Clean Bandit: "Our music is danceable, melancholy and contrasty." Clean Bandit: “We want to work with Zemfira and the UmaTurman group Looking into the future

The night before, the Tsvetnoy department store hosted a concert by British electronic artists, this year's Grammy winners, whose work is closely connected with Russia. We caught them right before the first solo concert in Moscow and found out how they became popular so quickly

In 2013, Clean Bandit released the track Mozart's House, which was in 17th place inUK Singles Chart, in 2014 - the single Rather Be, which already took first place in the same chart. And in 2015, the composition was awarded the Grammy Award in the nomination« Best Dance Recording».

The history of the group in which the members gatheredString Quartet from Cambridge, began in 2009. Surprisingly, for some members of the team, an important period of life is connected with Moscow: Grace Chatto studiedplaying the cello at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, andJack Patterson - for the operator at VGIK. In short, it was from here that the name of the group came - “pure bandit”, the first video for the song was shot hereMozart’s House, and in general, the influence of Russia was very reflected in the work Clean bandit. In the group's compositions there are always strong vocal parts, violin and cello sound.What seemed unattainable to young musicians at first became real in 2015.

Last year you became one of the best musical groups in the world and received a Grammy. Were you ready for this?

Grace: At that time, our band was 7 years old and we dreamed of touring and traveling, but we certainly did not expect an award. Billions of people around the world listen to different music, thousands and thousands of songs - and suddenly we get a Grammy. Finding out about it was just crazy.

Jack: Yes, it was very strange to go to this for so many years.

I know that when you lived in Moscow, you were inspired by Russian house music coming from the tents.What inspires you now?

Grace: We often heard such music on Gorbushka, and we even liked it. Now we prefer variety: classical, rock, modern music. Still, of course, travel plays an important role. We were recently on a music tour in Japan and at the same time we decided to recreate our documentary, which was filmed many years ago while vacationing there. Especially since Jack himself directs all our clips and videos, and it was not so difficult.

What modern musicians do you like?

Jack: I listen to modern jazz, I like it when there are a lot of saxophones. I guess it's because every day I do pop music myself.

Grace: We love both Disclosure and James Blake. With Disclosure, we even performed together a few years ago. It's hard to say who else you like, because there are so many different artists around, playing in a variety of styles.

Have you thought about collaborations with other musicians?

Jack: In fact, each of our tracks is a collaboration with different artists. We would like to do a joint project with musicians from Asia. It would be cool.

Grace: We also do remixes, made tracks with Gorgon City, Jess Glenn, performed with Marina & The Diamonds.

When will the track with Marina & The Diamonds be released?

Grace: We don't know as long as we're recording the vocals. I would like to process the material as soon as possible, we have a lot of accumulated tracks, and we are trying to finish everything.

I know that Jack directs your videos. How do you work? Who is responsible for what?

Jack: Grace and I are producers.

Grace: Jack shoots all our videos, and his classmates from VGIK - Dasha Novitskaya and Anna Patarakina - help with editing and other technical things. They are operators with Jack.

Describe your music in a few words.

Jack: (Laughs.) In Russian? It's complicated! Dancing, funny, melancholy and a little contrasty.

What are your plans for the near future?

Jack: Release the next album, go on tour, complete all the records and finish producing them.

Where are you going after Moscow?

Grace: We're going on a tour of America for quite some time with Duran Duran, then Asia in December.

, Baroque pop , Classical electronic music

• Jack Patterson
• Luke Patterson
• Grace Chatto

• Milan Neil Amin-Smith
• Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka

Clean bandit is a British electro group formed in 2008. In 2010, this group released the track " Mozart "s House", which was ranked 17th in the UK Singles Chart. And in 2014 they released a new single " Rather Be", which reached 1st place in the same chart. In 2015, the composition was awarded Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.

musical style

Clean Bandit's music combines electronica and classical music to create deep house tracks.

Story

Formation and early career

Band members Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto and Milan Neil Amin-Smith met while studying at Jesus College, Cambridge University. By that time, Chatto was already creating a quartet with Amin-Smith. Chatto was dating Jack Patterson at the time and he decided to record her performances. Patterson began mixing her songs with electronic music, and presenting her the fruit of his labor, Chatto stated that she liked this idea. One of their friends, Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka, wrote lyrics for songs at that time, and together they created the track Mozart's House. And thus the idea came to them about creating a musical group. Name, Clean bandit, they took from the translation of the Russian phrase, which in English means “pure (in the sense of natural, real) bandit”, as her neighbor’s grandmother called her (from an interview on Megapolis FM). It is also worth noting that Chatto and Patterson lived in Russia for some time.

2012-14: debut album "New Eyes"

As of June 19, 2017, Voice UK 2012 finalist Kirsten Joy travels with Clean Bandit as the band's lead singer.

