Thrill of the Chase

As in-your-face British as a bulldog mastiff wearing a Union Jack rosette, Saul Milton and Will Kennard have come a long way for a pair of Fred Perry-clad geezers from the East End. As Chase And Status, this electro production duo’s roll-call of accomplishments include masterminding Rihanna’s 2009 grime re-boot, furnishing songs for Snoop Dogg and, most impressively perhaps, wresting dubstep out of the grip of the underground purists and bringing it, Prodigy-style, to the mainstream. Above all, though, they see themselves as unapologetic champions of UK music – hence their patriotic choice of guest vocalists for their top ten LP No More Idols. “We are anglophiles, straight up, says Kennard (AKA Status). “The record is about UK talent. We want to showcase what’s up and coming in Britain, to prove that we don’t need to look to America for any kudos or stature.”

This isn’t simply the usual ‘Best of Bwitish’ blather from a pair of Home Counties reactionaries. Stuffed with zinging cameos, No More Idols flutters a banner for everything that is exciting and forward looking about UK, or at least English, music at the moment. There are appearances from wispy Brum belter Clare Maguire, White Lies’ Harry McVeigh and grime father figure Dizzee Rascal. The only non-Brit is Cee-Lo Green – and even he buys into the underlying philosophy.
“He sent us a vocal that was very punky and anarchic, which was perfect for what we were looking to achieve. More to the point, he uses a lot of English slang and lingo. He talks about a ‘Brixton Briefcase’, which is a colloquialism for a ghetto blaster. It really fits with our British album.”
A smart chap, Kennard surely appreciates the irony that, when it came to their big break, Chase And Status had to look to the United States. Two years ago, Chase And Status were just another production duo hustling for remix gigs and studio work. Then Rihanna was introduced to their music. Out of the blue she called Kennard up, asking that he fly to New York to work on what would become her Rated R album. He didn’t have to think for long.
“If Rihanna’d had her way then whole thing would have been just her, Saul and me – and we would have made a really underground record together,” says Kennard. “She heard our song ‘Saxon’ and fell in love with it. She got my number and rang – she was like, ‘let’s do this, it’s deadly serious’. The next thing you know we were in the studio with her. She wanted to put some darkness into the album and we were fortunate that she asked us. She was one of the first pop stars to twig what was happening with dubstep. It was a very brave approach.”
Since then, Kennard’s BlackBerry hasn’t stopped buzzing. On the morning of our conversation he’s doing some preparation work for a major pop star (he can’t tell us who). There have also been hook-ups with up-and-coming Canadian rapper Drake and, er, Alexandra Burke. At one stage, it was even proposed that Chase And Status collaborate with Lady Gaga.
“She’s the epitome of a pop star, isn’t she,” he says. “She’s Madonna 2011. We wouldn’t say ‘no’ to working with her. In fact, it’s something that has been discussed. She is unbelievably charismatic. Some people might hate her music. The point is, she’s got real star charisma. She’s the biggest pop talent on the planet right now. She is Madonna for the kids nowadays – a real icon.”
They’ve also benefited from some enthusiastic cheerleading on the part of The Prodigy. In interviews, Liam Howlett won’t stop banging on about how fantastic Chase And Status are, going so far as to hail them as spiritual heirs to Essex’s lairiest. It turns out the love flows both ways.
“When people say we sound like The Prodigy, we take that as a massive compliment,” says Kennard. “When we were kids, they were our idols. They were our first big entry into this whole world of dance. Liam Howlett took rave to people who had never heard it before. We’ve supported them quite a bit. At their Warriors’ Dance event last year, they all stood side of stage watching us. And they came up afterwards and told us it was a massive highlight for them. The same happened with Dave Grohl after he shared a bill with Foo Fighters. When people you’ve worshipped since before you had hair on your chin pay you a compliment it’s a moment you want to hold onto forever.”
Growing up in the ‘90s, Kennard embraced every stripe of music. He was a heavily immersed in the UK dub and jungle scenes. At the same time, he wasn’t above cracking open a can of beer and singing along to ‘Wonderwall’. It is this healthy contradiction which, he feels, goes to the heart of what Chase And Status are about.
“I was smoking in the corners of clubs listening to jungle. At the same time, I was getting caught up in the Oasis era. And I was a big fan of bands like Bush. I loved grunge, I loved Wu-Tang. It’s important that you leave yourself open to being inspired by lots of different things. If people only listened to drum ‘n’ bass, then all drum ‘n’ bass would sound the same. When we’re writing we bring in bits of everything. There will be a bit of dubstep, a bit of funk and bit of house. If you aren’t forward-thinking, chances are your music won’t be that interesting.”
One Stateside hook-up that didn’t go quite as smoothly as anticipated involved Snoop Dogg, whose smash ‘Millionaire’ is a dressed-up cover version of the Chase And Status banger ‘Eastern Jam’. Initially, the pair were psyched to come to the attention of the Longbeach rap ledge. However, their ardour cooled somewhat when it became clear their contribution was to be minimal. Kennard and Milton considered loudly voicing their objections. In the end, though, they decided it was smarter to be discreet.
“They basically took our track and re-arranged it,” sighs Kennard. “One of the producers got a credit, which is really a bit of a joke. It got to the point where we said, ‘Right, we can insist that we work on it or we can just say fuck it, and get it out there’. I think we could have made it really special. As it is, it was really special and a real highlight of our career.”

No More Idols is out now. Chase And Status play Oxegen on the Sunday.