British-born Chicane is a well-known DJ and has released numerous hits to date. It's not an exaggeration to say that Chicane is widely considered to be the one to have helped lay the foundation of the current trance music scene with his own creative, passionate, and at times unpredictable sound. Despite the fact his main competition was none other than the Pop Diva herself, Madonna, at that time, Chicane still ranked on the UK Charts at #1 with "Don't Give Up" 16 years ago, and achieved worldwide fame as a result.

DJMag Japan recently interviewed Chicane who has just released a retrospective album of his 20 years of music life.

Q1. We heard that your retrospective album “Twenty” is out now. It must mean a lot to you. Would you like to tell us more about this album?

Sure, it’s, well, as it says, 20yrs in the game, have no idea how that happened?……… The album is a snapshot of the whole period of time, we include all the classics, but have also got them remixed by the current crop of DJ’s & producers, so what you get is kinda one foot in the past, one in the future!!! It’s a milestone that needed to be recognised as most of my contemporaries are long gone. It is also important to point out that this is not a full stop on the Chicane project, more of a start of new chapter.

Q2. We are expecting celebration of your 20th anniversary in the music scene. Do you have plan for any event or tour with new album “Twenty”?

We are doing a very special one off show my full band at Koko in London on the 9th Sept. Other than that I will be in places such as, Budapest, LA, Australia to name a few!!!!

Q3. 2013 was your last event in Japan. What was your impression of Japanese audience at that time? And any plan to come back to Japan?

The first & Last time i played Japan was at ageHa, it was brilliant & can’t wait to return. We got a great reception.

Q4. You’ve been working with many artists before, especially how was the collaboration with Tom Jones, Bryan Adams or Moya Brennan kind of musicians from other genre of music?

All these collabs were so different but also so successful. To be honest, you never really know how things are going to turn out until you got in the studio together. But I have always made it a policy to try & work with artists away from the dance genre so you get something unique, that’s the whole idea of a collaboration.

Q5. Do you remember the moment of very first gig you ever played? What was it like?

Thinking back, it was in Edinburgh a place called Archaos….? I think the whole room was round, not too sure if I was any good at all, probably awful!!!!

Q6. What would you like to achieve from now on?

Still need to properly score a movie, one which is obviously right for Chicane.

Q7. There are many who want to become a producer in Japan. Would you like to leave some message to them as a composer and producer?

Ok, well it’s all about really understanding melody and what makes music evocative. You then need to package it into something that is a current groove & beat-wise, injecting your own slant & creativity into the production. It takes time to understand the process & knowledge really is the best tool you can have.

Q8. Please leave a message to Japanese audience.

I do hope to be back soon you crazy monkeys!!!!!!!

Chicane was born in Buckinghamshire in the London suburbs and had symptoms of dyslexia at a young age, so it was difficult for him to even read music. However, as a result of his natural born talent and continuous effort, he proved to have tremendous resolve and has fascinated fans with his sensational sounds ever since. It's tremendous how he has adapted himself and his music to a constantly changing world over the past 20 years and continues to be relevant after such a long and storied career. It will be an absolute pleasure for us to see and hear Chicane perform live.