Trouble & Bass

Birmingham’s Cause & Affect – Chris Lorenzo and the mononymous Kane – are unlike most other DJ/producer acts today. They don’t censor themselves in interviews. The pair have shaken up British dance music with their unique sound – a jackin’ bass house mutant Lorenzo calls ‘house & bass’. It’s the new speed garage. Cause & Affect appear a relatively new combo, yet each has a history in the scene. Lorenzo has an extensive background as a producer – being a ghostwriter of bassline tunes from a young age. These days he regularly collaborates with break-out star Hannah Wants. Cause & Affect established themselves with 2013’s Don’t Like To Do That EP on Claude VonStroke’s San Francisco-based dirtybird.

Says Kane, “We have been making music together for eight years under a few different aliases. We began Cause & Affect around four years now.” Lorenzo picks up the story. “We met in a shit club where Kane used to be an interior designer for club decor. A mutual friend knew we both were starting to make music and he introduced us. We have been making music pretty much every week since.”

The UK underground is increasingly nebulous. Some still rely on formula, Lorenzo observes. “I think when most people went right, we went left. We try not to sound like the last few popular records that have been doing the rounds. It’s more difficult in this age to be unique as there is so much ‘sheep’ production these days. We try not to follow the herd and just do our own thing – that way you’re almost in your own category.” C&A lately aired the Mistakes EP on Rinse FM – and more music is to come, Kane reveals. “We have a release lined up on [Skrillex’s label] OWSLA, Get To The Chopper/Stampede, due to drop soon.”

Birmingham has a strong tradition in UK dance music, but the Midlands city isn’t lauded in the media as often as Manchester, Bristol or Glasgow. There’s a reason for that, Kane rues. “There are two key events in Birmingham – 02:31 and GLAS. Besides that, there ain’t really anything worth mentioning.” Adds Lorenzo, “Birmingham needs more variety, and people who actually take promoting a bit more seriously than printing a flyer, sharing a few Facebook invites, paying local DJs shit wages and collecting the money at the end of the night!” 

The lads are upbeat about dance generally – with an Australian tour looming large. “I think maybe a Flume-influenced style of house is starting to creep through,” Lorenzo says. “We are just gonna keep trying to push the boundaries, as always. That’s the beauty of the music industry: it’s an untamed beast – as soon as someone thinks they have clocked it or can control it, it can flip on its head instantly.”

Anticipating their return gig in Perth, how do they see the night unfolding? “Hard-hitting bass, more alcohol than we can consume, just good vibes and energy,” Kane quips.