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Chase & Status are an Electronic music production duo consisting of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band. The duo hail from London and formed in 2003 after meeting at university in Manchester. The duo have since released two studio albums as well as collaborating with major artists such as Cee Lo Green, Rihanna, Example and Tinie Tempah.

History[link]

2003-2005[link]

Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (The Status) originally met in Manchester, England whilst studying at the cities universities, reminiscent of past music groups such as the Chemical Brothers. Milton went to the Victoria University of Manchester and studied History of Art while Kennard studied English and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan. Both decided to drop out of university to pursue a music career.^[2]

They released some material on various labels dealing with drum and bass music, including Renegade Hardware. In particular, the tracks "Barbarians" and the remix of Future Cut's "20/20" were received well by the scene. They released an EP called "Ten Tonne EP", and they had some collaborations with other artists in the scene.

2006–2009: More Than a Lot[link]

Chase & Status have had three number one tracks on the UK Dance Chart in 2007 with the double A-side "Hurt You"/"Sell Me Your Soul", and in 2008 with "Take Me Away"/"Judgement (Informer)". On 5 October 2008, they reached number 70 on the national singles chart and number one on the UK Dance Chart again with their single "Pieces" featuring vocals by Plan B. In 2009, they made number 45 with "Against All Odds" which featured UK rapper Kano.

Chase and status changed their style from more Liquid Drum and bass songs such as "Take you there" and became more commercialized and mainstream after they moved their genre to Club/Dance music. Chase & Status' first album, More Than a Lot, debuted in the UK album charts at number 49 on 19 October 2008 and entered the UK dance album chart at number 2.

Their album More Than a Lot received the Best Album Award at the 2009 Drum and Bass awards, Birmingham, UK.

2009–2011: No More Idols[link]

Soon afterwards they quickly began working on the album. On 8 November 2009, the duo entered the UK Top 40 for the first time with the track "End Credits". The track was released on 2 November 2009 and featuring British musician Plan B managed to reach a peak of number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was written for the movie Harry Brown,^[3] which also starred Ben Drew, aka. Plan B.

The duo then released "Let You Go" on 15 August 2010, revealing it to be the second official single to be released from their second studio album, named No More Idols according to posters outside their album launch show at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town on October 21. The single featured vocals from Mali and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 11; marking the duo's second consecutive Top 40 hit. "Hypest Hype" featuring Tempa T was confirmed in October 2010 to be the third single from the album and was released as a free download from their website on 8 November 2010; meaning it did not qualify to chart. The fourth single from the album is the dubstep-flavoured "Blind Faith", which features Nottingham-born soul singer/songwriter Liam Bailey and was released on January 24, 2011. The album also contains a new song "Heavy" with Dizzee Rascal.^[4] The album debuted at number 2 in the UK and was certified Gold in the first week of sales by the BPI.

2012–present: New Album[link]

The duo are currently working on their third studio album due for release in 2012. In contrast to More Than Alot and No More Idols, the new album will have a darker sound.^[5] The duo have been confirmed to sub-headline Friday night at Download Festival 2012, provoking an outcry from regular Download enthusiasts (the festival is recognized as a rock/metal festival), not least due to them being higher on the bill than fan favourites Machine Head, who had been subject to an internet campaign to headline the festival.^[6]

Chase & Status have also announced that they will headline electronic music festival South West Four hosted on London's Clapham Common.

In an Email Newsletter to members of the Chase & Status Mailing List, they announced a Chase & Status: Live At Brixton CD/DVD, featuring appearances from Tinie Tempah, Liam Bailey, Mali & Delilah, for release on April 2nd 2012

Remixes and productions[link]

They have also created a remix version of "Invaders Must Die" for The Prodigy. The remix reached 53 in the Australian Aria Singles Chart and 7 in the Aria Dance Chart. They have also produced for Bajan singer Rihanna numerous times, on her fourth album Rated R and her sixth album Talk That Talk, as well as for British singer Alexandra Burke's album Overcome. Other remixes include Black Canvas' 'Broken Dreams', Dizzee Rascal's 'Sirens', Nneka's 'Heartbeat' and Capleton's 'Who Dem', renamed 'Duppy Man'. Chase & Status also produced a track for singer Example for his second album "Won't Go Quietly" and again for his third album "Playing In The Shadows".

