In the ever shifting and tumultuous landscape that is the modern drum and bass world, producers and DJs rise, fall and stay fast. Yet in the past few years Chase and Status made more waves in such a short amount of time within the genre than most others, and after only four years in the business, have managed to produce music that is now to be found at the front of every Djs crate.
Their meteoric descent into the forefront of the drum and bass does, however, seem to contain almost a hint of a conscious decision on behalf of the duo. “We’ve DJed since we were about fifteen or sixteen, and for ten or eleven years we’ve been DJing in our bedrooms and at house parties, anywhere we could really,” Chase explains. “Then we kind of realised that unless you really put effort into it you wouldn’t make it just on DJ merit alone, so we decided to pack in university and quit all that, and got a studio in Manchester and just sat in there every day for ten to twelve hours and learnt how to work on tunes.”
In an oblique stepping stone, their first foray into the world of production did not begin at the genre that they are now world famous for, but instead lay at a slightly lower tempo. “In 2003 we had our first ever released which was a break-beat release, and then we had a release on bingo – number ten, and we started making breaks because we found it much much easier to make,” Chase remarks on their earlier works. “Drum and bass is actually a very difficult, technical music to make. It’s so fast, there’s not much space for other noises like reverbs and stuff, so we basically just learnt how to make beats and structure tunes. Looking back on that the other day we had a listen for a laugh .. they are alright, but… they are quite complicated, and rule number one of Dnb is to keep everything simple.”
One would think, as in other genres such as HipHop that with such a sudden rise in popularity that the pair may have suffered from a kind of “new kids on the block syndrome”, but this couldn’t be further form the truth. A prevalent scenario has arisen within the Dnb world of a more nurturing environment for new artists, and, instead of heavy competition on all sides, the support network by more established artists in well entrenched, and this is not a fact that is missed by Chase. “These days, people who used to be our idols and stuff are our friends,” he laughs. “Everyone’s been really, really supportive.”
Chase also acknowledges that the strength of their music comes from their remarkable partnership. As with other duos in the production world, the free flow of ideas and expression is an integral part to their success. “I don’t think we would be where we are now if we weren’t together,” Chase ruminates. “There’s loads of reasons why it works … you can get lost if you are on your own for eight hours a day working on a track. If you have a partner you can have another opinion, because you can get really lost. It’s easier with someone there to say yes or no or try something else.”
The friendship that the pair share is also somewhat of a load bearing mechanism by which they are able to stabilise themselves in an often tumultuous industry, and, having been together from the beginning of both their careers, they have grown into their art simultaneously. “We’ve been friends together for a long time, and we’ve learnt our business together,” Chase clarifies. “For example when we have to make decisions, someone will ask a question and ill be, well, no, I can’t mate as my partners not here so you get some time to make some decisions. Also, travelling around the world its much more entertaining for us to be with your closest friends with you, you could be in a country in Europe where no one speaks English and it can get a little lost in translation, so you can just go “oh, hello mate!”
The pairs undoubted biggest release beyond their seminal Duppy Man, a track that they wrote for Genna G, In Love, took even the pair by surprise. “When we made In Love, well, we thought it was a nice tune. We just didn’t play it. We were like, well, that’s the song for Gennas album. Then we started getting, “mate, everyone wants to play In Love” – and we’d hear it eight times in a night by eight different DJs and we kinda went .. ohh, right. Maybe we should play this tune?” Chase laughs. “So we got onto our own tune pretty late and its only now we are like, Jesus!”
Their current plans, however, revolve mostly around the construction of their forthcoming album, the release date, as well as the name of which, is yet to be determined at such an early stage of the planning process. “Well we are writing the album at the moment, which is the source of the pulsating head pains at the back of my head!” Chase laughs, his humour at the arduous task apparent. “The next thing that will be out will be coming out on Ram, which is called Hurt You, its an In Love-ish number with vocals and rolling beats … but the album is looking pretty exciting. We’re going to showcase music on the album that we love. We’re going to have a HipHop track and probably a reggae track and maybe some housey-breaks tunes.”
By doing this, and including other tracks, the pair are drawing from their earlier experiences, and injecting their other musical loves back into the all encompassing roadmap of their future. “We’re trying to open ourselves and open up the label to a new audience as well. The majority will be Dnb but its not a secret that we make lots of music and always have done. It’ll be something that we can cut dub plates from and play those in the clubs, but that you can also listen to it in the car. We are also trying to bring in artists and take them out of their comfort zone, something a bit difference. We definitely want it to be something you can put into your car and listen from track one to track twelve and go “yeah, that’s a good album! – not just an album of twelve banging Dnb dance-floor tunes, that’s cool in itself, but we really want to make something that’s timeless and are making a real effort to make it something special.”
By the time the album lands, Chase and Status will have already been and gone from our shores, and for the moment at least, their focus is on showcasing what has been, what is, and possibly a few glimpses of what may very well be to come.
“I am going to play all sorts,” Chase says, enthusiastically We did a mix on JJJ and we kept that kind of cool and rolling, obviously we’ll play quite a few of those tunes out in the club but a little differently. I’m going to play a load of new Ram stuff. We’ve got four or five of our new tunes that we’re testing out in clubs to see how they go down, as well as a few classics. Yeah, a lot of mixing, a lot of teething. Something to keep the energy up – people are there to party and dance, so that’s my intention basically! I’ve got Alex supporting me so he’ll play a nice cool set before me, and then I’ll step up, and do my thing really!”, and, if their music, and previous tours have already proven, Chase and Status’s “thing” will almost certainly be an exceptional event to witness.
WHO: Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard(Status)
A.K.A: Loopdigga
SINCE: 2004
FROM: London, United Kingdom
HANGS WITH: Andy C, Alix Perez, Pendulum, Zinc, Friction, Mampi Swift
DID YOU KNOW?
- Their first DnB release was on Renegade Hardware
- they are big fans of 80s music and Stevie Wonder
- they produce Breakbeat tracks under the Loopdigga alias
- have known each other for ten years, and used to go raving together at gigs such as Telepathy and One Nation
- They won last years “Best Tune” for In Love at last years 1XTRA D&B Awards
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
NOTABLE TRACKS:
Duppy Man Chase and Status (BreakBeat Kaos, 2005)
In Love Ft. Jenna G Chase and Status (Bingo Beats, 2006)
Dumplin Riddim Chase and Status (Ram Recordings, 2007)
NOTABLE MIX COMPILATIONS:
Bingo Sessions Volume 3 – Chase and Status (Triple J, 2006)
Triple J Mixup – Chase and Status (Triple J, 2007)
NOTABLE REMIXES:
Everyday Shy FX (Digital Soundbwoy, 2006)
No Good Plan B (679, 2007)
Sirens Dizzee Rascal (XL Recordings, 2007)
