Chase and Status

With one full-length album under their belts along with a string of acclaimed remixes and praise from the likes of Snoop, Jay Z, Andy C and Pharrell, production duo Chase & Status couldn’t have had a more formidable rise from their roots from the underground urban scene in Manchester. I caught up with Saul for a brief chat amidst busy preparations for their upcoming tour, for a rundown on their plans for the upcoming festival season and some hints about their new releases…

You guys have been on tour recently, how did it go?

Well, we’re back off tour and just back in the studio prepping for the festivals we’ve got coming up, finishing off the new single and doing more of the album. The tour has been fantastic – it’s been a real eye-opener and emotional to see how many people have come out to see us.

When are you guys releasing the new single and what can we expect?

The official release date is August 16^th, but you can pre-order it on the Sunday before. It’s a new song featuring a new singer called Mali, a 17 year old kid who’s a real talent. It’s a different style to some of our previous stuff but we always like to do something different for the singles. We’re really looking forward to unleashing it this summer at all the festivals.

So when is the album coming out? Should festival-goers be looking forward to some new material?

We’re hoping to release it early November. At the minute we’re playing a new drum n’ bass track called ‘No Problem’, a new track featuring Tempa T called ‘The Hype is Hype’, a new track with a great artist Delilah called ‘Time’ and of course the new single ‘Let Me Go’ featuring Mali.

I have to ask but just fill me in on how did you guys meet and start producing together?

Oh, that old question.. well, basically we just met through mutual friends, someone told me about this guy called Will, that he’s pretty cool, we can mix round his house and smoke in the bedroom. So yeah, turned up with a Tesco bag full of vinyl and soon we were both in Manchester producing together.

You guys started off in the with bedroom mixing, what are your thoughts on bedroom producers and do you have any advice for those looking to release their material?

We’ve never been bedroom producers really. The first thing we did in Manchester was to get a studio in the centre of town, which for us was a really big deal. Obviously there are a few things that we write in our bedrooms or at home, but most of the tracks have been written in the studio. It’s a great way to work, getting out and going somewhere to make music rather than sitting down at the end of your bed, wearing what you’ve slept in, writing tracks all day. It can get a bit stir crazy and mad. But, anyone in that same situation that has started to write music now, be it in the bedroom or studio, my advice is to get rid of your friends, forget about your girlfriend and forget your social life and just concentrate on learning how to write music. First impressions really count – before you start sending your music out make sure it’s something you’re really happy with. Never compromise on the music. You should always be 100% happy with it. There’s nothing worse than sending out a tune and thinking it sounds a bit shit. You’ve got to be happy with it and proud of it otherwise the people who receive it will get that kind of vibe of it and might not want to hear your stuff again. So, first impressions count.

So when you’re in the studio how do you share the production and songwriting between the two of you?

It’s pretty much 50/50 basically on pretty much everything. When it comes down to the final stage of mixing I’ll let will get down to the fine tuning of the snares and kicks and if I don’t come in and say ‘it sounds great’ he’ll be there for 6 years mixing down a snare. So, we’ve got a good thing going. Creatively, we’re both really creative. We start a lot of the tracks individually, then bring them together to finish them. Will plays more keys, I play more guitar. We both deal with the synths. So yeah, it’s a really even split between the two of us which I think works well, from the production to the business side of things.

It’s festival season, and you’re kicked off Glastonbury… what are your tour bus essentials?

Tour bus essentials… actually having a nice tour bus which makes a massive difference. The last tour bus we had had memory foam mattresses, which was a REAL plus. When you’re trying to have a nice nap on a tour bus you need a nice mattress. Other essentials – acoustic guitar, iPhone, plenty of stuff to watch, a nice book. Always have to have the fridge stocked up with nice cold drinks, anything from orange juice to alcohol. It’s good to wind down with a few drinks each night obviously.

I take it you’ll be taking lots of records too, what are you listening to at the moment? Any ones to watch for 2010?

There’s loads of great stuff out at the moment. There’s this act called Nero, they are going to be absolutely massive. Ones to watch, without a shadow of a doubt, other guys called 16bit, great great guys, fantastic talent and really good to watch. Obviously you’ve got sub focus dong his thing and absolutely destroying it. On the flipside you’ve got great people like Booka Shade, who’ve got another great album I’ve been listening to recently and an American band called The Black Keys who’ve released their 7^th album which is out of this world.

Interview by Julian von Nehammer

Chase and Status play the Relentless NASS festival – 9th-11^th July.

http://www.relentlessnass.com