Groove Armada’s Andy Cato sells the rights to their music to buy a farm

Andy Cato, one half of celebrated British duo Groove Armada, has sold the rights to his tracks to purchase a farm. 

Recently reported in The Guardian, Caoto described his agricultural journey over the last 15 years and how he set his sights on pursuing something more than a self-sustaining farm in his back garden.

“On the way back from a gig 15 years ago, I read an article on the environmental consequences of food production. It made for sobering reading and ended by saying: ‘If you don’t like the system, don’t depend on it,” he said.

“I was inspired to transform our garden in France into a vegetable patch in a quest for self-sufficiency. This quickly escalated, and I ended up selling the rights to my songs with Groove Armada to buy a farm nearby.”

“Done differently, farming has the potential to store carbon, house diverse wildlife and provide ample, nutritious food. Yet since the mid-20th century, western policy has pushed farmers in the opposite direction,” he added.

Cato’s back catalogue captured the hearts of the masses, including Madonna and Sir Elton John, among countless others. He revealed that by selling it, he could pick up the reigns of a farm in France, which would develop into a climate-friendly project and see him take over a National Trust farm near Swindon.

He also previously vocalised aims to change how food is manufactured and distributed, partnering up with former Big Brother host George Lamb to create Wildfarmed, a natural farm allowing nature to take its course and cattle to graze as they would in the wild.