With a career spanning 27 years, Rob Chung – better known as Chug – is an established Drum & Bass producer and DJ. Currently living in South-East London, Rob's deep-rooted connection to music began in his hometown of Norwich.

As a teenager fuelled by a passion for golden-era Hip-Hop, after saving money from a weekend job at Debenhams (!), Rob invested in a pair of decks and started his DJing journey. From obsessing over local pirate radio stations(Style and Flight FM) he immersed himself in the underground homegrown sounds of Jungle / D&B and UK Garage, This led to playing out on the local UKG scene at venues such as Fat Pauly’s and Mojos.

Since then, Rob has graced the booths of London venues, including Ministry of Sound, The Egg, Rhythm Factory, 93 Feet East, and The Marketplace. Performing alongside iconic figures such as Andy C, Fabio, Makoto, Danny Byrd, DJ Storm, Bryan Gee, Ray Keith, Pied Piper and Artful Dodger.

Transitioning into production in 2010, Chug’s sound is heavily influenced by the Jazz, Soul, and Funk samples characteristic of 90s Boom-Bap. He has built a respected discography with releases on labels including Tru Thoughts, Inform Records, Liquid Lab and Smooth N Groove.

Rob is also a core member of the ESEA Music community, helping run the Sesame Mentorship scheme, assisting people from East and South-East Asian backgrounds with navigating the music industry.
Photographer: 

Heritage: British - Hong Kong Chinese
Location: London (UK)

Connect: Instagram

—

3 words to describe you:
Melophile, Laidback, Junglist

Describe your sound:
Funky, Soulful, Minor 7ths, 808s and Breakbeats

Describe the moment you knew that you wanted to pursue music:
A lot of my childhood was spent passing time in my parent's takeaway in the evenings and at the weekends. If I wasn't chopping mushrooms or peeling prawns, I was pretending to be a radio DJ presenter in the backroom atop stacks of boxes of noodles belting out Billy Ocean's "When the Going Gets Tough"

A vivid memory of being introduced to electronic music was through my eldest sister, Mandy, who would send me dubbed cassette tapes from London (while she was at uni). One of which was Tupac's "All Eyes On Me" double album. Cassette tapes were 90 minutes long, and there was some spare room as "Book 2" only lasted an hour, so she put a few jungle tracks on the end. Hearing classics like Shy FX feat. UK Apache's "Original Nuttah" and Prizna and Demolition Man's "Fire" left me completely hooked.

How does your heritage impact your art?
Being BBC (British Born Chinese) has impacted my creativity and influences which I guess represents the second generation immigrant story in the UK. My elder sisters always had Black music playing on the HiFi, so naturally New Jack Swing, Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and later Jungle and UK Garage were the soundtrack to my youth. To play up to the stereotype(!), I played classical Violin and Piano to a good level which I imagine brings some of the more musical parts to my music. 

What moment are you most proud of in your music journey so far?
Getting recognition from some of the pioneers and legends of the rave scene play my tunes is hugely rewarding. Getting national radio airplay from DJ Spoony (who I would listen to religiously when in the Dreem Teem)  for the remix I did for Jess Young's "Butterflies" was pretty awesome!

Your next music goal:
Complete my UK Garage EP.  Do more collaborations!

If you could collaborate with anyone, who and why?
Calibre. He can turn the most simplest ideas into absolute masterpieces.

A song that has shaped you:
Renegade - Terrorist (Dom & Roland remix) - [Moving Shadow]

I heard this at my first rave at Norwich UEA. I remember I was sitting down and just observing the crowd... as the piano finishes on the intro, the iconic reese bass kicks in and then the amen break drops and everyone is just going crazy. I knew that I had to be part of this somehow!

3 songs you're listening to right now:
When Palestine Is Free - Momoko Gill
Mum Does The Washing - Joshua Idehen
We Blessy - Fox, Lenzman, Satl

Your community shout out:
Not only is he a formidable lyricist and emcee, but as an artist and storyteller, Jianbo (@jianboforever) is really setting the standard for independent underground music. The deeply thought out visuals and lovely nods to his heritage alongside the grimiest beats and basslines have seen him play at some acclaimed venues and festival stages. I had the pleasure of witnessing him live at SXSW London last year and he did not disappoint. Secretly, I always wanted to be an emcee, so seeing an ESEA rapper smash it is probably why I've picked him too!  

Anything else you'd like to share:
On July 3rd, my 4 track EP "Brighter Days" will be released on Liquid Lab representing the summery soulful side of Drum and Bass. Including vocals from the hugely talented Aileen de la Cruz and Oktae

I'll also be returning to my hometown, Norwich, with an appearance at Gonzo’s Two Room  on July 24th as part of T>I’s residency, supporting headliner DJ Marky.