JACK Patterson is no stranger to a good party. His band Clean Bandit have, after all, provided the soundtrack to some of the very biggest and best.
So you might expect him to be ready to hit it hard when he arrives at The Big Feastival on Saturday.
Far from it. “I am famous in some social circles as a party animal but I have gone teetotal til Christmas Day!” he laughs.
“I know it’s the wrong time to do it, but I decided to take a bit of a breather. Our job is to put on a party but you have to step back and look at it.
“It’s mostly to be healthy – and to see if I can do it. I’ll have to make sure there are lots of nice fruit juices to drink, although I might celebrate with a bottle of sparkling water.”
Clean Bandit have been on an intoxicating ride of their own after a string of chart smashes and high calibre collaborations with the likes of Jamaican rapper Sean Paul, singers Anne-Marie and Jess Glynne and Marina and the Diamonds.
“The bar is set high,” says Jack, who is taking a break from the studio.
“It’s been really good and we are pleased how things have gone. We work with so many different people. Every time we do a new track we learn something new so it gets a bit easier.”
The trio of Jack, his brother Luke and Grace Chatto have been turning out slick and intelligent electro-pop music with classical overtones since getting together while studying at Jesus College, Cambridge in 2008.
The band’s fourth member, violinist and pianist Neil Amin-Smith, another Jesus alumnus who had previously played alongside Beth in a string quartet, left in 2016.
Their original vocalist, Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka, left in 2010 to study for a PhD in laser analytics – they are that sort of band.
First raising eyebrows with their single Mozart’s House, which reached number 17 in 2013, they topped the charts months later with the bouncy Rather Be – a collaboration with Jess Glynne. It proved to be 2014’s second best-selling British song (after Happy by Pharrell Williams), hit the US top 10 and went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
Nice cuppa: Clean Bandit
It also instigated a string of collaborations, which again hit gold with Rockabye, featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie – which topped the charts, becoming the 2016 Christmas number one single in its seventh consecutive week at number one. It became a global smash, reaching number nine in America. The Cambridge brainiacs had not only reinvigorated pop, they had become a major commercial success, shifting well over 13 million singles and 1.6 million albums worldwide.
Their list of collaborations is certainly impressive. Their tune Disconnect features vocals from Marina and the Diamonds, Extraordinary involved Sharna Bass, top five single Tears boasts X Factor 2015 winner Louisa Johnson, and their third UK number one, last year’s Symphony, features Swedish singer Zara Larsson. A second collaboration with Jess Glynne, Real Love, reached number two. They have also written songs for One Direction’s Harry Styles, Rhodes, Gallant and Elton John.
Yet another chart-topper, Solo, features the tones of Demi Lovato.
And their list of celebrity friends goes beyond singers. The video for their single UK Shanty, features supermodel Lily Cole. And how many other electronic acts are worthy to play alongside the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra?
“We are working with a lot of very exciting people,” says Jack, who lets on he is currently involved in a project which is strictly under wraps.
“I am keeping it secret,” he says cheerfully. “There are very few people I can tell... even my mum!”
Dutty rock: Sean Paul
With such an impressive roll call of great artists, they must have come across their fair share of over-demanding souls and divas. “Most of them have got to a point in their careers where they are at their most chilled when they are recording,” he says.
“They are most normal in the studio. After all, that’s their daily life.”
And who has been the most fun to work with? “Sean Paul was such a laugh,” he chuckles. “Out of all the people we have worked with, he was the one that left me most star-struck.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening. I’m a huge fan.”
The band, who take their name from a translation of a Russian phrase meaning ‘utter rascal’ are among the biggest acts on the bill at this year’s Big Feastival. Their set should prove to be a highlight of the event, which also features sets by Basement Jaxx, Craig David, Paloma Faith, Professor Green, X Factor winner James Arthur, New Order and Joy Division star Peter Hook and The Light, Artful Dodger, Becky Hill, Jaguar Skills, The Undertones, The Sugarhill Gang, Alex Jayne and Tom Odell.
There are concerns though, after Grace fell ill while touring in Asia earlier this week, and had to fly home, leading to the cancellation of a gig in Bangkok. Fans are hoping she is well and fit enough to take to the stage at Alex’s farm.
If she does, Jack promises an impressive set. “We’ll have a big band set up,” he says. “We can’t replicate the people we have worked with in the studio but we have an incredible line-up of singers.
“I always find festivals really nerve-wracking as I don’t know how the show is going to work, but as soon as we get going it works really well. It’s mad fun!”
They will also be indulging in some of the culinary treats at the festival, at which food is of equally importance to the music – with appearances by chefs Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc, Gennaro Contaldo, Mark Hix, Gizzi Erskine, Romy Hardeep Gill and Jasmine Hemsley among many others.
“We are going to savour all the delicacies of the festival,” he says.
- “And we can’t wait to see all our fans and thank them for their support.”
The Big Feastival is at Alex James’s farm in Kingham from tomorrow until Sunday
See thebigfestival.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article