Irishmen Rory Carlile and Neil Higgins played in several rock bands before moving in 1989 to London, where they hooked up with Leeds-native Justin Underhill as Rootless. The three pooled their gear and began releasing house tracks for their own Deep in It label. Five years later, Rootless signed to Mark Jones's Wall of Sound label, and released a debut EP, Mental Spiritual. Although the EP featured tracks up to two years old, it exemplified the then-current wave of trip-hop, and merited a full-length release for Rootless. Accordingly, Rotten Wood for Smoking Bees appeared in 1995. ~ John Bush