thrilling, slick enough for not even remotely trendy coffee tables".

During the summer of 1997, the Brothers toured extensively, particularly in the United States. They also became residents at Tokyo's Liquid Rooms. In August, The Chemical Brothers achieved rapprochement with the US Dust Brothers, and asked them to remix the forthcoming single "Elektrobank". They themselves also became highly sought-after for remixes for other artists. Metallica asked the Brothers several times to remix "Enter Sandman", but were repeatedly turned down. In September, the next single from ''Dig Your Own Hole'', "Elektrobank" was released. In November, the pair played at Dublin's Point Theatre, with support from Carl Cox. They also began a US tour in Detroit.

At the end of the year, ''Dig Your Own Hole'''s final track, the nine minute-long "The Private Psychedelic Reel", gave rise to a limited-edition mini-EP of the same name. The B-side consisted of a live version of "Setting Sun", recorded at the Lowlands Festival, Netherlands on 24 August 1997. Also in December, following four sold-out US shows, The Chemical Brothers toured the UK, finishing with a sold-out gig at London's Brixton Academy.

In 1998, they concentrated more on DJ'ing, although some remixes did see the light of day, including "I Think I'm in Love" from Spiritualized. Both a vocal remix and an instrumental remix were included in the single release. Each clocked in at over seven-and-a-half minutes. Another remix completed by the Brothers was "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" by Mercury Rev. This was another extension in the association between the two bands, since Mercury Rev's Jonathon Donahue contributed to "The Private Psychedelic Reel" on ''Dig Your Own Hole''.

In September 1998, a second mix album, ''Brothers Gonna Work It Out'', was released. It contains some of their own tracks and remixes, as well as songs from artists who have influenced their sound, such as Renegade Soundwave, Meat Beat Manifesto, Carlos "After Dark" Berrios, and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales.

In May 1999, The Chemical Brothers played three UK dates in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton, their first since December 1997. Also that month, they released their first new original material in two years, a track called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". This was more house-influenced than hip hop. In interviews at the time, Rowlands and Simons indicated that the track was inspired by nights out at Sheffield club Gatecrasher. The track was also one of their more commercially accessible tracks and went to number 3 in the UK charts.

''Surrender'' (1999)

The third album, ''Surrender'', was released in June 1999. It featured vocals from Noel Gallagher, Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue, and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. As "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" had suggested, the album was more house-oriented than the previous two. On one of the album's stand out tracks, "Out of Control", New Order's Bernard Sumner supported by Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie provided vocals. It reached No. 1 in the UK album charts, and was widely praised in the print media. The Michel Gondry-directed music video for "Let Forever Be", which utilized ground-breaking video and film effects in its depiction of a young woman's nightmares, also received a lot of attention.

Later that summer, The Brothers headlined the Glastonbury dance tent on the Friday night, followed by a UK tour which ended in December and included Homelands Scotland on 4 September. In November, "Out of Control", featuring Sumner and Gillespie on vocals, was released as a single. The release also contained the Sasha remix. The final single from ''Surrender'', in February 2000, was the five track "Music: Response" EP, containing the title track and two remixes, plus Electronic Battle Weapon 4, named "Freak of the Week", and a track called "Enjoyed", which was essentially a remix of "Out of Control" by the Brothers themselves.

A CD copy of ''Surrender'' was placed in the third ''Blue Peter'' time capsule, buried in January 2000. That same month, they appeared on Primal Scream's album ''Xtrmntr'' at track 11 with a remix.

''Come with Us'' (2000–2003)

In June 2000, Tom and Ed played the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival pulling in the largest audience ever seen in the Festival's history. In August 2000 they played to a large crowd at the main stage at Creamfields festival, Ireland. In December 2000, The Chemical Brothers aired one of their new tracks, "It Began in Afrika" at their New York DJ gigs, supporting U2.

