Album Review: Chase & Status – Tribe
2 min read
Chase & Status are the London based drum & bass duo of Will Kennard and Saul Milton who make up the core, with additional members MC Rage and Andy Gangadeen joining in for live shows. In the nine years since their first studio album release, they have proved themselves to be big players in the drum & bass, grime and dub scene earning the following certifications on their previous albums; More Than Alot (2008)- gold; No More Idols (2011)- 2x platinum; Brand New Machine (2013)- silver. In 2017, Chase & Status release their fourth studio album, Tribe. This album could be divided into two main themes or branches; the first is a more groove based one that infuses reggae, R&B and soul, and the second is a more angsty take of grime, hip hop and darker electronica.
If you’re a skeptic of drum & bass or new to the genre, Chase & Status’s more groove based tracks are the best place to start. They engage with a host of well known vocalists who bring a whole lot of heart and soul into a style of music that can easily be perceived as inhospitable. The powerful album opener Big Man Skank which features the Jamaican artist Mr Vegas sets up a strong reggae feel and then moves into a drum & bass style. Emeli Sandé lends her talent to the track Love Me More in which she delivers a strong vocal set to counter balance the underlying electronica. All Goes Wrong featuring Tom Brennan presents an emotive combination of of soulful vocals and frantic drum & bass energy. Although there are a number of tracks that attract a more ‘mainstream’ audience, for those hardcore drum & bass and grime fans, tracks like Control featuring Slaves, Dubplate Original featuring Kano, Know About We featuring Deepee, Littlez, Knine, Sleeks, Inch & Swift and Nervous featuring Rage pack a wallop.
Chase & Status’s latest studio album, Tribe, balances appeal for mainstream and niche fans of drum & bass music. In the seventeen tracks that make up this extensive collection, the duo demonstrate their range in producing tight tracks in style of reggae, R&B, hip hop, trap, Hi-NRG and grime.