At the 2015 Coachella Festival, Clean Bandit performed "Disconnect" with Marina and The Diamonds. The track was released on June 23, 2017.

On October 16, 2017, Clean Bandit announced their new song "I Miss You" featuring American singer Julia Michaels. On the same day, the band announced their US tour, which will take place in March-April next year. The track "I Miss You" was released on October 27, 2017.

In early December 2017, the band announced that they were going to release a second album in the first months of 2018. They also revealed that all the songs they have released so far since their debut album will be on the new album.

From 2018 to the present: the release of the second album Clean Bandit

In early 2018, Clean Bandit performed at the 2018 Brit Awards Announcement Ceremony with their two latest hits, Symphony and I Miss You, performed by Kirsten Joy. In addition, the group was awarded two nominations for the same award: British Single of the Year And " British Video of the Year", both times nominated "Symphony".

Composition of the group

• Grace Chatto (2008 - present) - cello, percussion, vocals
• Jack Patterson (2008 - present) - bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, piano, sound effects, some brass instruments
• Luke Patterson (2008 - present) - drums, percussion, some wind instruments

Former members

• Neil Amin-Smith(2008-2016) - violin, keyboards, backing vocals
• Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka (Love Ssega)(2008-2010) - vocals

Concert members

• Nikki Kislin(2012-2013) - vocals
• Yasmine Shahmir(2012-2013) - vocals
• Florence Rawlings(2013-2016) - vocals
• Elizabeth Troy(2013-2016) - vocals
• Kirsten Joy
• Yasmine Green(2016 - present) - vocals
• Aaron Jones(2016 - present) - violin
• Patrick Greenberg(2010 - present) - bass guitar

Nominations and awards

Grace, it's no secret that you studied in Moscow. Were there good years?

(in Russian) Yes, I studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and lived in a hostel. And it was very interesting (laughs and switches to English). Living in a hostel was both strange and wonderful. Music was played 24 hours a day. As a result, I lived in Moscow for 2.5 years, met a bunch of wonderful musicians and still remember that amazing time with warmth.

So every time you return to us as an international star, a wave of nostalgia hits you?

Certainly! By the way, now I realized that you haven't been for a long time. Jack and I first came to Moscow about ten years ago. He studied at VGIK and worked at the Tretyakov Gallery: he organized exhibitions. We filmed our first video, "Mozart's House", in Moscow in that insanely hot summer of 2010, when everyone left the city due to smog. Many still do not recognize Moscow in the frame, the city looked so strange at that time .

And we can say that it was this clip that started our career. At that time, we already had some recordings posted on the network, but no one listened to them. And the clip suddenly shot, and our songs began to play on BBC radio. So we have very important memories associated with this clip.

I know that you are generally serious about filming clips. In the new video "I Miss You" you did a real fire show. How did you agree to this?

Initially, we did not plan to shoot anything like that in the video. But already on the set, Julia Michaels (whose voice sounds in the song - the author) said that she could twist the hoop. And I've always been attracted to circus tricks, and I thought it would be so cool to film Julia spinning a hoop while standing on a piano in the middle of the desert.

And when the shooting ended, I decided that I myself would like to show some trick. And after a couple of weeks in England, we finished filming the scene where I spin fireworks. In my teenage years, I often went to psychedelic raves, where I learned this. And I thought that I can easily remember everything. It wasn't there! In the first take, I fired a fireball straight at my head and burned a bunch of hair. A terrible turmoil immediately began, but I was not going to stop, and we still filmed the scene. And, in my opinion, it came out quite convincingly.

What other secret talents do you have? Or will you not reveal all the cards yet?

Oh, you can't say that right now. Here is Jack and Luke riding a skateboard. I think they need to demonstrate it in the video somehow.

I wouldn't call myself a singer. I like to sing, but against the background of powerful voices that usually sound on Clean Bandit records, my voice will sound like a whisper. Although that "my" song "Come Over" is still one of my favorites.

Is it true?! I don’t know anything about Russian hip-hop yet, can you tell me more? I have always adored Zemfira, it would be great to record something with her. And when we lived in Russia, Jack and I liked the UmaTurman band, do they still perform? They were very funny guys!

We will give them everything. For now, let's talk about the tour. You take on tour that gorgeous mirrored cello from the I Miss You video?

I seem to be taking. There's just one problem: it's all covered in mirror mosaic, which makes it insanely heavy. I don't know if you can take it on board the plane, to be honest.

Speaking of touring. How do you manage your health in general?

I started practicing Ashtanga yoga a couple of months ago. I like that it can be practiced anywhere: at the hotel, and even at the airport. And no gym is needed, the main thing is to remember the order of asanas. And it's good for both body and mind.