MTA Records[link]

In 2009 Chase & Status founded the independent record label MTA Records, specialising in drum and bass and dubstep music. Artists signed to the label include Cotti, 501, Nero, Redlight, 16bit, KillSonik, Doctor, Sam Wire & Chase & Status themselves.^[7]

Members[link]

• Saul Milton (Chase) – keyboards, programming, DJ, guitar (2003–present)
• Will Kennard (Status) - keyboards, programming, DJ

Live members

• Rage – MC (2009–present)
• Andy Gangadeen – drums (2009–present)

Discography[link]

• More than Alot (2008)
• No More Idols (2011)
• Chase & Status: Live at Brixton (2012)

Tours[link]

• Chase & Status Debut Live Tour (UK, 2009)^[8]
• Live Tour (UK Spring 2010, Autumn 2010)^[9][10]
• No More Idols Tour (UK, Europe, North America 2011)^{[11][12][13][14]}

Awards and nominations[link]

Drum & Bass Awards

NME Awards

Q Awards

UK Festival Awards

Virgin Media Music Awards

Xtra Bass Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chase & Status

• Official website
• Chase & Status on Twitter
• Chase & Status on Facebook
• Chase & Status on Myspace
• Chase & Status discography at Discogs
• Chase & Status's channel on YouTube
• Chase & Status video interview on Virgin Red Room

v t e Chase & Status Discography Studio albums More Than Alot (2008) No More Idols (2011) Singles "Pieces" "Against All Odds" "End Credits" "Let You Go" "Blind Faith" "Time" "Hitz" "Flashing Lights" Collaborators Clare Maguire Cee Lo Green Delilah Dizzee Rascal Kano Liam Bailey McLean Maverick Sabre Plan B Sub Focus Tempa T Tinie Tempah White Lies Related articles Ram Records Mercury Records Category

Jonathan Coulton
Background information
Born	(1970-12-01) December 1, 1970 (age 41)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City
Genres	Folk rock, power pop, indie rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, banjo, ukulele, zendrum, tenori-on
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Paul and Storm Kristen Shirts John Hodgman Molly Lewis Ellen McLain Ze Frank RiffTrax They Might Be Giants
Website	http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

Jonathan Coulton (born December 1, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are "Code Monkey", "Re: Your Brains", "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone".

A former computer programmer employed at Cluen, a New York City software company^[1], and self-described geek, Coulton tends to write quirky, witty lyrics about science fiction and technology: a man who thinks in simian terms, a mad scientist who falls in love with one of his captives, and the dangers of bacteria. Rare topical songs include 2005's "W's Duty", which sampled President George W. Bush, and 2006's "Tom Cruise Crazy". Most of Coulton's recordings feature his singing over guitar, bass, and drums; some also feature the various other instruments Coulton plays, including accordion, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and glockenspiel.^[2]

Coulton graduated in 1993 from Yale, where he was a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs^[3] and the Yale Spizzwinks(?). He is now the Contributing Troubadour at Popular Science magazine, whose September 2005 issue was accompanied by a five-song set by him called Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms.^[4] He was also the Musical Director for The Little Gray Book Lectures.^[5]

Career[link]

Coulton's best-known works include his light-acoustic cover of the Sir Mix-a-Lot hit song "Baby Got Back" and original pieces such as "Code Monkey", which was featured on Slashdot^[6] on April 23, 2006 and linked from the webcomic Penny Arcade.^[7] It was also the theme song for an animated show on G4 called Code Monkeys.

His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. Good Morning Silicon Valley featured a link to a video set to his song "Re: Your Brains".

Coulton accompanied John Hodgman on his "700 Hobo Names" promotional track for Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise as the guitarist (he was credited as "Jonathan William Coulton, the Colchester Kid"). Coulton also can be heard throughout the audiobook version of the same book, playing the theme song to the book, playing incidental music, and bantering with Hodgman, who reads the audio version of his work. Hodgman has also mentioned Coulton on The Daily Show: a Jonathan Coulton of Colchester, Connecticut, was Hodgman's pick to win an essay contest on overpowering Iraqi resistance to American invasion.^[8] Coulton wrote and performed "the winning entry", a song about dropping snakes from airplanes. Coulton appeared on the tour for Hodgman's second book, More Information Than You Require.

Coulton composed the title music for the show Mystery Diagnosis, and also has contributed other songs under "The Little Gray Book Lectures", a series of audio releases from John Hodgman.

Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Molly Lewis performing at Dragon*Con 2011

In 2006, Coulton began touring with comedy-duo Paul and Storm. At their first few shows, Coulton opened the concerts, but soon after his rise to fame, he was headlining.

Coulton wrote and performed a song titled "Still Alive" for the ending credits of Valve's 2007 video game Portal, with vocals by Ellen McLain. On April 1, 2008, Harmonix made this track available as free downloadable content for the game Rock Band.^[9] A version with Coulton's vocals was also included on the Orange Box Original Soundtrack,^[10] in addition to the one heard at the end of the game. "Still Alive" has also made an appearance as an easter egg in Left 4 Dead 2.^[11] The song has been called "the most influential game music".^[12] In 2011, Coulton followed up the success of "Still Alive" with a new song at the end of Portal 2, "Want You Gone".

