After over ten years making jazzy house bangers, countless single and EP releases, and sets on stages around the world, Chaos in the CBD have finally released their debut album, A Deeper Life. The record marks a huge milestone in the New Zealand-born brothers’ musical journey.
Chaos in the CBD are brothers Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales, hailing from Auckland – but now residing as one of the hottest acts in London’s house scene. Where most of the duo’s previous offerings have felt like a direct product of their life in London, A Deeper Life is an exploration of their Kiwi roots. Through this album, Chaos in the CBD take a global approach, with sounds jumping between genres, cruising across the globe, and resulting in a delightful expansion to their palate.
Down by the Cove starts the album exactly in that way, with tropical beats, pans, and drums stirring up a beautiful atmosphere from the go. This track doesn’t really go anywhere – but that’s what makes it a fantastic introduction to this album. It certainly lets us know where we are headed.
Mountain Mover enlists London-based guitarist/producer Alex Cosmo Blake, whose clean guitar chucks and noodling help the album feel like it’s properly starting to take off. Rapper Novelist and soulful house vocalist Stephanie Cooke contribute to Maintaining My Peace, which perfectly strikes a balance between funk and chill house, creating one of the grooviest tracks on the album. The vibes are in full flow by this point.
The old-school funk continue through Tears and Brain Gymnasium, before a mix up into I Wanna Tell Somebody changes the game. Featuring vocals from Motown/soul vocalist Josh Milan, this track has got Bossa at its core – with a Chaos flair, of course. It’s at this point you truly appreciate how far Chaos in the CBD have come with their sound.
Ōtaki is a town in New Zealand, and has gives its name to the next track, featuring Finn Rees. It’s a groovy, chilled, and house-infused example of Chaos’s sound – textbook.
Moving on, Love Language is one of the highlights of this album for me. Nathan Haines contributes a serene saxophone melody from the offset, and, over Chaos in the CBD’s excellence in providing the rhythm and groove, it’s a wonderful track: truly a demonstration of the brothers at their best.
From saxophone to trumpet next, and one long-time collaborator to another. Whenever Māori musician Isaac Aesili is involved, you know it’s going to be a top-drawer tune. Having contributed already to some of Chaos in the CBD’s biggest hits (Midnight in Peckham, 78 to Stanley Bay), this was always going to be good. It’s a blissful track, with layers upon layers contributing to a rich, soulful, but persistently chilled out eight minutes.
The groovier ending of More Time, featuring another long-time friend in Lee Pearson Jr., bridges into another Haines showcase in Tongariro Crossing (named after a popular New Zealand hike) – which is a stellar flute feature.
Barefoot on the Tarmac is a little more ambient and stripped back, whilst still rooted in deep-house vibes, before Marlboro Sounds brings the energy right back up. It’s higher-tempo, and one of the dancier, ‘pure’ house tracks on A Deeper Life, with plucky synth melodies and texturing through the likes of clicks, scratches and harmonies.
Album closer The Eternal Checkout is a relaxed, soulful melody, with piano work from Cenk Esen. Similarly to the album’s opening, Down By The Cove, this is a track which doesn’t really move anywhere, but rightfully so. It’s a nicely cyclical end, which allows you to reflect on the previous hours’ sounds and the journeys taken.
What impresses me most with A Deeper Life, is not just how far Chaos in the CBD have expanded their sound, but how much it still remains intrinsically them. The record demonstrates a multitude of genres, and takes Chaos in the CBD’s sound to another level; at the same time, however, the jazzy, deep-house, which has been at the core of their sound since they started releasing music, very much remains the beloved driving force.
Ten years is a long time to wait for a debut album: but when you hear what they’ve come up with, I hope you’ll agree it was worth the wait.
Waxing Lyrical 