Brand New Machine (2013)

Brand New Machine is the third studio album by English drum and bass production duo Chase & Status. It was released on 7 October 2013 by MTA Records under exclusive license to Mercury Records. The album features vocal contributions from a new wave of British talent, including Louis M^ttrs, Moko, Jacob Banks and Elli Ingram, as well as contributions from Major Lazer, Nile Rodgers and rapper Pusha T. The duo toured the album with an arena tour beginning on 31 October 2013. They also headlined 1Xtra Live at the Bournemouth International Centre on the same day as the release of the album.

Background and release

The promotional single "Big Man" featuring Liam Bailey was released through online retailers on 16 October 2012, although a free download was offered through their official website. The song features as a bonus track on the American edition of the album. "Lost & Not Found", the lead single, was the first standard album track to be premiered almost a year after "Big Man". It was followed by "Count on Me", the album's second single. "Machine Gun" was uploaded to their SoundCloud and sent to radio stations in August 2013 as a precursor to the album. On 28 September, the duo appeared on MistaJam's BBC Radio 1Xtra show for a guest mix, in which they premiered several album tracks including "International" and "Gangsta Boogie". Will, better known as Status, appeared once again on MistaJam's show on 2 October 2013 to talk about the album track-by-track. Several more album tracks were premiered on the show: "Alive", "Breathing" and "Pressure". The following day, short previews of each standard edition album track were uploaded to Chase & Status' official YouTube channel.

Musical concept and songs

The duo created a Spotify playlist consisting of some songs that influenced the creation of the album. They cite Massive Attack, MJ Cole, Breach, Soul II Soul, Snap! and Nas among others as key influences for the album. You can hear the MJ Cole influence in "Blk & Blu", as well as the Nas influence in "Gangsta Boogie". Other tracks, such as "Breathing" and "Alive", are drum and bass songs, adopting their original style that helped the duo rise to fame. The duo were also influenced by Pusha T, who they managed to get to vocal their trap song "Machine Gun". The Major Lazer collaboration "Pressure" is a moombahton track, a genre that Diplo has brought to fame. The style is a new venture for Chase & Status.

Singles

"Lost & Not Found", featuring vocals from Brighton-based Louis M^ttrs, was released as the album's lead single on 24 June 2013. The track was initially released on Clubland 23 before its official single release, meaning the release date was brought forward by a week. A music video to accompany the release of "Lost & Not Found" was first released onto YouTube on 4 July 2013 at a total length of five minutes and eight seconds. "Count on Me", featuring vocals from British singer and songwriter Moko, was released as the album's second single on 29 September 2013. A two-and-a-half minute version of the song originally premiered back in July, before the full mix was premiered on 29 August 2013. The music video was released via the band's official website on 20 September 2013, originally through a JavaScript modification of Twitter. The track entered at number five on the UK Singles Chart on 6 October 2013. "Machine Gun", featuring vocals from Pusha T, premiered on 21 August 2013 as a promotional single. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 114 without independent release. However, it received frequent airplay on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Upon the album release, "International" charted at number 116 supported by sales of the Skrillex remix. "Alive", featuring vocals from Jacob Banks, was released as the album's third single on 15 December 2013. It was performed on Later... with Jools Holland on 8 November 2013. It managed to enter the UK Dance Chart at number 16 prior to independent release, later rising to number 26 in the UK Singles Chart. The song received a surge in popularity due to featuring in the FIFA 14 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 trailer. "Blk & Blu" was released as the album's fourth single on 16 March 2014. It peaked at number 52 on the UK Singles Chart. A video for "International" was released on 6 August, and a remix by Dimension was released for free download on the same day.

Other songs

"Big Man" was released as a promotional download on 16 October 2012, both for free and on retailers. The song managed to enter the UK Singles Chart at number 68 and features as a bonus track on the American release of the album.

"Gun Metal Grey" and "Like That" were both used as backing tracks in the pilot of the BBC three-part documentary Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia.

Personnel

• Chase & Status
• Saul Milton – producer
• Will Kennard – producer, mixing
• Additional musicians

Andy Gangadeen – drums (1, 2, 8, 10, 13)

Patrick "MC Rage" Williams – vocals (1)

Abigail Wyles – vocals (13)

Andre "Suku" Gray – vocals (5)

Andrew John "Andy C" Clarke – remixer (18)

Boris "Bo Saris" Titulaer – vocals, vocal production (12)