In 2001, they were quite active with releases and live performances. Early in the year, they began working on a fourth album, provisionally titled ''Chemical Four''. The first track which fans got a taste of was "It Began in Afrika", as previously played in their DJ set in New York. The track would make its live debut in California in April 2001, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Another new track, "Galaxy Bounce", also got its public debut at Coachella. As had become customary for their releases and experiments, "It Began in Afrika" was first pressed as a promo, as part of the "Electronic Battle Weapon" series. It received much airplay on dance music radio shows in the UK, and became more and more popular in clubs over the course of the summer. It also became one of the "anthems" in Ibiza as the summer progressed. It was given a full commercial single release in September, reaching No. 8 in the UK singles chart, even though no promotional video was made for the track.

Rowlands and Simons also remixed a track from Fatboy Slim's ''Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars'', entitled "Song for Shelter". This remix was released as a single on 3 September 2001 (one week before "It Began in Afrika") as the CD2 single for "Song for Shelter / Ya Mama". It reached No. 30 in the UK Singles Charts (sales were combined with the CD1 single).

The Chemical Brothers finished work on another album, ''Come with Us'', in October 2001. It featured collaborations with Richard Ashcroft of The Verve ("The Test"), and long-time collaborator Beth Orton ("The State We're In"). The album was released in January 2002, preceded by a single, "Star Guitar", a melodic Balearic beat number, with a promotional video by Michel Gondry that featured passing scenery synchronized to the beat viewed through a train window. What would be the second track on the album, "It Began in Afrika", was released 10 September 2001 to be circulated around the clubbing scene where it was a popular hit. "Star Guitar" was also released as a DVD single, the pair's first.

The album, ''Come with Us'', was less well received than their previous albums, but nonetheless went straight to No. 1 in the UK album charts in the first week of its release, selling 100,000 copies. In April, the title track from the album was released as a single with remixes by Fatboy Slim as part of a double-A sided release with "The Test".

During the summer of 2002, The Chemical Brothers traveled the festival circuit to promote the album. Later in 2002, they released two EPs, one specifically aimed at Japan and the other the US (entitled ''AmericanEP''). Both contained remixes, live versions and B-sides. Additionally, the band produced New Order's final non-album single "Here to Stay", and remixed the song as well.

One of their other major songs from this album was "Galaxy Bounce", which was popular and featured as the main title music for the Xbox game ''Project Gotham Racing''. It was also included on the soundtrack for the movie ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider''. "Star Guitar" was featured as a song on the PSP's ''Lumines II''.

Two other songs, "Come with Us (Introduction)" and "Star Guitar (Title Screen)", were featured on a ''PlayStation 2'' racing game titled ''WRC II: Extreme''. Both songs are instrumental.

The Song ''My Elastic Eye'' from the ''Come with Us'' album was played in the 2004 movie ''The Butterfly Effect'' starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart.

Late 2002 and early 2003 saw Rowlands and Simons back in the studio working on new material, including "The Golden Path", a collaboration with Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of The Flaming Lips. This was released in September 2003, at the same time as a "best of" album, entitled ''Singles 93–03'', marking ten years of The Chemical Brothers' releases. ''Singles 93–03'' included most, but not all, of their singles. A second new track, in addition to "The Golden Path", was included on the album, called "Get Yourself High". ''Singles 93–03'' was also released on DVD, with extra features including selected live performances and interviews with Rowlands, Simons, and many of their collaborators from throughout the period. "Get Yourself High", which featured Canadian rapper k-os on vocals, was released as a single in November 2003.

In late 2003 and 2004, The Chemical Brothers continued to work in the studio on new material and a remix of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. After being released on rare white label vinyl, it was subsequently given a commercial release in March on CD (on her next single "Red Blooded Woman") and on exclusive 12" vinyl picture disc (containing two other Kylie remixes). In Summer 2004 they returned to the festival circuit, including appearances at the Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo, Scotland, and Ireland. They also visited South America for the second time (the first time being in 1999), arriving at Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. It was during these sets that they played new material, including "Acid Children", which proved to be one of the most popular new tracks.

