Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been a big fan of Chase & Status since 2009 when they released their single with Plan B ‘End Credits;’ this is still to this day my favourite song of theirs. Chase and Status, is a cultural movement – inspired by British music and fashion of the golden years of Jungle music from the mid-late 90’s. My mum (founder) was around when jungle and dnb burst onto the scene, so I am heavily influenced by her. I’ve kept up with all their releases since then. I was lucky enough to get to review their album ‘Brand New Machine‘ for Musos Guide back in 2013 and also got to see them live as well which was phenomenal (I lost my voice and ended up with tonsillitis and pneumonia for weeks after but it was so worth it). This album first introduced me to liquid dnb and I’ve never looked back since. I love their diversity which was demonstrated when they released the ‘London Bars‘ EP which had collabs with some of my favourite grime artists.
Ragged CULT also were given the opportunity to go and listen to Saul’s talk at London College of Fashion about their ‘Super Sharp‘ exhibition that was showing there in their Fashion Space Gallery. This was by far one of the best exhibitions I’ve been to and it was interesting to see all of his archived designer pieces as well as testimonials and soundscapes from people – past and present – in the garage and jungle scene. They’ve recently had ‘Super Sharp Reloaded‘ installation at Selfridges in collaboration with the sickest shop around at the moment, Wavey Garms.
Prior to the exhibition, Chase & Status revealed that 2018 marks their 15 year anniversary and that they were in fact going to RTRN II Jungle, quite literally. They gave everyone at Notting Hill Carnival a glimpse of what was to come by debuting their singles ‘Retreat2018‘ featuring Cutty Ranks and ‘Heater‘ featuring General Levy on the Rinse FM stage. They surprised everyone by filming their video for Heater right there and then! Check out the video for their single featuring General Levy shot at Notting Hill Carnival https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=8OKdtLlwJjs
With this land-mark moment in mind, Chase and Status have gone back to their roots and their passion – Jungle music. The genre that sculpted their career in the 90’s is back, and will be re-crafted in an authentic way. Instead of sampling Dancehall, the group have gone back to Jamaica – creating their own new music to sample, and forging an organic and irresistible sound. They’re doing a UK tour which Jords and myself are so excited for (shoutout Wired PR for sorting us out). RTRN II Jungle will be out in 2019!
Grab your tickets here: https://chaseandstatus.co.uk/home/
