Chase & Status - No More Idols (First Impressions)

At the end of last month, Chase & Status released their latest album, No More Idols. Yesterday I bought the album, and here are my first impressions.

As expected, it's quite a diverse album, taking influences from dubstep, drum and bass and hip-hop to name a few. The album features the cream of British talent, with Tempa T, Tinie Tempah, Plan B, Dizzee Rascal and Liam Bailey all contributing their vocals to this album.

The main problem I have with this album is that I have already heard (and in some cases own) a lot of the tracklist. Hypest Hype was a free download at the end of last year, End Credits was the soundtrack to Harry Brown (which I promptly grabbed from iTunes), Let You Go was released as a single last summer, and Blind Faith has been played so much on the radio.

If I gave my views on those tracks they would be dated, and in some cases I have already reviewed them. So, I shall take a look at some of my favourite tracks from the album that I hadn't already heard.

The second track on the album, Fire In Your Eyes is one of my top tracks upon the first listen. The guitars remind me of Distance, or even Pendulum. If truth be told I've been neglecting dubstep lately, but a track like this is enough to get me back on track.



Flashing Lights is the next track I will talk about. This has a liquid feel that I've always loved from Chase and Status, a catchy sample with a clean beat - I really cannot get enough of this kind of music.




Finally, Fool Yourself. This track features Plan B, who has just blown up this year, he's now a household name and for good reason. His latest album The Defamation of Strickland Banks is fantastic, and showed a whole new side to his talents. When I first heard Fool Yourself I wasn't too sure, I really like the start, but I wasn't expecting the track to develop the way in which it does. I have picked this as a favourite though as I can see it growing on me in the same way that End Credits and Pieces.






These are my first impressions, and I'm sure my opinions will develop as I listen to the album more, so I will write a full album review in a few weeks.

Chase & Status - No More Idols Tracklist Announced

Chase & Status have announced the tracklist for their forthcoming album No More Idols.

1.    No Problem 

2.    Fire In Your Eyes (Ft Maverick Sabre)

3.    Let You Go (ft Mali)

4.    Blind Faith (ft Liam Bailey)

5.    Fool Yourself (ft Plan B & Rage)

6.    Hypest Hype (ft Tempa T)

7.    Hitz (ft Tinie Tempah)

8.    Heavy (vs Dizzee Rascal)

9.    Brixton Briefcase (ft CeeLo Green)

10.    Hocus Pocus

11.    Flashing Lights (ft Sub Focus & Takura)

12.    Embrace (ft White Lies)

13.    Time (ft Delilah)

14.    Midnight Caller (ft Clare Maguire)

15.    End Credits (ft Plan B)

As you can see, there are some big names set to collaborate with Chase & Status, as well as including some tracks we've come to love already since their last album, More Than A Lot. You can pre-order the album now from HMV and Play.com.

Source:
Chase & Status : Official Website : News

Chase & Status - Blind Faith Ft. Liam Bailey (Trolley Snatcha Remix)

Saturday 11th December saw the 12 hour dubstep takeover on Radio 1. This was a huge event for dubstep with teams from all over the country sharing the latest in all that is dubstep.

One of the main things to come out from the takeover was Trolley Snatcha's remix of Blind Faith; one of the biggest tracks we can look forward to in 2011 from Chase & Status. The original is highly anticipated enough, but there are some brilliant artists working on the remixes.

Now, when I first heard Trolley Snatcha's version, I wasn't a fan and I sent this tweet. I absolutely love the original, so hearing a different version didn't feel quite right for me. However, I've given it a few listens since then and I am absolutely loving it. The bass is a lot more hard hitting than the original, and although at first I felt it wasn't as melodic, after a few listens I think it really does work.



This will be released with the Blind Faith iTunes bundle January 24th.

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Chase & Status 'Blind Faith' feat. Liam Bailey Official Video

I was very excited when I first blogged Blind Faith - Chase & Status' new track featuring Liam Bailey (above).

Well now I'm just as excited as I was then, because the official video is now up on YouTube!