A DVD & CD of a concert performed February 22, 2008, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, entitled Best. Concert. Ever. was released in 2009. At the concert, Coulton played the aforementioned song "Still Alive" on its Rock Band version, along with guest "musicians" and geek/celebrities Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann and Veronica Belmont.^[13]

Coulton opened for They Might Be Giants for a few shows of their March 2010 tour.^[14] He toured with them again in February 2012.

Coulton had been working on his follow-up to the Thing a Week albums, tentatively titled The Aftermath. It has since been stated that the title is merely an umbrella term to classify non-album tracks released after Thing a Week. On May 25, 2010, Coulton said on his official site that he would be working on a new album, to be produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants,^[15] and for the first time ever with a full band, including Marty Beller of They Might Be Giants,^[16] in a professional recording studio. The resulting album: Artificial Heart, was released on September 2, 2011.

In May 2011, Coulton was interviewed on NPR's popular economics-related program Planet Money. He disclosed that he makes about $500,000 a year from his music despite lacking a record label contact. He expressed gratitude towards his fans for his surprise success, the degree of which he called "absurd". In a broader discussion of whether or not the internet is good for musicians, Coulton answered in the affirmative, while journalist Frannie Kelley described him as a "fluke" such as the Snuggie.^[17] Coulton posted a tongue-in-cheek response on his blog about the comparison, saying "to which I say: snarkity snark snark!"^[18]

Licensing[link]

Coulton releases his songs under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license, allowing others to use them in their own noncommercial works. As a result, a number of music videos have been created using his songs, including such machinima as the ILL Clan's video for "Code Monkey" and a kinetic typography video for the song "Shop Vac".^[19]

Thing a Week[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (August 2011)

From September 16, 2005, to September 30, 2006, Coulton ran "Thing a Week", during which he recorded 52 musical pieces in an effort to push his creative envelope via a "forced-march approach to writing and recording"; to prove to himself that he could produce creative output to a deadline; and to see whether a professional artist could use the Internet and Creative Commons to support himself. Early indications are that the experiment succeeded in generating a large number of high quality songs, boosting sales of music downloads, expanding Coulton's public presence, and enlarging his fan base. The success of the financial objective is more difficult to judge, but Coulton was quoted in a September 2006 interview as stating that "in some parts of the country, I'd be making a decent living".^[20] In a February 25, 2008, interview with This Week in Tech, he stated that he made more money in 2007 than he did in his last year of working as a programmer, 40% of it from digital downloads and 40% from merchandise and performances.^[21]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Smoking Monkey (2003)
• Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow (2004)
• Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms (2005)
• Thing a Week One (2006)
• Thing a Week Two (2006)
• Thing a Week Three (2006)
• Thing a Week Four (2006)
• Artificial Heart (2011)

Compilations[link]

• JoCo Looks Back (2008)
• Best. Concert. Ever. (Live album - 2009)

Other releases[link]

• Other Experiments (Rarities Collection) (2005)
• Unplugged (Live on Second Life) (2006)
• The Orange Box Original Soundtrack (2007)
  • 1. "Still Alive" (Sung by Ellen McLain)
  • 19. "Still Alive" (Sung by Jonathan Coulton)
• The Aftermath (2009)
• Portal 2 Soundtrack: Songs to Test By - Volume 3 (2011)
  • 13. "Want You Gone" (Sung by Ellen McLain)

Most of Coulton's songs are published on his website as MP3 and FLAC downloads. Some of them are free, and none of them are subject to digital rights management. All of his original songs fall under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License. "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone" are the only exceptions to this, as Coulton assigned all rights for the songs to Valve. Along with "Still Alive," Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains" appears in jukeboxes in Left 4 Dead 2. "Want You Gone" also features in the end credits of Portal 2. All three of these games were designed by Valve.^[22]

Other versions and covers[link]

Pianist Louis Durra recorded an instrumental trio version of "Code Monkey" released on "Mad World EP" and "Arrogant Doormats" (2011).

NES Rock Band I Fight Dragons covered "The Future Soon" on their "IFD Super Secret Exclusives" EP (2009).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jonathan Coulton

• Official website
• Jonathan Coulton on Myspace
• Jonathan Coulton on Twitter
• Jonathan Coulton at the Internet Movie Database
• Jonathan Coulton at the Open Directory Project
• Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog, a profile of Jonathan Coulton in the New York Times Magazine dated May 13, 2007.