How many artists / producers can count Jay Z, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell 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 turn them into a unique urban phenomenon, and become 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 DJing, Chase & Status managed to mastermind and release their debut album in 2008. Packed with the kind of drum and bass anthems that have 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 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 even spotted by Snoop Dogg who newly released it in April 2009 as ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’.

Chase & Status have been hailed as ‘The most exciting producers in the UK today’ by Pharrell Williams of N*E*R*D fame, and the excitement around the pair doesn’t stop there. They have remixed tracks by some of the world’s hottest artists including 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 ‘Rated R’.

If keeping themselves busy in the studio with multi-platinum artists and DJ commitments all around the world wasn’t enough, Chase & Status have completed 2 massive live tours of the UK and Europe in the last 12 months. Their first ever Live tour in 2009 came off the back of ground breaking debut performances at the 2009 BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend and Relentless’ Nass Festival. Their live set up includes the amazing Andy Gangadeen on drums and appearances from vocalists including Plan B and Kano who both feature on ‘More Than Alot’ and, on their most recent tour, rising star Delilah who has also been working in the studio with the guys. “The best new producers finally make it out of the studio. It will be worth it.” (Zane Lowe)

2009 also saw Chase & Status sign a major record deal with Vertigo / Mercury Records and smash into the Top 10 with single ‘End Credits’ feat. Plan B, which featured in the film ‘Harry Brown’ starring Michael Caine. 2010 has seen Chase & Status remain just as busy, spending a summer smashing up the European festival circuit, for which they received numerous award nominations, and in August, they released ‘Let You Go’ Feat. Mali which undoubtedly became the summer anthem of 2010. The newest accolade to add to Chase & Status’s growing list is the Q 2010 Award for Best Video for ‘End Credits’ Feat. Plan B.

At the end of January 2011, Chase & Status released their next single ‘Blind Faith’ feat. Liam Bailey which entered the UK singles chart at No. 4 and formed the bands’ highest charting single to date. One week later, the hotly anticipated second studio album ‘No More Idols’ was released flying straight into the No.2 spot on the UK Album Chart second only to Adele’s worldwide smash ‘21’. ‘No More Idols’ sees Chase & Status move from the punk-like riffs of ‘Fire In Your Eyes’ featuring hotly tipped vocalist Maverick Sabre to the hip-hop beats of ‘Hitz’ featuring Tinie Tempah. The album sees the duo team up with some of the hottest names in music such as Dizzee Rascal, Plan B, White Lies and Cee Lo Green who is the only non-British artist to feature on the album. Chase & Status continue to keep the solidly British flare of the album alive through working with up and coming UK talent including Liam Bailey, Delilah and Clare Maguire to name but a few. Spring 2011 will see the release of the single ‘Time’ which features the vocal talent of Delilah whilst the band hit the road again for a sold out UK tour, tour of Europe and their debut US tour all before starting the Summer’s run of festivals.