Chase & Status have always been open about their dedication to jungle.
A true London sound, it's what first fired the production team, with that sense of low-end weight and kinetic percussive energy running through everything they've achieved together.
Recently hosting a special pop up exhibit in London store Selfridges focussing on the fashion and culture that surrounds jungle, Chase & Status are now ready to unveil their next musical endeavour.
'RTRN II JUNGLE' is – as the title suggests – imbued with that rave energy, with Chase & Status even going straight to the source by flying out to Jamaica to work with some dancehall royalty.
New track 'Retreat' has literally just gone live, and those rolling drumbreaks collide with dancehall energy to supply some serious soundsystem heat.
Cutty Ranks makes a guest appearance, and it's absolute fire from the off, a sign that Chase & Status won't be holding back on 'RTRN II JUNGLE'.
Tune in below, then catch a short Q&A with Chase & Status' Saul Milton after the jump…
Jungle has always been a key influence, what is it that keeps you coming back to that sound?
Jungle is and always has been our constant. It’s what we fell in love with, what made us want to be DJ’s and producers. It’s not just the music, it’s our culture.
What producers do you most admire from jungle? Any newgen producers catching your eye?
Ah there’s far too many names to mention and we’d definitely get in trouble for missing people out but Dillinja of course is one of the all time greats and there’s lots of great new talent like Benny L, Serum, King Of The Rollers etc.
You flew out to Jamaica to work on new material, how was this? Can you tell us a few stories about the recording process?
It was an incredible experience in Kingston. We were based in the legendary Big Yard Studios and we were in with legends and stars of the future. In one day alone we had Suku, Agent Sasco, Masika, and Bugle all voicing riddims. We went to Jamaica to make our own samples to use for 'RTRN II JUNGLE' and have basically written a dancehall album which we will mostly turn into jungle. We went to the source and created our own samples. We met Bounty Killa at Stone Love’s night which was pretty surreal and being across the room whilst the legend Burro Banton was voicing was also something we’ll never forget.
What first spurred 'Retreat'? What were you aiming for?
2am at The End or 2am at Bagleys with the lights down low – that’s the vibe we were after. This whole project is about making Jungle but not in a nostalgic way but for now – for 2018. Classic jungle with a 2018 feel and production. ‘Retreat’ encompasses exactly that & we’ve given it out to all the scene and have let it live on dub for a while with great results. Dubplate culture is very important to us & our scene was built on it.
Cutty Ranks takes a starring role, how was he to work with?
We actually worked with Cutty in 2013 on ‘International’ for our third album ‘Brand New Machine’. It’s always good linking Cutty, he’s a real character. He actually recorded the ‘Retreat’ vocals with us here in 2013 after we shot the ‘International’ video. They sat on our computer for a while and when the vibe was right they fell into place.
You launched an exhibition in Selfridges, how was this? Fashion from the jungle era feels incredibly relevant right now, why do you think this is?
My sense of style has always been inspired by Rudeboy culture which is intrinsically linked to the era where jungle reigned supreme. Back in the early 90’s when jungle began we were in a time of social distrust and economic downturn and in these climates great, revolutionary music is always made and fashion goes hand in hand.
We appropriated high end Italian fashion and took it to the roads, fast forward to 2018 and we’re in a very similar social and economic time and the youth are doing the same, they’ve appropriated our fashion from the 90’s and want to have those experiences. Street, style, and culture are one and the same.
Throughout this period I’ve (Saul) amassed a vintage Moschino Collection of 1500 + pieces. We did our first exhibition ‘Super Sharp’ exploring these themes at The London College of Fashion in January 2018 and we have Super Sharp Reloaded on at Selfridges right now with a pop up shop there too. It’s been a lot of work and very different to making music or performing but it fits in well with our rhetoric and is something we’re passionate about.
– – –
Join us on Vero, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak peeks and a true view into our world as the fun and games unfold.