In September 2004, The Chemical Brothers released the seventh "Electronic Battle Weapon". "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" was being released as a one-sided promo-only 12", containing "Acid Children". A marked departure from the Chemical Brothers' previous musical endeavours, it featured a screeching 303 bassline and a distinctive vocal sample; a pitch-altered vocal sample proclaiming "You Are All My Children Now!", which is lifted from the horror film ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge''. It was coupled with the projection of a sinister clown mouthing these same words at their live gigs.

The Electronic Battle Weapon series of promo releases have typically been newly recorded Chemical Brothers tracks, released on promo to allow DJs to test them in a club environment, and to gauge their popularity.

''Push the Button'' (2004–2006)

In 2004, The Chemical Brothers began work on ''Push the Button'', their fifth studio album, which features collaborations with Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke, and Anwar Superstar, amongst others. The album was released on 24 January 2005.

"Galvanize", which features rapper Q-Tip on vocals, was the first single to be taken from ''Push the Button'', and premiered exclusively on iTunes. The single was released on 17 January 2005, and entered the UK chart at No. 3. The second single, "Believe" (featuring Kele Okereke from Bloc Party), failed to crack the top 10, but still made it into the top 20, peaking at No. 18. "The Boxer", featuring Tim Burgess, became the duo's first single to fail to crack the top 40.

The album and single "Galvanize" won a Grammy at the Grammy Awards of 2006. One of the songs in this album, "The Big Jump", appears in the video game ''Burnout Revenge'', as well as ''Project Gotham Racing 3''. The track "Surface to Air" features a pulsing chord progression and bassline reminiscent of the intro to the Strokes song "The Modern Age".

An unofficial, remixed version of the album entitled ''Flip the Switch'' was released as a free download, along with the ''Believe'' EP, featuring six further remixes of "Believe".

In September 2006, The Chemical Brothers were revealed as the first musicians to be involved in Tate Tracks. Tate Modern invited various groups and songwriters to choose a work that inspired them from the gallery's collection of modern art and then write a track about it. The Chemical Brothers' submission, ''Rock Drill'', was inspired by the Jacob Epstein sculpture ''Torso in Metal from The Rock Drill'', and can be heard on headphones in front of the work in the gallery. From October 2006, it also became available to hear online at the Tate Tracks website.

''We Are the Night'' (2007–2009)

The Brothers announced in June 2006 on their official web forum that the duo had been working on fresh material, specifically an album, codenamed "Chemical 6". Simons also wrote that the band would be playing select venues in the Summer 2007 season, specifying Rome, and also Fabric in London. Simons is also quoted as saying that the duo are "hoping to put a battle weapon out for the summer", possibly referring to the Electronic Battle Weapon series, the somewhat experimental tracks the band occasionally release on white label.

Electronic Battle Weapons 8 & 9 were debuted on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 December 2006. The double sided vinyl was finally released just before The Chemical Brother's much anticipated New Year's Eve gig at the famous Turnmills in London. The vinyl had a limited edition release worldwide and has been received well by fans, DJs, and critics alike. Electronic Battle Weapon 8, at about six and a half minutes, is very distinct from the "big acid" style that the earlier Battle Weapons adhered to. It is characterised by 'thundering' drums with a rising synth line. A version of this track features on the ''We Are the Night'' album and is entitled "Saturate". "Electronic Battle Weapon 9" is a typical Chemicals dancefloor track with their trademark vocoder vocals coupled with sirens and a basic 'tribal' melody.

At the same Turnmills gig, the Brothers also played a previously unreleased song at midnight to welcome 2007, which went down well with the crowd. This track eventually emerged as "Burst Generator", found on the forthcoming album ''We Are the Night''. Many were left wondering if the latest in the Electronic Battle Weapon series were simply one off experiments or signal a new direction they could take with the new album, perhaps swaying from their genre defining big beat albums of the past. The song was also the band's 100th released song.