It's made to look like an amateur video, as it's telling a story. It depicts a warehouse rave, these were very big in the 90's, attracting a lot of attention from police. Now, the scene has changed. Raves take place in licensed clubs, and true warehouse raves are kept very quiet.

I like the video, I wasn't quite expecting a video like this to accompany this track but it really works. I love the shots of people dancing and going crazy because of the music, I've been to a few gigs where I've felt like they do. The video features both Chase & Status, and Liam Bailey, as if they were performing at the rave. Playing at warehouse raves has traditionally been a great way for DJ's to get noticed, most notably The Prodigy.

Now, to the track. I did a review after I first heard it on Radio 1, but I do like to give tracks a few weeks to really sink in. I thought the track was huge when I first heard it, I now think it is even better. It's out January 24th, so we can expect 2011 to go off with a huge bang for Chase & Status. The album No More Idols is also being released in January and it is a must have for any reader of this blog.

Chase & Status' last album, More Than A lot is still one of my favourite albums. It had so much diversity, and I could happily listen to any track - This is quite rare, especially for such a diverse album. Since that album, they have released some great singles, collaborating with brilliant up and coming artists.

The Blind Faith digital iTunes bundle will of course come with remixes. We can look forward to remixes from MJ Cole, Trolley Snatcha, and Loadstar, as well as the full 10 minute director's cut of the official video!

Useful Links

Chase & Status Official Website

Chase & Status MySpace

Chase & Status Twitter

Liam Bailey Official Website

Liam Bailey YouTube

Liam Bailey Twitter

Chase & Status - No More Idols UK Tour 2011

I recently posted both live and radio ripped versions of Blind Faith, Chase & Status' new single featuring Liam Bailey. This is due to feature on next year's new album, No More Idols - released 31st January.

To promote this album, Chase & Status have announced a UK tour that will start in March 2011. Tickets for this tour are going on sale this Friday, 3rd December. However, you can jump the queue by accessing the 24 hour pre-sale that starts 9am Thursday here.

Chase & Status - Blind Faith (feat. Liam Bailey)

As promised, there is a studio version (radio rip) of Blind Faith, Chase & Status' brand new track featuring Liam Bailey that had an exclusive play last night on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show.

This is taken from the new album No More Idols, which we can expect to drop in January next year.

My full review of the track is here.

Chase & Status - Blind Faith (feat. Liam Bailey) (Live)

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Just heard the exclusive first play on Radio 1. Chase & Status have come out with Blind Faith, featuring vocals from Liam Bailey.

At present, the only version I can link to is a live version that was uploaded 3 weeks ago, but I am certain a studio version will hit the internet extremely soon, and I will make sure that it makes its way here.

The track itself is huge, it's at a dubstep pace and Liam Bailey's vocals work so well over the top. It sounds like something you'd hear in a movie sequence, and just suggests something epic. I'm a big fan of this "ballad" like music, that just exceeds emotion.

The exclusive play was on Zane Lowe's show, and he was able to talk to Chase & Status after the exclusive play. They confirmed that the album No More Idols is finished, and will be out January 2011. This is great news as I'm expecting the album to be out of this world. More Than A lot, their previous album, was so diverse and there were some real anthems on there.

Since then, they've brought out some amazing tracks, working with Plan B, Tempa T, and Mali to name a few. No More Idols is definitely going to be packed full of heavy hits, and Blind Faith is just a taste of what we can hope to expect from the January release.

EDIT: The studio version is available to listen to here.

Chase and Status - 'Hypest Hype' Feat. Tempa T

Massive banger available for *free* download tomorrow 8th November from the Chase & Status website.

Tempa T and Chase & Status collaborated for Radio One's Big Weekend over the summer and performed a jumped up version of Next Hype, Tempa T's iconic track, that gets quoted everywhere I go!

So, coming to the conclusion that it's a match made in heaven, they have collaborated once again to bring Hypest Hype to our ears, and I am loving it! Chase & Status show their versatility once again, delivering this track with a catchy hook, and Tempa T giving his signature aggressive lyrics that we've all grown so fond of.

The video showcases footage from the festivals over the summer, and the whole crew look to be having a great time performing.

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