Rising UK talent CHANEY makes his highly anticipated return to the Insomniac Records imprint with his sophomore single “Strong,” an uplifting, piano-led masterpiece.
Channeling his singer-songwriter background, British extraordinaire CHANEY has managed to establish a leverage point as a versatile house producer who’s become well regarded for incorporating disco and classic rave influences into his productions. His follow-up appearance with Insomniac Records is no exception, as he leaves his stamp on an intoxicating house groove that feels fresh and exponentially timeless.
Harkening to the golden era of dance, “Strong” is a piano house number bursting with joyful, late-night euphoria. A commanding vocal belt tickles the serotonin receptors, while the hook finds its counterpart in CHANEY’s supreme studio expertise. Analog grit colors the synth textures and ethereal pads, lending a retro characteristic to the uptempo drive and slick breakbeat builds. And, not least of all, an irresistible old- school piano chord progression closes the case completely.
Speaking on the song, CHANEY comments:- “I began the writing process of ‘Strong’ with my Roland SH-01A, beginning with the sequence that I programmed and played into the synth. A little touch of reverb and space helped set the vibes in the studio that day. Not long after, I began to blast out drum patterns, basslines, as well as larger-than-life pads.”
Once the blueprint was laid out, CHANEY set his sights on peppering in the perfect vocal and hook.
“I was working with a particular acapella at the time, though it wouldn’t work with other projects I was working on. So, I chucked it into a sampler, slicing up some of my favourite lyrics and phrases that spoke to me, and, soon enough, everything started to make sense. It felt like a melting pot of all my sounds. The only thing missing was a ‘90s-esque piano part that eventually helped join all the dots together. It’s a record that’ll hopefully induce a few tears in the rave, arms in the air, and hopefully lose yourself.”
The single follows his label debut, “Out of My Depth,” which arrived at the start of 2023, and featured the effortless delivery of London-based vocalist Nu-La. Another soul-touching house gem, the single has amassed more than 1.3M streams to date, after securing radio support from Capital Dance, BBC R1, KISS FM, and more. Months later, he brought the excitement to a boil when he made his debut at EDC Las Vegas, performing on the Insomniac Records hosted stage stereoBLOOM, where the track was able to be seen in action. His presence in the States is only going to continue to flourish from this point forward, as he gears up for an appearance at this year’s Nocturnal Wonderland in September, following his most recent performance at Academy LA alongside Mark Knight and Gene Farris.
CHANEY operates out of southwest England, is known to friends and family as Theo Altieri, and is destined to continue the near-vertical ascent that began with his inaugural release in 2018. One of the reasons for this swift and prolific success is no doubt his prior background as a young singer-songwriter who was signed to Warner, which taught him the fundamentals of composition and arrangement that he’s deployed like a pro since switching over to house music, earning accolades from stalwarts like Pete Tong and beyond.
CHANEY’s new single “Strong” is available on all platforms via Insomniac Records.
