Chase and Status

How many artists / producers can count Jay Z, Snoop Dogg and Pharell as fans as well as drum and bass’ finest Andy C, Hype and Pendulum; enjoy heavy rotation in the hands of dub-step royalty such as N-Type and Skream; and have each release enthusiastically supported by Annie Mac and Zane Lowe? This is what Saul Milton and Will Kennard, producing under the name Chase & Status, have achieved in 5 years, and the highlight of their young career so far has been their debut LP ‘More Than Alot’ which has helped turned them into a unique urban phenomenon, and the biggest crossover act to come out of the underground since Pendulum.

They met at Manchester University through their mutual love of drum and bass in the mid nineties and have DJ’d ever since, waiting until 2004 for their first production, a remix for Future Cut (better known these days for their production work with Lily Allen). It was followed by a series of drum and bass anthems for the biggest underground labels including ‘Duppy Man’ for Breakbeat Kaos (home of Pendulum’s platinum selling debut album) in 2005 and ‘The Druids’ EP for DJ Zinc’s trendsetting Bingo label a year later. Their production work for Jenna G’s ‘In Love’ the same year earned them their first award, ‘Best Single’, as voted by over 40,000 listeners for the BBC 1Xtra Drum & Bass Awards.

Despite a high volume of releases on Ram Records and constant DJ work, Chase & Status managed to mastermind and release their debut album last year. Packed with the kind of drum and bass anthems that helped build their reputation, it also features tracks which show the diversity of their work: such as ‘Pieces’ featuring Plan B and the Radio 1 A-List single ‘Against All Odds’ featuring Kano. The result of the album is a thrilling journey through the UK urban scene and deserves its great title: ‘More Than Alot’. One track from the album ‘Eastern Jam’ was recently spotted by Snoop Dogg and newly released in April 2009 as ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’.

Chase & Status have recently been hailed as ‘The most exciting producers in the UK today’ by Pharell Williams of N*E*R*D fame, and the excitement around the pair doesn’t stop there. They have been asked to remix tracks by some of the world’s hottest artists including recent remixes of Jay Z’s ‘Death Of Auto-Tune’, The Prodigy’s ‘Invaders Must Die’ and White Lies ‘Death’.

Since signing a major publishing deal with Universal Publishing in May 2009 and working closely with Roc Nation, the duo have been involved in some fantastic productions, most significantly with Rihanna who has been quoted as calling the pair ‘the backbone’ of her new record.

If keeping themselves busy in the studio with multi-platinum artists and DJ commitments all around the World wasn’t enough, they have also booked in a 29 date live tour of the UK and Europe for the end of 2009. This will be their first ever live tour following on from the success of their ground breaking debut performances at the 2009 BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend and Relentless’ Nass Festival. Their new set up includes the amazing Andy Gangadeen on drums and appearances from vocalists including Plan B, Kano and Yolanda who all feature on ‘More Than Alot’. “The best new producers finally make it out of the studio. It will be worth it.” (Zane Lowe)

Looking forward to 2010, Chase & Status have signed a major record deal with Vertigo on Mercury Records and have already started working on new material for their second album, the first fruits of which entitled ‘End Credits’ feat. Plan B will appear on the up and coming film ‘Harry Brown’ featuring Sir Michael Caine.