Rather than the usual bombast or snooze-inducing "relaxation music," the U.K. six-piece known as Clean Bandit mash classical music and pop forms for an airy and dreamy yet driven sound that's like the chamber music version of house music. The group's four core members were known as the Chatto Quartet, a classically trained string quartet that performed J.S. Bach and cited Jacqueline du Pré as an influence, but their post-show, wind-down music often consisted of garage, 2-step, Craig David, and Arcade Fire tracks. The quartet members were aware of both producer Jon Wandeck and MC Ssegamic through the duo's work in photography, and when Wandeck suggested they play on one of his house music cuts, Clean Bandit were born. With MC Ssegamic on the mike, they released the classical-meets-house-meets-hip-hop-meets-heartbreak song "Telephone Banking" in the summer of 2011. Their Dance Armstrong mixtape followed in 2012, while 2013 saw the release of their Mozart's House EP. "Mozart House," the song, also landed on their album New Eyes, which was released by the major label Atlantic in 2014.
David Jeffries
AllMusic.com
