Project Description
Interview with
MITCHEL CAVE
from
CHASE ATLANTIC
Interviewer: Lexie Kingsley
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Australian trio Chase Atlantic have experienced exceptional growth and recognition in recent years, and show no sign of slowing down. Formed in 2011, brothers Mitchel and Clinton Cave alongside longtime friend Christian Anthony have toured globally, building an impressive following whilst producing and performing their music with great passion.
Prior to the release of their self-titled debut album with Warner Bros in October 2017, the band released EPs that each explored dark alternative pop, punctured with nuances of R&B and rock, which transitioned onto their album. 2018 has already seen the band release a video for their song “Swim”, as well as touring extensively, including supporting Good Charlotte on their Australian tour and playing Download Festival in Melbourne—and they’re just getting started. Set to support Sleeping with Sirens on their European tour as well as the Vans Warped Tour in America, the band will also appear at major festivals including Firefly, Lollapalooza and the highly renowned Reading Leeds. This year is undoubtedly set to be a big one for Chase Atlantic. Amnplify Interviewer Lexie Kingsley got some time to chat with Mitchel Cave below.
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Hi Mitchel, how are you?
Hi there! I’m good.
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You guys had a really busy year in 2017, with the release of your self-titled debut album as well as touring with Sleeping with Sirens and Blackbear. How’s everything been going?
It’s all going very well, I mean it’s been a lengthy process. We’ve been touring for five months straight now, so we’re getting very used to it and getting very used to the whole process. It’s very exhausting but it’s fun. We’re working at building up our fanbase and we’re having a great time at the same time. We’re about to take a break though which is good, we need a little break to make some music and get healthy again.
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You released three EPs before your debut album, which is made up of songs from your EPs and brand new tracks…how did you decide what songs from the EPs would make it onto the album and why did you select those particular songs?
It was a little difficult to curate, because when you make songs they’re all kind of like your little children, you know what I mean? They’re like your little babies so it’s really tough to pick and choose, but we wanted to curate the album in a way that made sense sonically, something you can listen to and have a broad variety of different sounds and styles. We had to pick the right songs that matched one after another. We wanted to make it a full sonic experience rather than just a repetitive, mundane album. We wanted every single song to pop off.
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You’ve just released your video for your single “Swim” as well, which I really loved by the way. What made you choose to pick that as your next single?
We love that song so much! When we wrote that song we were stoked about it. We have a very soft spot for the song “Swim”, it’s like our favourite child…it was the one we felt was going to work the best in a broad sense towards the audience.
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You guys are signed with MDDN, Benji and Joel Madden’s label. How has it been touring and working with them?
They’re phenomenal. They’re just the most inspirational people to work with, they’re so wise. They’ve been doing this shit for years, and they know the ropes inside out, they know everything. So just working with them, there’s a mutual respect. We admire them, but at the same time they admire us. They come into the studio and give us tips—it’s very synergistic. We’re business partners but we’re also best friends, which is really cool.
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As I understand, you guys write and produce the music you put out and like to retain creative control?
Yes, we do everything ourselves.
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Has it always been this way, and have you found it has become more important to you as your careers has progressed?
It’s been important from the get go. We did everything ourselves from the beginning and that’s never going to change. The more we make music, the more protective we get over the music we’re creating. There’s a lot of people trying to get their hands on it now, but we don’t fuck with that many people. We have our circle and that’s our clique, the people we trust. We’re doing the right thing and we’re stoked.
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What would you say has been the best show you’ve played to date and why?
The best show we’ve played? Definitely the headliners. We’ve done one headline tour in the U.S When you play a headline show it’s different to being an opening act, because not everyone knows you when you open for other bands. But when you play a headline show…We had no idea that there was people all over the U.S who would come to our headline shows. Especially me growing up in far north Queensland, Cairns. Like you never expect that kind of shit. You never expect people to know all the words to your songs, so when you’re playing those kind of headline shows, I don’t even have to sing—the crowd just sings. It’s insane. But my favourite show if I had to pick…We had a show in Chicago on our headline tour, it was sold out to 1000 people, and we were like how did this happen? We were mind blown.
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That’s so cool! Is there anyone you would love to collaborate with in the future?
As of recently, I’ve really been fucking with Tory Lanez. He released a new album, and he is just an incredible artist. I mean, he’s the whole package. He does a little bit of production, but he has this thing where he has three different styles of writing and performing. So he’ll have his regular standard kind of voice, then he’ll have his sweet Chris Brown voice, then he’ll rap. He’s just a truly inspiring artist.
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You guys played the Vans Warped Rewind at Sea last October. How do you feel about playing the last final cross country Warped Tour as it’s obviously such a huge festival that has launched the careers of so many artists?
It’s crazy—we feel so privileged. We’re not really part of that Warped Tour scene in a general sense, but they invited us to come and play, and how can you say no to playing the last ever Warped Tour?
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You’re playing all across Europe and America supporting Sleeping With Sirens and the Warped Tour. Where are you most excited to travel to?
We’re going to Europe! I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve been to London when I was younger for a week, but I’ve never explored Europe, so that’s gonna be insane. We’re getting a double decker bus, we’re gonna travel everywhere. I can’t wait to explore that side of the world.
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What can we expect from you guys in 2018 and any chance of your own Australian tour on the cards?
I mean we might do a headline tour, we’ll see. We’ve been touring for a while so we might spend two months in the studio making new music. We have one week in the studio before our last tour and we made half an album in one week. So we’ll probably go make a whole album.
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Ultimate guilty pleasure song?
I’m not really guilty! There’s some really tacky tacky songs that I love that I’m not guilty about. Cars! Gary Numan. That’s a guilty pleasure.
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If you were an alcoholic beverage/cocktail, what would you be?
As of late, beer, because that’s all we were drinking on tour every single day. My favourite would be a Pina Colada. I fucking love Pina Coladas.
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Have you ever asked someone famous for a selfie?
I’ve never really approached anyone saying “hey can I take a photo with you?”, it always kind of just happens naturally. Last night we were hanging out with Lionel Richie and he was like “yo you guys wanna take a pic?” and we were like “absolutely!”
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Go to drunk meal?
Maccas.
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What food do you miss most from home?
Nandos or Oporto.
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Thank you for chatting with me today!
Thank you so much! Take care.
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