No More Idols

Chase & Status’ music makes the listeners forget all about peace

Saul ‘Chase’ Milton and Will ‘Status’ Kennard are two young talented producers from London comprising the brilliant electronic duo Chase & Status. Combining the most varied styles and directions in their compositions these guys create music which can impress club audience representatives as well as anyone who appreciates courageous music solutions and experimentation. Chase & Status debut album More Than A Lot was released in 2008 following the series of successful singles. Bright and sparkling the album justified the fans’ expectations and even exceeded them. Milton and Kennard are undoubtedly real style experts their albums being the best illustrations of their skills. Combining in one and the same cocktail drum’n’bass, dance music, indie-rock, hip-hop, R&B and trance these musicians make their listeners forget all about peace. The Englishmen’s sophomore effort No More Idols released early this year corresponds to the description to even a greater extent. Stylish, bold, delicious, this album makes it clear that Chase & Status intention to conquer at least the club world is quite serious. And the impressive list of collaborating guests will ultimately persuade you how true the fact is.

A whole constellation of renowned performers on No More Idols

The album No More Idols has turned out to be quite long lasting almost an hour and consisting of fifteen tracks each of which deserves attention. Vocal parts are performed by talented singers of Chase & Status, along with a whole constellation of performers whose names do not leave the UK chart. The album opens with the composition No Problem, on which drum’n’bass meets dance hall and ethnic beat, whereas Maverick Sabre refines a heavier trance song Fire In Your Eyes with his presence. Mali’s both strong and sensual voice makes the danceable number Let You Go special, it is the album’s second single and has all the chances to become one of the favorite club tracks with young people all over the world. The third single Blind Faith features Liam Bailey, the soul star from Nottingham, with a wonderful voice, and is definitely one of the record’s highlights. Recognizable vocals and rapping of another star, Plan B, can be heard on two tracks here. The first is the attractive drum’n’bass number Fool Yourself, on which the high notes in his voice are underlined by Rage’s brutal rapping, the second one is the album’s closer, the successful first single End Credits, one of the best pieces in Chase & Status repertoire. The heavy and very contagious composition Heavy is a nice surprise for Dizzee Rascal’s fans, it is a perfect track for the next Step Up movie, while those who follow Ceelo Green’s career will highly acclaim the composition Brixton Briefcase. The longest song on the album Embrace features White Lies and lasts almost five minutes; it is a mixture of R&B with psychedelic electronic, smart lyrics and an unusual melody. The female vocals appear closer to the end of the record, on the great drum’n’bass Time with the wonderful Delilah and a slow cosmic Midnight Caller, refined with Clare Maguire’s hypnotizing voice.

Flows of the colorful dance energy

The contemporary pop music world is to some extent producers’ battle field – the best beat discovery travel from one song to another, and the most inventive and bold prove to be the best. As for the electronic genre the freedom of beat choice and styles to mix can be quite a problem. It is necessary to be well aware of the audience’s expectations and find the best and the most effective combinations trying not to overdo oneself at the same time. It goes without saying that Chase & Status cope with these tasks brilliantly, and its second album serves the best proof of it. The arrangements of some tracks on No More Idols make one remember the best dance hits of the 1990s, those of the other’s refer us to the future or set the fashionable trends of the present days. You will be quite surprised while listening to the album that its tracks are so different from each other both in their mood and style, but each of them is undoubtedly filled with flows of the colorful dance energy. Perhaps some will find No More Idols too long but this factor can by no means be called its shortcoming. The main thing is that Chase & Status inspiration is not exhausted at this stage, and hopefully its following work will not make us wait long.