Interview: Clinton from Chase Atlantic

From left to right: Christian (17), Mitchel (18), Clinton (21)

It's come as no surprise that music today is becoming ever more manufactured by industry experts, some of whom envisage and run with good intentions for their artists, others to solely dominate whatever said artist produces. I'm sure you'll agree with me that music needs revitalising, not in change of a more prospective form of management, but rather to go back to the roots of music itself: soulful and characteristic. Chase Atlantic acts, with commendable artistry, as a testament to what we value most about music. As a band, it's not just their coordinated harmonies and rippling tunes that makes them successful but the fact that as an independent band, they can put everything they've got into directing themselves. It's important that artists are able to show their dedication to what they do and what they produce; Chase Atlantic is certainly a band to demonstrate this. If you're looking for great music which overwhelms the senses then this is the band for you. Although your first assumption would be to guess this band is focused on an indie sound, you'd be wrong. Combining dulcet tones, strong beats and even a jazz element, it's hard to define their sound to one type, so there's no excuse not to be in one way or another, enraptured by their music. It's hard to believe that these 3 guys have been able to show such drive at such a young age so as to commit themselves to managing their sound and the band itself, despite the commitments that I have to manage well just as much as they do.

I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Clinton where he spoke everything music from different styles, to playing shows.

I assume you all originate from Sydney?
Mitchel and myself grew up in Cairns, Far North Queensland and now currently live together in Brisbane. Christian has lived in Sydney for most/ all of his life and currently still lives there.

Do you have an idol? If so, who is it?
I don’t think we have one particular idol but rather multiple influences who all influence us in a certain way. Whether it be music, fashion, branding, personality or other finesse skills.

What's your favourite music genre?
We all love many different types of music and do not have one in particular that stands out above all. We listen to anything from rock, pop, EDM, Hip Hop, RnB, Jazz, Funk, Classical and even music from the 50’s all the way to now.

How did you come up with the name?
We spent months searching for a name that we were happy with collectively. The sad truth is we actually came up with quite a few but nearly every single name us taken and currently or previously been used. Mitchel and myself sat down one night after months of searching and made a list of words we really liked. I randomly put together Chase and Atlantic and we thought it would be a cool name if we were a complete indie band and dismissed it at first. An hour later we came back to the name and thought it may actually work. We realised that the two words together didn’t really represent anything in our current world and would allow for people to visualise our music and band when they heard it rather than imagining something else. Like Coldplay for instance, what does that even mean? There may be an answer but when you hear it you instantly think of the band rather than anything else.

I read that Mitchel and Christian got into the top 10 of X Factor in 2012 and this inspired you to become a band. How so? Can you describe how you decided to form the band?
They were in a boy band that was put together prior to the show and made it into the top 12 for that season. The band broke up a year later but Mitchel and Christian remained close friends. Mitchel had always produced and recorded music with myself and several months later we decided to use our abilities and create a band where we could make the music we wanted to make.

Are there any artists you aspire to?
Like I mentioned earlier, we have many influences we are inspired by and the same goes for artists. We pick out intricate details from the artists we like and I guess that is portrayed in our music and actions, not necessarily intentionally though, I guess it just happens naturally.

How have your shows been so far?
Both shows so far have been really successful with an amazing response from the audience. The stage presence as well as the music has all played out successfully in an almost natural way, as if we were destined to jam out together on stage haha! Our first two shows were both completely sold out prior to the performance date so we were really happy with that.

What do you think's the best thing about performing?
The best part about performing would have to be being able to share your music and creative abilities with the audience in a positive and energetic atmosphere. Also, performing alongside our brothers/ best friends is an awesome shared experience.

Is there anything you don't like about working with music?
There are many negative aspects when working with music, but these usually don’t relate to the actual music itself. Being a successful band or artists requires lots of business work where there’s always the chance of running into problems or negative situations that you cannot avoid, like most other types of business’ I guess.

On your website it says you all play a variety of instruments and each serve as producers for the band. It's difficult to come across any artists who can uphold all these roles. Do you think it's important that music artists take a leading, active role in their own management?
Having almost full creative control over your own music is probably one of the best ways to be able to make and perform the music you truly appreciate. If you are an artist or band who cannot produce or more importantly write your own music, you will normally have a lot less say in your work and will be shaped into an act that your management group or label wants you to be.

Your EP is out already so are you on track for creating another EP or can you say an album's in the works?
We have been working on writing and producing a whole bunch of new music for the last four months. The reason for this is so we can develop our sound as much as possible before releasing out next work. I believe we will be releasing a second EP within the next few months and hope to release a possible single before then just to tie us over between releases.

Finally, is there any chance you'll be taking your shows further afield, in places other than Australia?
There is a good chance we will be touring Australia as well as internationally over the next two years as plans are already in the works. Travelling and touring is always hard whilst being independent, and school and uni commitments make it even harder again. We can’t wait to start performing again though, which will hopefully be very soon.

You can buy the band's EP, 'Dalliance' from iTunes now.