Like a bat out of hell, UK tech house newcomer Chapter & Verse has stunned the global tech house scene with his machine-like output of chart-topping hits. 

In just two years after his debut single — a frantic and enticing club track titled “Dreams” that took the world by storm — Chapter & Verse has released over 50 tracks with iconic labels like REALM, Repopulate Mars, SIGNAL >> SUPPLY, Deep Root, New State Music, and more. In addition, he’s started his own imprint, Atom Bomb, and signed a three-year publishing deal with Ultra Music — Beatport’s Label of the Month.

We spoke with Chapter & Verse to learn more about how he first became interested in DJing, his growing arsenal of tracks, his highlights of 2021, and more. 

Check out Chapter & Verse’s Ultra Music Label of the Month chart on Beatport.

Thanks for joining us! Now that the year is coming to a close, what would you say were your biggest highlights of 2021? 

There are a few, to be honest. I’ve had a really eventful 2021. Was lucky enough to sign a publishing deal with Ultra for the next three years. They have some incredible artists on their rosta so I’m really excited to see what that brings for 2022. 

I entered the top 100 top producers 2021 at number 58 in only my second year of releasing music so I was absolutely delighted with that. 

It’s also great to see live shows returning to the dance scene and to see so many of my tracks at incredible events and festivals throughout the world. It’s always given me a massive buzz to hear global stars like Diplo, Tchami, Joel Corry play my music to thousands of people. 

Where did you grow up in the UK, and how did you first get into DJing and music production? How long have you been at it? 

I grew up in South Yorkshire in a small town called Rotherham. No X Factor sob story from me I’m afraid, and I don’t have any pictures of me at the job centre or working at Dunelm Mill. My story is pretty straight forward: I got into DJing 2017 when I got back from Ibiza and literally made up that I was a DJ. I’ve always been obsessed with music and loved the energetic and positive vibes surrounding house music. I think as a person I’m very much like that, and I try to reflect that in my music. Since then my passion has grown from strength to strength, I feel very lucky and blessed that I’m able to do this day to day as an actual job. At the start of lockdown I built a studio in a spare room of my house and here I dwell to this day! 

You exploded onto the scene in 2020 with “Dreams” and have continued that momentum with chart-topping releases on some of dance music’s most coveted labels. What was your initial reaction when you first saw your music climbing the Beatport charts? 

Kind of digressing a little away from the question but I wanted to mention a little more about “Dreams.” I’m not sure if you know but that was my first ever release. I remember being in bed at 11 pm and flicking through Instagram like I always did (and still do now) and I saw a clip of Tom & Collins at EDC playing the track and I was like, ‘THAT’S MY SONG!’ I messaged everyone I know saying, that’s my song everyone’s jumping up and down to. To this day I still get the same amount of satisfaction out of being played at these events.

In terms of Beatport, they’ve really supported me since “Dreams,” irrespective of the label I’ve been on. I’ve released just over 50 tracks in two years so the support has been more than significant to me. Obviously charting in Beatport is a massive achievement and I’m proud to say that the majority of my releases hit the top 100. I still check that chart every day and I can’t see that changing ever.

After spending so much time in the studio these past two years, what was it like hitting the stage for the first time once lockdown restrictions started to ease up? Is there a particular show or moment behind the decks that stuck with you the most? 

So I released “Dreams” just before lockdown, so my growth has literally been throughout Corona, and I am really grateful to all the people who have been supporting me during this time. Chapter & Verse was always about making feel-good club bangers, and not commercial radio tracks, so I wasn’t really sure how the project would go, but things seem to be heading in the right direction. 

I’ve always wanted to DJ and produce for the people so this being taken away from me was a massive blow. Luckily I’ve come out of it with a lot of club music, and I have literally grafted every single day since the start of the pandemic. I think currently I’ve got about 200 tracks completed so expect to hear lots of C&V exclusives at my shows. I played Ministry of Sound in London a few weeks ago, which was amazing. It was unreal to see big crowds and also meet some of my fellow DJs for the first time. 

This year saw the launch of your brand new imprint, Atom Bomb Music. What are your hopes and goals for the label moving forward? 

I initially created Atom Bomb really because I wanted a bit of flexibility with my own releases. I can literally decide to release something next week and it’s really straightforward to do. It’s kind of a project for the future, which I’m just trying to steadily grow until my artist profile is big enough to support it for other artists.

I’m currently working on some tweaks to enhance the label so I can put out more music, but it’s important to me that everything is in place for the label to run smoothly. I know how important every release is when you’re an emerging artist and I’d be gutted if anything went wrong. There are some amazing artist-led labels out there like Techne and Repopulate Mars and I’d love to be amongst them in the near future.

Tell us a bit more about your latest EP, Worlds End. In your post about it, you referred to the release as “a little bit of a different idea.” What is it about the EP that makes you make that distinction? 

Well that track is more of a cinematic tech house kind of vibe, which is pretty unusual. This year I’ve been trying all kinds of different things with tracks such as “Ashes” and “Lights Go Out,” and those tracks have done really well, so I’m not afraid to stretch a few genre boundaries. I love taking influences from trance and old school rave and these tracks always come out pretty good (in my humble opinion, of course). It’s always hit and miss when you’re trying to invent a new sound but I’m more than in front with my release schedule so I’ll keep trying my luck. 

Any New Year resolutions? 

1. Don’t drink too much before gigs
2. Don’t drink too much after gigs
3. Don’t drink too much during gigs
4. Spend less time on Instagram
5. Get more streams than Joel Corry

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s North American editor. Find him on Twitter.