CHIEF was born in 1981 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he grew up and still lives today. After showing interest in music at an early age and specifically hip hop since his early teens, Chief began DJing at the age of 14, and by 21 had started to create his own beats. Countless music genres ranging from jazz or neo-soul to hip hop or electronica can be cited as influences on Chief’s music, yet his productions strongly retain their unique identity.
In 1997, then alone and working relentlessly buried in a garage, CHIEF starts to focus mainly on his production works and they soon start to appear on several albums by Swiss hip hop artists.
Fast forward to 2005, CHIEF and old friend and fellow DJ/producer NO GAMES decide to team up in order to start an independent label and build a brand new studio in Lausanne. The two had met at a sound engineer school they both attended, they instantly developed a solid friendship and shared the same vision of music. Aptly named FEELIN’ MUSIC after the common good feeling they had about starting a business venture together, their concretized big plan has become a revered recording studio where they handle mixing and productions duties together, as well as organize workshops, sketching, demos and artist promotion.
With years of experience within the local music scene under his belt, CHIEF then works on extending his network to a worldwide scale, collecting collaborations with various artists from all around the globe, especially artists from USA. These exchanges quickly lead to the 2006 release of the full-length album “KAYDEE & CHIEF ARE THE GROOVE” with US rapper KAYDEE a.k.a. K-SKILLS from Maryland, while 2007 sees the release of “PAVEMENT SPECIAL” together with rapper SENE from Brooklyn, an exclusive edition made by S.O.U. RECORDS for Asia only.
That same year, SENE & CHIEF take the collaborative experience further and release a second album together through FEELIN’MUSIC, “BEAUTIFULLY UGLY”, which also features rising rap star BLU from California. Just two months afterwards, SENE & CHIEF drop “GARBAGE PAIL KIDS” for the prestigious SHAMAN WORK RECORDINGS imprint (home of legendary artists such as CL SMOOTH, MF DOOM, SCIENZ OF LIFE, WALE OYEJIDE, EMANON, J-RAWLS and many more).
In 2008, CHIEF contributes to the “SHAMAN WORK RETROSPECTIVE” compilation with his track “N.A.S.A.”. This project also features infamous SHAMAN WORK members like CL SMOOTH, JAY DEE, 9TH WONDER, MF DOOM, SCIENZ OF LIFE, WALE OYEJIDE and J-RAWLS to name but a few. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, a number of CHIEF’s productions are used by SENE & PREFYX for their album under the JHAZ BROWN name and also on SENE’s “ANYWHERE BUT HERE”, both albums seeing a release on the Asian territory through the ROOT 70 LOUNGE label
Yet the progression doesn’t stop here for 2008, as producer extraordinaire and SWOLLEN MEMBERS’ own MOKA ONLY selects a beat from CHIEF for his album “CARROTS AND EGGS”, released by Canada-based label URBNET.
2009, the hard work pays off, CHIEF has gained a reputation as a deft producer amongst the international hip hop and nu soul scene, FEELIN’MUSIC has secured a distribution deal with TRAFFIC ENTERTAINMENT. Exciting new opportunities arise. The year 2009 marks a new start for both the producer and the label, a fresh start in a higher league. Production commissions keep dropping for CHIEF, while the label has several high- profile releases in the pipes, there’s no time to breathe. You can rest assured the names of CHIEF and FEELIN’MUSIC will be on all lips once the new projects featuring the likes of BREA, MOKA ONLY, LES NUBIANS, BLU and KISSEY ASPLUND start dropping.
In November 2009, Chief releases “Collabo Collection”, a groundbreaking collection of collaborations, made between 2005 and 2009, that showcase different facets of his genius beatmaking. The album features an A- team list of guests including Moka Only, John Robinson, Kissey Asplund, Dynas, Blu, Co$$, Les Nubians, Just Brea, or Abstract Rude to name but a few.
2010, the year's been mainly spent in the studio, touring to promote the release of "Collabo Collection" aside, Chief focuses on new projects to be released in 2011. He's only made rare appearances on the front during the
year, notably some collabo/remixes with Moka Only and Co$$ or the unofficial yet acclaimed tribute to Brazilian pianist Chick Corea available as a free download. While 2010 has been employed working in the shadow, 2011 will see the release of five new albums by, or produced by, Chief. First up “Drone beats & electric waves”, an instrumental album scheduled for January, which will be followed by 3 different artist albums entirely produced by Chief, names to be revealed soon!