Officially a British group Clean bandit appeared in 2009, although its future members had known each other several years before the idea of ​​​​forming their group, being students of the University of Cambridge. The team consists of four: Jack And Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto And Milan Neil Amin-Smith. The latter two were already playing in their own string quartet, and at the time Chatto was meeting with Jack Patterson, who offered to record their performance. Later, the recording was processed, and everyone liked the result. This is how the band's own style emerged, mixing classical pieces (such as Shostakovich and Mozart) with electronica and house music.

The name of the group was not chosen by chance, albeit with humor. Patterson and Chatto lived in Russia for some time, where they met the phrase " complete jerk". Translating the phrase into English, they got " clean bandit”, which was chosen for the name. In 2010, the newly formed band released a single Mozart's House, which got into rotation on British radio and attracted attention to the musicians. The guys started releasing new singles, performing live a lot, collaborating with promising and already established vocalists.

After several mini-albums, the band released a full-fledged studio album New Eyes in 2014. The album cannot be called a super hit, but it took quite high places in the international charts and has already received gold certification in the UK. So the debut can be considered successful. At the moment, the song can be considered the most successful single of the group. Rather Be, which topped many European charts and brought the group Grammy for the best dance recording in 2015.

In the nomination "Best dance record".

musical style

Clean Bandit's music combines electronica and classical music to create deep house tracks.

Story

Formation and early career

Band members Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto and Milan Neil Amin-Smith met while studying at Jesus College, Cambridge University. By that time, Chatto was already creating a quartet with Amin-Smith. Chatto was dating Jack Patterson at the time and he decided to record her performances. Patterson began mixing her songs with electronic music, and presenting her the fruit of his labor, Chatto stated that she liked this idea. One of their friends, Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka, wrote lyrics for songs at that time, and together they created the track Mozart's House. And so the idea came to them about creating a musical group. Name, Clean bandit, they took from the translation of the Russian phrase, which in English means “pure (in the sense of natural, real) bandit”, as her neighbor’s grandmother called her (from an interview on Megapolis FM). It is also worth noting that Chatto and Patterson lived in Russia for some time.

2012-14: debut album "New Eyes"

First debut album New Eyes was released on May 12, 2014 by Warner Music UK and contains 13 tracks on the regular edition and 16 on the special edition.

2015-17: Departure of Neil Amin-Smith

On May 27, 2016, the band released their first single since March 2015 called "Tears". The song was performed by The X Factor 2015 winner Louise Johnson. This track is currently being considered as the lead single from the new album.

On October 19, 2016, violinist and pianist Neil Amin-Smith announced his departure on Facebook, and after that on Twitter. Two days later, Clean Bandit released a new song, "Rockabye", which featured singer Anne-Marie and rapper Sean Paul and was the first song not to feature Amin-Smith. "Rockabye" became their second number 1 hit in the UK.

On March 17, 2017, Clean Bandit presented a new song "Symphony", performed together with the Swedish singer Sarah Larsson.

As of June 19, 2017, Voice UK 2012 finalist Kirsten Joy travels with Clean Bandit as the band's lead singer.

At the 2017 Coachella Festival, Clean Bandit performed "Disconnect" with Marina and The Diamonds. The track was released on June 23, 2017.

On October 16, 2017, Clean Bandit announced their new song "I Miss You", featuring American singer Julia Michaels. On the same day, the band announced their US tour, which will take place in March-April next year. The track "I Miss You" was released on October 27, 2017.

In early December 2017, the band announced that they were going to release a second album in the first months of 2018. They also revealed that all the songs they have released so far since their debut album will be on the new album.

From 2018 to the present: the release of the second album Clean Bandit

In early 2018, Clean Bandit performed at the 2018 Brit Awards Announcement Ceremony with their two latest hits, Symphony and I Miss You, performed by Kirsten Joy. In addition, the group was awarded two nominations for the same award: " British Single of the Year And " British Video of the Year, nominated for "Symphony" both times.

Composition of the group

• Grace Chatto (2008 - present) - cello, percussion, vocals
• Jack Patterson (2008 - present) - bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, piano, sound effects, some brass instruments
• Luke Patterson (2008 - present) - drums, percussion, some wind instruments

Former members

• Neil Amin-Smith(2008-2016) - violin, keyboards, backing vocals
• Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka (Love Ssega)(2008-2010) - vocals

Concert members

• Nikki Kislin(2012-2013) - vocals
• Yasmine Shahmir(2012-2013) - vocals
• Florence Rawlings(2013-2016) - vocals
• Elizabeth Troy(2013-2016) - vocals
• Kirsten Joy
• Yasmine Green(2016 - present) - vocals
• Aaron Jones(2016 - present) - violin
• Patrick Greenberg(2010 - present) - bass guitar

Nominations and awards