CHASE ATLANTIC
A TRIO OF TWO BROTHERS AND ONE LONGTIME FRIEND WHO PERSONALLY PRODUCE, PERFORM, AND PASSIONATELY CONJURE UP DARK ALTERNATIVE POP PUNCTUATED BY ROCK AND R&B, AUSTRALIA’S CHASE ATLANTIC BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN A NOCTURNAL AESTHETIC AND PRIMAL BLISS ON THEIR 2017 SELF-TITLED DEBUT FOR WARNER BROS. RECORDS.
THIS DELICATE BALANCE QUIETLY TRANSFORMED THE GROUP—MITCHEL CAVE, CLINTON CAVE, AND CHRISTIAN ANTHONY—INTO A VERITABLE SENSATION DOWN UNDER WHILE STILL IN THEIR TEENS. SINCE FORMING IN 2011, THE BOYS HAVE PACKED MULTIPLE HEADLINE TOURS ACROSS AUSTRALIA, AMASSED AN IMPRESSIVE DIGITAL FOOTPRINT OF FOLLOWERS, RELEASED TWO SUCCESSFUL INDEPENDENT EPS, DALLIANCE [2014] AND NOSTALGIA [2015], AND SPAWNED A VIRAL SINGLE WITH “FRIENDS,” WHICH GARNERED AN INCREDIBLY LARGE COUNT OF SPOTIFY PLAYS.
HOWEVER, THEIR SHARED AMBITION ALWAYS EXCEEDED THE CONFINES OF THE BEDROOM STUDIO WHERE THEY INITIALLY RECORDED. “WHILE ALL OF OUR FRIENDS WERE DOING GAP YEARS AND FINDING THEMSELVES, WE WERE WORKING ON GETTING THE WORLD TO NOTICE US,” ADMITS MITCHEL. “WE MADE THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN THE BAND THAT WE WEREN’T JUST GOING TO STAY IN AUSTRALIA. WE WANTED TO SIGN TO AN INTERNATIONAL LABEL, AND WE WOULDN’T STOP UNTIL THAT HAPPENED.”
“WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS DIFFERENT FOR AUSTRALIA,” ADDS CHRISTIAN. “IT FELT LIKE WE WERE THE ONLY ONES PUTTING OUT MUSIC THAT WE PRODUCED AND MADE ENTIRELY BY OURSELVES. THAT’S THE PROCESS. IT’S REAL.”
THAT SPIRIT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE MADDEN BROTHERS DURING 2015. MULTIPLE MEETINGS IN AUSTRALIA FOLLOWED, AND THE THREE-PIECE SIGNED WITH THE INDUSTRY ICON’S MUSIC COMPANY, MDDN. IN 2016, CHASE ATLANTIC FLEW TO LOS ANGELES SCORING A DEAL WITH WARNER BROS. RECORDS.
“THE MADDENS LOCKED US AWAY IN A BURBANK STUDIO FOR THREE MONTHS AND THREW AWAY THE KEY. WE REALLY GOT TO PRESERVE THAT ORGANIC SOUND,” SAYS CLINTON.
WITHOUT OUTSIDE INFLUENCES, THE THREE-PIECE PRODUCED, PLAYED, AND RECORDED EVERY NOTE, INCLUDING SAXOPHONE. ALONG THE WAY, THEY HONED AND FINE-TUNED A DEFINITIVE STYLE EQUALLY REVERENT OF TAME IMPALA AND SKRILLEX AS IT IS OF THE WEEKND AND TRAVI$ SCOTT.
“TO US, PRODUCTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING,” MITCHEL GOES ON. “IT’S THE MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT OF CREATIVITY. WE PUSH OURSELVES TO FURTHER WHAT WE CAN DO EVERY DAY, WHETHER IT’S PRODUCING OR PLAYING. WE REALLY FOUND OUR MUSICAL IDENTITY THIS PAST YEAR.”
NOW, CHASE ATLANTIC ROARS TO LIFE ON THE FIRST SINGLE “CHURCH.” GLITCHY SYNTHS BLIP IN THE BACKGROUND AS MITCHEL’S BREATHY VOICE HAUNTS AND HYPNOTIZES. BELLS RING WHILE THE HOOK—“I’M ABOUT TO TAKE YOU BACK TO CHURCH”—SIMPLY SEDUCES. “IT’S VERY FORWARD, SEXUAL, AND AGGRESSIVE,” EXPLAINS MITCHEL. “THE LYRICS ARE SEXUALIZING RELIGION IN A WAY, AND THE SONG ENDS UP BEING THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL OPPOSITE OF WHAT CHURCH REALLY MEANS TO MOST PEOPLE.”
ELSEWHERE ON THE RECORD, THE AIRY “INTO IT” TEMPERS A DOWNTEMPO GROOVE WITH AN UNSHAKABLE REFRAIN BEFORE A JAZZ-Y SAXOPHONE SOLO TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT. “IT REPRESENTS THE TRANSITION INTO A NEW, MORE INTENSE LIFESTYLE,” SAYS CHRISTIAN. “YOU’RE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS SOMETHING YOU’RE INTO AND CAN ROLL WITH. IT’S OUR STORY.”
MEANWHILE, “RIGHT HERE” URGES FOR A CARPE DIEM MOMENT WITHIN A RELATIONSHIP. “IT BASICALLY SAYS, ‘FUCK EVERYBODY ELSE. IT’S JUST YOU AND ME’,” MITCHEL REVEALS. “ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE TWO OF US IN THIS MOMENT.”
ULTIMATELY, CHASE ATLANTIC FORGE A LASTING CONNECTION THROUGH THAT HONESTY.
“THE ONE THING WE WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE MUSIC IS THIS ELEMENT OF REALLY FEELING THEMSELVES,” MITCHEL LEAVES OFF. “A SONG CAN MAKE YOU GO, ‘FUCK YEAH,’ AND YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT IT AND SINGING IT ALL DAY. YOU’RE NOT LEFT UNDERWHELMED. YOU’RE OVERWHELMED. WE WANT THAT.”
“AND WORLD DOMINATION,” AGREES CLINTON.