Chase and Status - WHP Depot Mayfield

Warehouse project events are known in and around Manchester for being a guaranteed good time - ask anyone that lives within a mile radius of Depot Mayfield, and they'll tell you have much fun they can hear people having at 3 am. The electronic music duo Chase (Saul Milton) and Status (Will Kennard) were the perfect hosts for this long, winter night of raving.

Forming in 2003, the pair shot to fame after the release of their second album 'No More Idols' in 2011, with the likes of Plan B, Tinie Tempah and Cee Lo Green featuring on tracks. Since then, Chase and Status have built up quite a following, becoming quite a renowned act in the drum and bass world.

This was one of the first drum and bass events I'd been to, so technically Chase and Status took my DnB virginity? I was on my own turf though, I know the realms of Depot Mayfield well, and how can anyone get bladdered in the shell of an abandoned warehouse with 10,000 strangers and not have the night of their lives? Well, it would appear no one, especially when Hybrid Minds and Chase and Status are on the aux …

My night kicked off early, and whilst I knew I'd regret two stepping from 8:30pm until 3:30am for days (or weeks) to come, there's no one I'd have rather loosened up to than DJ Zinc. Old but gold, DJ Zinc was big in the mid to late 90s, known for his fusion of hiphop and jungle on tracks. Being in the industry for so long and releasing music for over 15 years, Zinc knows how to work a crowd. It's the variety of genres in his repertoire that have kept him so relevant for so many years, even giving The Streets a spin on the night, playing their track 'Take Me as I Am' with Chris Lorenzo to close his electric set.

We went on to watch Harriet Jaxxon with hype man Connec MC, an exciting up and comer on the DnB scene. With only two tracks released, Jaxxon made her break in 2018 by playing warm up sets for the likes of Andy C and Chase and Status, both of which were massive influences for her. The entire set felt like a well-crafted performance, the combination of the light show, the music, the MC and the venue all just worked, making the atmosphere incomparable. Although Hybrid Minds were on next, this was only a warmup.

Hybrid Minds have reached fame over the past few years, becoming known for bringing a new rhythm and energy to liquid DnB. Whilst maintaining an authentic sound true to form of the genre, their stuff is so accessible, you couldn't find me a soul that could have refrained from moving whilst 'Touch', their track featuring Tiffani Juno played in the depot. The energy in the crowd was entrancing, thousands of people were all stood together, dancing as one body.

As the headline act were upon us, although I should have crashed and burned by now, as far as I was aware the night had only just begun. Chase and Status are like the grandparents of drum and bass in the UK, and I wasn't done two stepping yet. Opening with 'No Problem', one of their best tracks from acclaimed album No More Idols with vocals from Zimbabwean singer Takura Tendayi was a big shout, this is one of the most infectious songs I know. A hybrid between dubstep and afrobeat, this is a fusion track everyone needs on a night out. Chase and Status delivered, creating an atmosphere like no other. The way their tracks built, with the intrusive and totally unflattering lighting combined with the music and the vocals sent the whole crowd to another planet. I think that's why raving is so appealing, the escapism is second to none, for those few hours you aren't in the same world as you are Monday to Friday, you can truly dance like a mad head, and no one will have any memory of it in the morning.