Back in the late 90s, inspired by the acid jazz/groove movement that was flourishing in the U.K., veteran Toronto-based remix producers Tony Grace and Rob DeBoer (collectively known as Boomtang) launched their Four80East concept as a cool, creative side project geared towards a loose, improvisational dance vibe. Over the last decade, as chill music established itself as a genre of its own, their jazz inflected urban trance music—first dubbed “trip-jazz,” now known by some as “Nu Jazz”—became a global phenomenon. Titled En Route for its constant flow of groove and momentum, the duo’s highly anticipated Native Language Music debut (and first album of all new material since 2002) puts a fresh, jazzy and ambient spin on the eclectic textures of their past work to create a collection that’s all at once spirited, sensual and remarkably cinematic.

“People are always looking for snappy new phrases to describe our music,” says DeBoer, “but the beauty of what we do is that the boundaries we’ve established are fairly broad.  With each song, we only need to answer one question: ‘Does it sound like a Four80East song?’

“From our first release (1998’s The Album) to Nocturnal (2001), there was a progression into a more chilled out, introspective vibe,” he adds. “Round 3 (2002) picked up the beat a little more, and here we’re back to what we like to call our ‘spyish mood,’ a James Bondlike world of espionage,” he adds. “There’s never an overriding concept going into these projects, but as we chose the 11 tracks for En Route out of the 25 possible tunes before us, that’s the feeling that developed.”

For a time after releasing their first Four80East project The Album—which was re-released in the U.S. in 2003--Grace and DeBoer enjoyed a dual identity as The Boomtang Boys, who recorded the gold selling album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 for Virgin in 1999 and scored what they deem as a “wonderfully cheesy” chart topping hit with “Squeeze Toy.” Their success as a band grew out of their extensive work as a first call dance remix and production crew throughout the 90s for numerous Canadian artists, including Bif Naked, Econoline Crush Ashley, Amanda Marshall, Corey Hart, Wild Strawberries, Ashley MacIsaac, Kim Stockwood and The Philosopher Kings.

The duo launched Boomtang in 1990 as a 12-inch label, releasing club singles to the U.K.; the first three years saw the release of fifteen Grace and DeBoer-written and produced records. By 1993, Boomtang Records had expanded to include artist development, and the team’s focus shifted to producing albums and singles for talented performers other than themselves. Their production of Camille’s “Deeper Shade of Love” single won a Juno award in 1995 for best dance recording and went on to become the second biggest single at radio for Sony Germany. They showed a knack for hopping between genres by simultaneously earning a Juno nomination in the best R&B/Soul category for their production on Charlene Smith’s “Feel the Good Times.”

Even as they work to make Four80East into more of a full-time endeavor, Grace and DeBoer currently define Boomtang as “a little bit of everything: production house, indie label, remix team, indie artist, music publisher and all around nice guys!” “Over the years, we’ve been firmly pigeonholed as dance producers, but we’ve really enjoyed doing everything from jazz to R&B, rock and other eclectic projects,” says DeBoer. “Growing up, all of our favorite musicians were jazz guys, and creating Four80East was our way of exploring that territory. The chemistry works because Tony has an incredible knack for putting completely unusual elements together, and this balances my more logical, calculating formulations. We always have fun doing what we do, and we’re excited that we continue to reach so many different people through the music we make as Four80East. Of all the work we’ve ever done, these four albums are the ones we most enjoy listening to.”