CHANNE broke onto Toolroom’s Radar in 2022 when she won their Academy Scholarship with PIPES for their remix of Ben Remember’s Track’ Break Through’. Her sound encompasses hooky riffs and melodies with her passion for old-school house and driving tech. She has laid down roots across the House genre, supporting some big names in the industry at events such as IN SESSION (K Klass, Jon DaSilva), Southport Disco Festival (Graeme Park, Lisa Millett), and Sonrisa (Paul Bleasdale). CHANNE’s Radio Show ‘Let’s Get Techy’ is the first Wednesday of every month at 18:00 on Data Transmission Radio after Vintage Culture’s Show.
To mark the release of CHANNE’s latest record, ‘Jump & Twist’, a collaboration with Manchester-based artist Emma Clair on Toolroom’s latest ‘Leaders of the New School’ compilation, we caught up with the rising London-based talent for an exclusive chat:
Hey, CHANNE, thanks for joining us. What can you tell us about your journey into the industry so far?
Hey! Thanks for having me. My journey started in 2019 when I took a DJ Course at The School of Electronic Music in Manchester. From there, I became completely hooked on all things Electronic Music, and following that, I went straight into a Music Production Course and then a Music Business Course, which spanned over a three-year period. Following on from this, I entered a Toolroom Competition to remix Ben Remember’s track ‘Break Through’. I saw this advertised on their Instagram, and although I didn’t believe I was good enough, I entered because I thought, “Well, why not? If you don’t try, you don’t know!” I was paired with another producer ‘PIPES’, and we had never spoken before, so we chatted on WhatsApp, threw some ideas down, transferred the project back and forth from each other and then handed it in before the event.
I then headed down to E1 London on my own to my first-ever networking event, where I met loads of like-minded individuals with whom I’m still in touch on a weekly basis. They had some amazing speakers at the event, ranging from Artists, Labels, Radio Presenters, etc., and they all gave some invaluable insight into how the industry works and what to do to promote yourself in the best way that you can. It was at the end of the event that they announced that PIPES and I had won the remix competition and had won a Scholarship within the Academy. I remember shaking. I was so excited / couldn’t quite believe it! I headed home on such a high and couldn’t wait to get started with the Toolroom Academy.
Since then, I have taken the Production Masterclass (1-1 tuition) at Toolroom and am also currently on Ben Remember’s course ‘Club Ready’, which is all about mixing and mastering. My first release came out last month on Toolroom called ‘Ecstasy & Love’, and it did really well and even made the top 10 on Traxsource Tech House, which I was chuffed about!
Your new release, ‘Jump & Twist’, has also just landed on Toolroom Records. Talk us through this record and how it all came about.
This track is a collab with another female producer ‘Emma Clair’. Emma is a super talented producer and is another connection I made from one of the Toolroom Events, ‘We are Listening’, which is their event to help female producers in the music industry.
Emma lives in Manchester, and I’m just an hour away, so we hired a studio space in Manchester and over about three full-day sessions, we came away with our next release. It’s a high-energy warehouse club track with hooky vocals and ravey tribal vibes.
It landed at No.7 in the Taxsource Tech House Chart on its first day of release and has had radio plays from Vintage Culture, Mark Knight, R3WRIE and Lumberjack. So we are really excited about this one.
You’re another impressive product of Toolroom’s Academy Scholarships. What can you tell us about the program and its benefits?
Toolroom Academy is such an amazing platform. I first took the Toolroom Masterclass, which really dived deep into what I want to achieve as a producer, what sounds I like and how to achieve this. The very first task I had to do was to come up with a playlist of 10 songs that I really love, would want to incorporate into my music or that have been an influential part of my life – and it sounds daft, but this was one of the hardest things to do! And it’s by doing this that I was able to actually assess my own desires for what I wanted to achieve.
The tutors at the Academy are just incredible; you are literally learning from legends of the industry, and it really does feel like a big family. Plus, the opportunities to meet other students, attend the Toolroom events and gain contacts within the industry really are priceless. I 100% recommend the Academy to anyone wanting to level up their production.
What are your biggest hopes for your career going forward?
My biggest hopes are to create music that connects with an audience and to keep producing and grinding away until one day I can tour the world as a DJ. (I think that’s every producer’s dream, right?!)
But right now, I’m not forcing anything and just trying to enjoy this period of time where I’m releasing music; I am still experimenting with new sounds every day, and I’m excited to see what happens. I’m a massive believer that with enough hard work and dedication, ‘if you believe it, you can achieve it.’ (I even have that phrase tattooed down my spine!)
Lastly, what can we expect from you over the rest of 2023?
I have a couple more tracks signed and ready for release this year! One which drops at the end of this month on Play Records. This one is a ravey house-style remix of Banju’s piano house track ‘U Got Me’. I had loads of fun on this one, and it is my first official remix release.
I’m still working hard to try and get another couple of releases out for 2023, too, and I have a few more collaborations in the works.
CHANNE & Emma Clair’s ‘Jump & Twist’ is available to buy/stream here: https://trx.lnk.to/LOTNS23V2AS.