Clean Bandit were “told to stop making pop music” by their old record label.
The band – which includes Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson and Grace Chatto – earned four UK number one singles with their trademark sound, but their old label ultimately wanted to have a bigger say in the type of music they released.
Speaking to the BBC, Jack explained: “We were told to stop making pop music.”
The group were specifically encouraged to pursue a “dance music” sound instead.
Jack shared: “We were sent dance music playlists on Spotify and told ‘your music has to sit on here – only Harry Styles can make pop music.'”
The change in direction had a detrimental impact on their chart success, but at the time, Clean Bandit were just keen to release new music for their fans.
Grace explained: “We allowed it to happen because we were like, ‘We’d rather release something than nothing’.
“But the music didn’t feel like our music. Our fans were feeling it. We were feeling it.
“In the end, we were like, what’s the point in doing anything?’”
Clean Bandit are now working with a new record label, and Jack thinks that the new relationship is much more beneficial for the band.
He said: “I hate to keep coming back to it, but our previous label was based in the UK, so their priority was always what would work over here.
“If it wasn’t going to be played on Capital [Radio], they weren’t interested.
“Now, if we work with someone in Mumbai, that’s OK. The fact that we don’t have a singer means we can be light on our feet and work anywhere in the world.”