Following a meteoric rise thanks to an arsenal of huge remixes and worldwide blog appraisal, Russ Chimes is about to become a household name. With four unofficial tracks already released free to the blogs, Russ’s first EP of original material is now due for release on Eye Industries, bringing his own unique brand of amped up, atmospheric and pop-savvy dance music to the foreground.
And what could go better with a fresh debut EP than a strong visual element to support it? With this in mind, and on request, Russ sent his three tracks to a young film director Saman Keshavarz, who, fresh from winning ‘Best Music Video’ at the 2010 SXSW festival was eager to work with Russ’s music. (Saman had contacted Russ a year earlier to say he was a fan, hinting that in the future he’d love to work on a video)
With news that Saman wanted to produce and direct videos for all three tracks from the new EP rather than the standard one, realisation soon set in that something special was on the cards. “It was a really fun process” explains Russ “As the premise of the EP is that it’s great driving music, so we had to include car chases, inter twined around some other classic 80’s movie themes, love, romance, jealousy, kidnap. The three tracks have dramatic points and adrenaline filled drops as well as spacey, quieter moments, so we wanted the story flow in and out of all of them. It was also great to be able draw on my past experience when contributing to the graphics and art direction.”
What Russ has ended up with is three separate music videos, but when combined form one single adrenaline filled and complex narrative (Over 400,000 views online). A real first in music video world, and one looking to set Russ apart as a truly creative artist.
So how did this all begin?
Russ was born in 1982 and grew up in the small town of Crowthorne near Reading. His parents’ music taste was thankfully a little more inspiring than his whereabouts. A young Russ would play his mum’s Fleetwood Mac, Gloria Estefan and Prince records, all part of a sea of 80s pop that when Russ grew up, would one day influence the melodic value and more nostalgic tones in his production.
After learning the guitar at a young age and joining the mandatory punk rock bands at school, Russ went on to study a Graphic Design degree and put music on the back burner. It was only after university, now with an eclectic taste in dance music, and on moving to London that his hobby began to see the light of day. Using his experience with the guitar, Russ soon got a short term gig playing rhythm guitar alongside House Dj’s in some of London’s biggest clubs (Ministry Of Sound, Pacha) Only to find that the more overly commercial side of dance music wasn’t really his thing, and sought to make music that was more up his street.
With an idea of what not to make, and tired of his 9 – 5 in graphic design, Russ bought a copy of Logic Express (“It was the cheapest one”) and started making tracks. “I’d bring my laptop to work and do cheeky loops when the boss wasn’t watching.”
Learning the ropes of remixing, Russ made a few edits of 90s classics like The Nightcrawlers ‘Push the Feeling On’ and Crystal Waters ‘Gypsy Woman’. His third on first original track got picked up and put on [influential blog] Disco Dust where it got the blogosphere frothing. The track was called ‘Mulsanne’, named after a straight on the famous French racing circuit Le Mans. Self-confessed petrol-head Russ has a theory: “Every track has to sound good to drive to ideally along a coast with the roof down. If it’s fit for that then I’m happy”
‘Mulsanne’ was then picked up by College, producer and founder of French retro electro collective Valerie, who asked Russ to remix his track ‘Teenage Color’. On being thrilled with the result, College then asked Russ over to play their first Valerie party in Nantes, West France. Problem was, at the time, Russ was no DJ. In at the deep-end Russ learning the craft and began playing in clubs around Europe soon building up a following. He became Valerie’s honorary English member and was soon playing shows with them across the globe.
Russ soon began living a double life – in London he was designing websites by day but staying up till early hours making tunes by night and playing huge clubs at the weekends – credible, forward thinking venues like Razmatazz in Barcelona, Lux in Lisbon and Showcase in Paris.
“My DJing is not really in one style” muses Russ “It can start spacey, touch on disco, lots of filtered French house, there can be a tougher moments end then drop it back down to something really melodic and beautiful. I’m a closet prog fan too so I can dip in out of that, but not in a ‘tight T-shirt and hair gel’ kind of way. It’s more my guilty pleasure!”
Remixes continued to come in and soon it wasn’t just for friends-of-friends, but established artists and labels like Back Yard, who wanted Russ to remix Chromeo’s soon to be huge ‘Fancy Footwork’.
“It was a huge deal to me to remix them at the time. I used a lot of 80s style synths and retro drum patterns. I remember being thrilled that A-Trak contacted me after to say he really liked the Lionel Ritchie(!) feel I gave to his brother’s track.”
Since that remix, Russ’ style may have evolved but it’s always retained elements of that retro feel. The reason his work stands out could be due to his unique approach to a track; “Most people start on the drums and build towards the melody. I go backwards! I start with the vocal loop for example then put melodies over it. I like Melody to really be at the core of all of my music.”
Bigger remixes were to follow and soon Russ’ remix of Sam Sparro’s ‘Black and Gold’ was being played on specialist Radio 1 as well as being used as a sound bed under the daytime shows. It was around that time that Russ was approached by Neon Gold Records to remix an unknown singer called Ellie Goulding. “This was way before she was signed to Polydor” recalls Russ “I remember doing the remix then sitting on it for a 6 months!”
“When Ellie got signed the remix was pulled up again so I did a fresh mix on it. It was the first thing I did that was unconsciously a bit more ‘big room’.” The remix however was the biggest thing Russ had ever produced, his earlier work behind him and his new more refined, intelligent outlook on composition and developed slickness in production earning him over just under 1 Million plays on YouTube. Suddenly Russ Chimes was now in everyone’s headphones.
Just as his remix work has increased so too understandably has Russ’ popularity. The late DJ A.M told Russ he was a fan of his music and Alex Gopher contacted him to ask to do an edit of Mulsanne. “Along with the French Touch sound and the early Super Discount albums, Alex was a huge inspiration for me” beams Russ.
The future for Russ is wide open. In another EPs time he’ll start looking at a full artist album. With aspirations to work with vocalists and getting stuck in to writing his first lyrics, Russ is ready to push into new exciting ground for him as an artist. “I’m quite keen to do collaborations too, as well as production for other artists. It would be a completely new chapter for me as a producer” And that’s not all; Russ’ experience working with live elements like synths, laptops, percussion and guitar means he already knows how he can steer his production towards a full live show – graphics included.
With plans to start writing for other artists and continuing to make soundtracks for driving down that coast to, for this young musician life in the fast lane beckons. Prepare to be over-taken!
http://www.russchimes.com
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