Interview: Chase & Status > <

 

The term 'It's cool to be British' has never been more appropriate. The likes of Jay Sean, Mr Hudson and Estelle have all been embraced by America's top stars recently. Nevertheless, a phone call from R&B star Rihanna would be out the blue for anyone except Chris Brown's lawyers. So, when the life changing call came for London DJ/producer duo Chase & Status it elevated them from underground stars to internationally recognised artists.

Since then the offers, critical acclaim and sales have been as big as their basslines. Chase & Status  latest single, 'End Credits', has seen them reach their highest chart position ever - going straight in at number nine. They're so busy, in fact, that they're turning down artists every other day. One half of the team, Will Kennard, AKA Status - Chase is also known as Saul Milton - still managed to make time for a quick chat with Rivmixx, because that's just how we roll.

Chase & Status, 'End Credits':

Rivmixx: Hello Status. So the main thing everyone wants to know is how did your work with Rihanna come about?

Status: "She got hold of some of our music and really fell in love with our 'Saxon' [dirty dubstep] track. Then she got hold of our number through her management and literally just called us up and said, 'Hi, this is Rihanna, I love your music and I want you to do some work on my new album'. The next thing you know she is in London with her whole entourage and in a studio with us. It just came out of nowhere."

R: What has it been like working with such a huge artist?

S: "It has been amazing working with her, she is an incredible artist and a really cool person too. The first days were pretty nervy because she is so famous but we ended up just having a really fun time in the studios. People like Jay-Z, Drake, Beyonce and Pharrell Williams came down too. At one point we were in the studio with all of them, which was really surreal."

R: Snoop Dogg also used one of your beats, 'Eastern Jam', for a track entitled 'Millionaire'. How did that come about and what was it like hearing Snoop on your track?

S: "We got a message on MySpace from Snoop saying he loved the track and he wanted to use it. We thought it was a joke at first. We found out it was real when his manager called us. So we sent them the beat, they touched it up a bit and two days later they sent us a version with Snoop on it. It just blew us away. He is possibly the most iconic name in rap."

R: 'Eastern Jam' was a huge underground hit, even before Snoop Dogg was on it. How did you put the track together?

S: "The track came from a sample from a song from the famous Bollywood film Dev Das. We had that and were like, 'Wow, this sample is really good, let's come up with something special for it'. We had like eight different versions of it but finally finished one at like 2am on a Friday night. We were still not sure if it worked though. We were doing a gig in central London one night, it was a drum 'n' bass night and within half an hour of our set we just played it. The place just went absolutely crazy and that was the best feeling ever."

R: Your beats have been used for some of the biggest names in the industry now, including Rihanna and Snoop Dogg. Will you guys stick to producing now or keep DJing too?

S: "We will do both because I think they go hand in hand. Also, the live gigs are going so well. We have just finished our first UK tour, which has been incredible - all 35 dates around the country sold out. Being in the clubs is being at the root of it; you get to see the reaction to your music. We are just lucky to be able to DJ and at the same time we are getting to just make music for other people we really respect without worrying about marketing. We have the best of both worlds right now."

R: What other big name collaborations can we look forward to?

S: "Drake, who we met through Rihanna, said he wanted us to come over to NY to do some work for his next album. He is about to blow up and be the next big thing. We got on so well with him. So it does look like it will happen and that is something we are very excited about."

R: One of the tracks you did for Rihanna's new album has already been leaked onto the internet ('The Wait Is Ova'). What is your opinion of illegally downloading music?

S: "It is annoying when you spend a lot of time working hard to create music and people don't want to spend 80p on downloading it. Leaking is just part of the industry now though. It is free advertising. Sometimes I wonder if tracks are leaked on purpose for the publicity and exposure. Ultimately I would wish no music could be downloaded illegally but that is the world we live in so we just get on with it."

R: Until now, your music has had more critical appreciation than commercial success - how does that make you feel?

S: "To us, it is just about making music. If enough people like a song then it can be called commercial but to us it just means you wrote a really good song. That is what we aim to do - make good tracks and work with artists we like, trying to make a better track each time. If it becomes commercial then it becomes commercial. For example, look at 'End Credits', if someone said write a song to get into the charts you probably wouldn't write a track like that, I mean it doesn't even have a proper chorus yet the mainstream have taken to it."

R: What can we expect from Chase & Status in the future?

S: "We are working on the new album, we have a lot of collaborations and ideas in the pipeline so we just need to get on with doing it. The album will definitely be out in the first half of next year so it is just about being head down in the studios now."

Written by: Jasveer Singh Gill

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