On 21 March 2007, The Chemical Brothers officially announced their forthcoming album on MySpace. The new album, entitled ''We Are the Night'', was released on 2 July 2007 in the United Kingdom and 17 July 2007 in the United States. The Chemical Brothers cited a delay in the production of artwork for this delay. EMI subsequently released an online Chemical Brothers computer game as an apology. The track listing was released to the fans on the official mailing list on 10 April. The new album is heavily collaborated, with the likes of Klaxons ("All Rights Reversed"), Midlake ("The Pills Won't Help You Now"), Ali Love ("Do It Again"), and Willy Mason ("Battle Scars").

On 12 April 2007, Pete Tong again had the privilege of giving the world the very first preview of a Chemicals track. This time it was the first single "Do It Again" off their new album, aired on his BBC Radio 1 "In New Music We Trust" show.. The official release of the single was 4 June (digital download) and 14 June (12", 7", and CD). The album went on general release in the UK on 2 July 2007.

In September 2007, The Chemical Brothers played a free live gig in Trafalgar Square as part of the Becks Fusions event. All who attended were provided with 3D glasses to view the on-screen visual effects.

In 2008, The Chemical Brothers' music was featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel ''Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance''.

The Chemical Brothers supplied a new track for the ''Heroes'' soundtrack, titled "Keep My Composure".

''Further'' and motion picture soundtracks (2010–present)

On 30 March 2010, the band announced on their website that their seventh studio album, titled ''Further'', would be released on 22 June and would be "the band's first to be released with corresponding films made specifically to match each of the 8 audio tracks." The films were made with long-time visuals collaborators Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall. The album was described as their most "psychedelic and melodic to date". Before the release of the album, the band played four shows in May at the London Roundhouse where they played the album and its accompanying films in their entirety. The films featured on a special edition DVD and on the iTunes LP edition.

Most reviews have been positive, with BBC Music declaring that "...synths are brutally manhandled and pushed to their limits across the eight tracks". ''The Irish Times'' reported that "This is a very impressive collection that is carried along with a stirring sense of velocity and momentum". However, praise was not unanimous for the album, with the American rock magazine ''Spin'' giving it a rating of three out of five stars.

At the New York Comic Con, on 10 October 2010, English film director Joe Wright announced that The Chemical Brothers would be scoring the soundtrack to his upcoming film, ''Hanna''. Wright, who had worked with The Chemical Brothers in the past as a member of the visual company Vegetable Vision, stated that he was "very excited to finally... work with a more modern beat. There's a lot of bass, it's very loud." The soundtrack was released exclusively on iTunes on 15 March 2011 and on CD on 4 July 2011.

Two weeks after the announcement regarding ''Hanna'', rumors began circulating that The Chemical Brothers had recorded part of the score for the movie ''Black Swan'', after a post in Ed Simon's Twitter account. A second post on the Chemical Brothers' own Twitter account seemed to confirm this. On 22 November 2010, a ''Black Swan'' music video was released along with the movie trailer. This featured a different version of the track "Don't Think" and announced that the movie would feature new music from The Chemical Brothers, along with a handful of other artists. The next day, the names of the eight tracks not composed by Clint Mansell – ''Black Swan'''s main composer – were released, listing The Chemical Brothers as contributing three new songs for the movie. On 29 November, an exclusive video was posted on RollingStone.com, containing more footage of the alternate version of "Don't Think". Mansell's work was released the next day. No announcement has been made yet on whether the original tracks not by Mansell would be given a release or not.

Live

The Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights, and lasers that project over the crowd. There has been speculation over how much of their live gigs are pre-recorded, although they insist (on their official website FAQ) that they have a mere outline of track order and the rest is mixed live. This would seem to be confirmed by concertgoers who have seen gigs on consecutive nights and have posted notable differences between the sets played.

