After a short break, we are back on the free download series today with this beguiling trumpet-tooting treat from Chug.
Please shake your tailfeathers to Birdland…
Tapping into that classic Creative Source strain of liquid, Birdland thumps and bumps its way along with one sleeve rolled up for the dancefloor, the other sleeve rolled up to catch the sun. Sprinkled with a classic Queen Latifah sample, we’re pretty sure this will unify fans of all musical D&B styles.
Birdland is the latest in a sweet run of largely soulful and deep releases from Chug – AKA Rob Chung – who began producing around 10 years ago but has been involved in music in a variety of capacities his whole career.
We called him up to find out more.
Tell us everything about Birdland!
I actually wrote it around six or seven years ago and it’s been sitting around for a while. It’s inspired by a Queen Latifa tune – U.N.I.T.Y which was a really big boom bap tune from 1993 with a positive message which was really powerful and fresh for the time. I always wanted to flip it.
And obviously Birdland is the famous jazz club in New York so I wanted to link everything together. When I first started producing it was all about hip-hop and how I can translate what I love about hip-hop into drum & bass, that’s how I got into it, so it came from there.
Sick so this track taps into your whole journey as a producer. It’s a special tune for you!
Definitely. When I was a kid getting into music it was all about hip-hop. I was a big boom bap kid in the 90s then I made a transition from hip-hop into garage and jungle. I was DJing for quite a while then started producing around 2010, but only took it seriously around 2015/16 and started putting stuff out. This definitely reflects a lot of my journey.
I love how hip-hop is your cornerstone. I’ve always compared jungle to hip-hop in terms of UK/US culture and musical movements…
Definitely. And for me it’s all about the funk, the breakbeats and the samples which is essentially where hip-hop came from, too. It definitely comes from the same place for me.
Amen! What’s going on musically?
I’m working on a new EP for Liquid Lab. I’m trying to work with more live vocalists and bring more musical elements into my own process. And I’m also working on some UKG projects which have been inspired by a lot of the newer generation producers like Bakey, Main Phase and PJ Statham.
Nice. What else makes a Chug chug?
So for my day job I work in Data and Analytics for a distributor, Fuga who work on behalf of Critical, Triple Vision, Warp Recordings, Ninja Tune and many many other labels. I spend most of my time looking at numbers and helping people understand their catalogue’s streaming performance.
How do you feel about numbers as a creative person?
It’s interesting. I try and look at things from both perspectives. As a creative it’s impossible not to look at your numbers. You try not to, but you always do. And when I see young artists coming through, a lot of focus is about Spotify numbers and it really shouldn’t be about that; it should be about the artform and the creative process. But from the business side of things, it is all about the numbers, the algorithms and the playlists. That’s what the business cares about. It’s where marketing, advertising and editorial money goes. But from a creative perspective I have conflicting feelings about it all.
Your brain clearly loves both sides though!
I guess so yeah. I’ve worked in IT and technology for the last 20 years and worked in music for 15 years . Technology and music go hand in hand for me. There’s no point in fighting it, right? You’ve got to embrace both.
You do. And you’re living the dream, then. Whether you’re working or creating, you’re always in music
Yeah that’s right. It’s always been a big passion for me and it was nice to get my foot in the door. I started at PPL, then was at Kobalt/AWAL previously, so have been exposed to all aspects of the industry from Publishing, Neighbouring Rights, Synch and Recordings.
Do you still DJ?
Not so much anymore. I used to DJ and promote a few parties in London, but I think the last gig I had was in 2019 for the Influence Records guys. I’m not concentrating on playing out to be honest, just more on putting the tunes together and getting my ideas out there!
Nice. Is there anything you do that the world needs to know about?
I’d love to shout out ESEA Music. They’re a non-profit community formed three years ago to support and represent people from East and South-East Asian backgrounds within the Music Industry. It started with just 10 people, now we’ve got over 350, from the creative side as well as within the industry. It’s headed up by Tiger Hagino Reid (Rina Sawayama’s manager) and Hiroki Shirasuka (Giant Management) and I help run the Sesame mentorship scheme there. We’ve created a platform to talk about our experiences, careers and personal development within the industry.
Sick! It’s a responsibility to bring the new generation through isn’t it? You must be working with all kinds of sick talent?
Yeah it’s amazing. We have had mentees and mentors who are artist managers, studio engineers, vocal coaches, A&R, booking agents, songwriters and beyond. It’s very inspiring to see all these talented people and remember what the industry was like when I came through. As a DJ and an industry professional, there was no one who looked like me who could answer questions I had at the time. It’s a great initiative to be involved in and something I’m very passionate about.
100%! So signing out, is it a relief to finally see your tune coming out after so long?
Yeah it’s awesome actually, thank you. I’ve been looking for a home for this, and it’s always had good feedback from any DJs I’ve sent it to so yes, it’s nice to see it being released and out in the world. Enjoy and thanks for the support.
