Preview: Clean Bandit is ready for Wednesday’s show at the Fonda


Photo courtesy of flickr.com

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

Clean Bandit is an electronic dance group founded in 2009 in Cambridge, England. Recently their success with song “Rather Be” has spurred a huge following now not only in their home of the U.K., but also here in the United States. We sat down to talk to Grace Chatto, a member of Clean Bandit, about the group’s upcoming show on April 15 at the Fonda Theater as well as their rise to success in the EDM world.

DT: What are you most excited about performing in L.A.?

C: One of our first big shows in America was in Los Angeles and it was just such a crazy “L.A. experience” show. It was such a surprise factor coming over here, our reception was so much warmer and that was the lovely thing about the beginning of that LA show. We had an amazing time and it was a great crowd so we are so excited to be back and have a similar experience.

DT: Is there a certain vibe or feeling you hope to express at your shows? In other words, what do you hope listeners get out of coming to see you perform and listen to your music?

C: I think a lot of people who know “Rather Be” or have followed the band before expect an electronic scene where actually we want to bring a more intimate space of color and styling with electric content. We like to bring in bass guitars and electric guitars and piano so that it’s not just about a guy with a laptop and I hope this excites people about what we are.

DT: I know that electronic music has been around in Europe for a while, yet has just recently come to the United States. What do you think about the electronic music trend becoming so widely accepted and popular outside of Europe?

C: It’s been really cool to see how electronic music has come to the United States. It seems to be heading in the direction that it was moving in the UK a few years ago I feel like its expanding in the sense that it is more emotional and diverse. Its really exciting to watch see it taking off.

DT: What has been the hardest part about getting to where you are as artists now?

C: It has been a lot of hard work. We’ve been working and managing for the past six years and its really been all consuming. However its been an amazing journey and we’ve had such a great time and have been able to travel the world and

DT: What has been the highlight of your career so far?

C: Winning the Grammy for “Rather Be” had to have been the highlight. That was just amazing, you know? Just being able to perform too now on our second nation-wide tour of the US. We were in for Coachella this last weekend and it was just incredible to be performing at a big festival in front of all those people, it was really a beautiful experience.

DT: What are your plans for the future and how do you hope to achieve your goals, specifically within the realm of the electronic music movement?

C: Well, were working now on our second album. We’re working really hard on that. We’re also excited about all our future performances and making sure we keep delivering great shows. We want to perform in really unexpected venues starting our shows off with classical music and working in drums and guitars and creating a “rave like feel” from that.  We’re also excited about our new single coming out called “Stronger” featuring vocals from up and coming artists Alex Newell and Sean Bass.

The official music video for “Stronger” is on Youtube.  The song is now available for pre-order on iTunes along with the purchase of the group’s first album, “New Eyes.”