The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, including Glastonbury, Fuji Rock, Reading, the HFStival, and Leeds festival. They currently hold the record for most gigs performed in a year at the Brixton Academy. The brothers have infamously, despite their high status in the mainstream, never appeared on Top of the Pops, with the use of music videos to replace the performance, sometimes accompanied by a video apologising for their absence. In 1999, a live US tour video of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" was shown, even though the song was not in the top 40 at the time, and also released other singles before then at the time.

In addition to performing their own music, they also hold regular DJ nights where they mix other artist's tracks (in the style of ''Brothers Gonna Work It Out'').

As with their recorded albums, The Chemical Brothers are well known for their incorporation of guest vocalists into their live performances. Notable appearances in recent gigs have included Bernard Sumner of New Order, who sang on the original "Out of Control", Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and Tim Burgess.

The duo also played at the launch event for the Wii video game console.

On the night of 1 September 2007, The Chemical Brothers played at the main stage of the Electric Picnic to a crowd of around 20,000.

The Chemical Brothers appeared in Los Angeles on 29 September 2007, headlining the 13th Annual Nocturnal Wonderland Festival.

The duo was one of the headliners for Roskilde Festival 2008 in Denmark. The festival is held from 3–6 July and is the biggest festival in Northern Europe.

The Chemical Brothers played at London's Olympia Grand Hall on 30 August 2008. This was the first time any major band has played at Olympia's Grand Hall in over 10 years.

On 18 April 2009, The Chemical Brothers performed a DJ Set at the Coachella Festival, at which they premiered two previously unnamed new tracks. The tracks were the bonus track "Don't Think" and "Escape Velocity", both of which were later included on the album ''Further''.

On 8 February 2010, they confirmed their presence at Sónar Festival in Barcelona in June 2010. They also announced they would be performing another two nights at the London Roundhouse in Camden, on 20 and 21 May. Due to phenomenal demand, as tickets sold out within two minutes, they added a further two nights; 22 and 23 May.

On 3 September 2010, they performed at North Coast Music Festival in Chicago. The following day they performed at Electric Zoo festival in New York City.

On 4–14 March 2011, they headlined the Future Music Festival in five cities across Australia.

On 27 March 2011, they headlined Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL and closed out the Main Stage for the weekend. They also were the closing performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday 15 April 2011.

The Chemical Brothers headlined the UK dance festival Creamfields in Cheshire on 27 August 2011.

The band also played at the 'Other Stage' at Glastonbury Festival 2011 as that stage's lead headliners.

On February 1, 2012, The Chemical Brothers released a concert movie into theaters which was available for viewing only that day. It was entitled "Don't Think" after one of their songs they played in the concert. The concert was played at the Fuji Rock Festival 2011 in Japan.

On 17 March 2012, the Chemical Brothers headlined at the Future Music Festival Asia 2012 at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

Logo

The typeface used to write the typical "The Chemical Brothers" logo is derived from Sho, designed by Karlgeorg Hoefer in 1992. The Chemical Brothers' original logo differs only in a few details from orthodox Sho, e.g. in the letters a and b. Mergenthaler Linotype Company holds the licence for this typeface.

Discography

; Studio albums

''Exit Planet Dust'' (1995)

''Dig Your Own Hole'' (1997)

''Surrender'' (1999)

''Come with Us'' (2002)

''Push the Button'' (2005)

''We Are the Night'' (2007)

''Further'' (2010)

; Soundtrack albums

''Hanna'' (2011)

; Live albums

''Don't Think'' (2012)

; Main compilation albums

''Brothers Gonna Work It Out'' (1998)

''Singles 93-03'' (2003)

''Brotherhood'' (2008)

See also

Big beat

Electronic Battle Weapon

References

External links

Don't Think The Movie (Trailer)

Category:British electronic music groups Category:British techno music groups Category:English dance music groups Category:English house music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1991 Category:1991 establishments in England Category:Club DJs Category:Remixers Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Astralwerks artists Category:Musical groups from Manchester Category:Musical duos Category:Breakbeat musicians Category:Electronic music duos Category:Brit Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:People educated at Alleyn's School Category:Big beat groups

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