Although most people are still unfamiliar with this band’s name, they have however danced at some point to the band’s Grammy winning song “Rather Be.” Now that you know who I am talking about, the British electronic group, Clean Bandit, is set to bring their classical and techno fusion music to the Majestic April 4. The group is comprised of four twenty-somethings who met during their stint at the University of Cambridge, and discovered a shared love for creating truly unique music.
With Jack Patterson on bass and keyboard, Grace Chatto on cello, Luke Patterson on drums and Milan Neil Amin-Smith, the master of violin and piano, Clean Bandit’s members all bring elements of classical music revived into techno and dance. Although they are insanely busy with their first-ever U.S. tour, I was able to speak with Chatto for a bit via phone to chat about their Grammy win, zombies and what makes her happy.
DC: Grace, how’s it going?
Chatto: Hi! We were in New Orleans and just came into Charlotte today. It’s amazing. I absolutely loved New Orleans. We even got time to do some sightseeing and saw this lovely art exhibit. We did the show then and the crowd was so fun.
DC: Let’s start with winning a Grammy. That’s the ultimate dream for a musician, isn’t it? Was it surreal?
Chatto: Yeah, it was crazy. It was just so exciting to be out there in LA at all. We were actually just so happy with [being in LA]. But then, when they announced that we’d won, it was a crazy feeling, you know. But sort of a culmination of all our hard work from the past seven to eight years.
DC: I know that most of you met as undergrads in school. Luke is Jack’s brother, Neil was a friend of yours and you and Jack are together. Were you friends back then, and what’s it like being in a band with such close proximity to everyone?
Chatto: Well it’s quite socially intense, and we’ve all known each other for ages. And it’s not even just the four of us. Because when we’re touring around, we feature other artists, and some of them are usually coming around with us on the tour bus. Then we have a lot of sound engineers and technicians. So there are actually [more] people than just the four of us and loads of different relationships. So yeah, we’re kind of like a family now and it’s really nice.
DC: Classical music does not have a lot of admirers in the young pop following of most of today’s music. But you implement it in your music, so I have to assume you have a love for classical. Why? And how?
Chatto: Well, we grew up having lessons in classical music. And played loads of classical music throughout our youth. Neil and I then started a string quartet when we were studying at Cambridge University. We did a lot of concerts there that Jack used to come to and he’d make recordings of the concert. So, one day, he decided to kind of make some dance music using those recordings, and that’s how it started. Then we kind of went from there and now we use classical samples. Actually no, they’re not samples because we play them ourselves obviously. But sometimes we write the string part originally, like in “Rather Be.”
DC: Most of your videos seem to involve near death experiences. Are you all adrenaline junkies?
Chatto: Kind of, yeah. Performing on stage actually creates loads of adrenaline and that is a little addicting. But Jack and Luke are really into dangerous sports—I guess they’re not actually as dangerous as they just make them into. They do a lot of skateboarding and snowboarding, and they’re always doing crazy jumps!
DC: What is the side of chasing after a musical dream or career that the public never sees?
Chatto: It’s a lot of hard work for quite a few years. A lot! All day and into the night. Which really, I’ve never worked this hard in my life. It’s just such an intense process.
DC: But, worth it?
Chatto: Yes! Definitely. Because it was just something I believed in and knew I wanted to make happen. And now it almost seems more relaxing because I am able to do the stuff that I wanna do. We’re really busy though with our shows and all. But there are also much more people that are supporting us, in what we do. And so we’re not doing everything alone anymore.
DC: Finding what you’re passionate about is a rare thing. It is rarer still to be able to chase it and live your passion. Do you feel like you’ve found yours? That you’re finally doing what you’re meant to do? Any other passions you may still want to chase down the line, raising bees or climbing mountains?
Chatto: Yeah, maybe. But I’m passionate about loads of other things as well. When Jack and I met, he was studying architecture and he was really passionate about that. And I was studying languages, Russian and Italian. I’m really interested in Russian history and literature. But for the moment we decided that we’re going to pursue making music and performing. So I don’t think at all that this is the only thing we’ll do. Like we make films as well. And I’d like to make a fiction film at some point. And Jack has been studying visual art and architecture. So yeah, in short… We have found something we’re passionate about. But I don’t think it is the only thing we’ll ever be passionate about.
DC: Say a zombie outbreak happened right now. Who among you would be the one with everything together, leading the band to survival?
Chatto: Probably Jack. I don’t think I’ll be panicking though. But maybe I will be. I don’t know! Jack and I do watch “The Walking Dead” and I often find myself thinking about that.
DC: What was your happiest moment as a band to date?
Chatto: Probably when we won the Grammy. It was quite an amazing moment. But there are honestly so many moments every day too. Doing shows out here in the States has been really amazing. The crowds have just been so lovely. That makes me really happy every day, doing a show.
DC: Is being here different than being back home?
Chatto: Yeah, it is quite different. We’re playing in smaller venues out here so it is definitely more intimate. You can see everyone’s faces up there and it’s much more rewarding in that way because in big crowds you can’t really see the individuals. So yeah, it’s more rewarding and the crowds are definitely more involved.
DC: Do you love the traveling that comes as a part of touring? Do you find time to explore new cities? Where would you really like to go next?
Chatto: Not that much time, but some. I really like traveling and it was lovely walking around New Orleans yesterday. We went to this great art exhibition and that was really exciting. Today we’re in Charlotte and we have been dying to go out. I don’t even know where, but, yeah, we’ll definitely do some exploring. I guess ideally I’d like to go to South America next because I’ve never been anywhere in South America before. But we’re looking forward to the show in Madison too and we can’t wait!
