Marking their extraordinary debut in 2012 with their track “A+E,” Grace Chatto, Jack Patterson, and Luke Patterson has successfully won the hearts of millions of people from all across the globe. Their unique sound that dwells into a combination of classical music blended with an electronic beat, has helped them in garnering a massive amount of around 6 billion views on their YouTube channel. The trio who professionally goes by the name Clean Bandit have stunned their fans with their new track “Tick Tock.”
In collaboration with Mabel and 24kGoldn, this Multi-platinum, GRAMMY-winning electro-pop band from Britain, has released yet another phenomenal track. Also dropping an iconic music video for the song, directed solely by the band themselves, the video revolves around the track’s narrative of obsession and the abstract visual transitions throughout several rooms, each filled with respective band member’s cherished things.
We caught up with Clean Bandit to talk about the process behind the new single, their music journey overall, and what the fans can expect from their upcoming projects.
You recently released your new track “Tick Tock” with Mabel featuring 24kGoldn. How did this collaboration come to be?
Well, we’ve kinda known Mabel for a while and always wanted to do something together. We were lucky to find that time before the lockdown happened here: she came to our studio and we wrote the song in a few hours. Then during the lockdown, we had plenty of time to work on the production…trying out new sounds and things. Then we heard 24kGoldn’s song “Drop Outta College” and loved it… we sent the song to him and the rest is history!
What was the creative process like with the track? Did you face any sort of challenges during the production stage of the song?
Well due to the world pandemic, we couldn’t go to LA to record 24kGoldn’s verse, and he couldn’t come here to film the music video. So we had to do everything remotely with him, over FaceTime and stuff, which was a first for us. Can’t wait to finally meet him in person one day when this is over! It was really exciting and important for us to have this project to work on at home though, throughout the height of the pandemic — a real focus and so great to have so much creative space to experiment.
When it comes to songwriting and the composition of music, do you all need a specific setting to work in or are you easily adaptable?
Jack writes best when he is in motion, on some kind of transport like a train or a plane. He wrote the main hook of our song “Rather Be” on a laptop whilst on the London Underground!
What kind of reaction are you hoping to receive from your fans with this new track?
We really hope it will bring some joy and fun vibes to people at this hard time, and we tried to make a fun video too. But the lyrics do have some pain in them too, but we hope people can find strength from it too, to get out of obsessive thought patterns for example.
Having garnered such massive streams and views, how does it feel to know that your music has such an immensely huge and global influence?
It feels wonderful to know that so many people take enjoyment of our music and our little films (which we always make ourselves and probably spend more time on than the actual music!). That’s the main thing — to try to bring joy. There’s too much misery in the world so we always try to put out uplifting pieces.
What has been the biggest piece of advice that you all have received in your journey so far?
Well, we were always just a performing live band for our first few years of being a band — we never recorded anything we just put on shows and tried to grow like that. One day a friend’s music manager told me: hey, you need to record some of these songs and put them on the internet! So we did.
If you had the opportunity to introduce your music to someone through only one track, what song would you choose?
“Symphony” featuring Zara Larsson. And please watch the music video too! I’d say it’s our most epic song and it has many of our signature sounds 😉
What’s next for you guys? Any plans you can share regarding your forthcoming projects or collaborations?
We are working on new songs. Looking for singers actually for some of our new ones. Rihanna, please call me if you are reading this!
Lastly, is there any message that you would like to convey to your supporters?
Just that we are so grateful for everyone’s support. It means so much right now to feel connected to each of you through these songs, especially when we have been so alone locked up at home. To connect like this is even more special. We hope you like the new song “Tick Tock” and that none of you are experiencing obsessive relationships like the one described!