With 2020 finally behind us and the new year finally here we are excited to bring to you our first interview of 2021 by featuring Toronto based artist Chris Chand. A signee to start up label Tom Boy Records, rising artist Chris Chand continues the labels trend of high quality artists who produce nothing but high quality music. An artists who’s work ethic speaks for its self Chris Chand is definitely on his way to success in the industry, and is one of the artists who should be on your radar for underground talent. Only 21-years-old the artist through his creative process is able to bend-the-boundaries of the Alternative R&B/Pop scene. From collectively captivating the Toronto streets, to rejuvenating a classic sound, the multi-talented instrumentalist has only just tasted the sample of what is to come.
Chris Chand, what's up bro! We’re excited to finally feature you on Nefarious Supply! To get the interview started tell us a little about yourself and your background? What made you want to be a musician?
Thank you for having me bro, I appreciate it! My name is Chris Chand, I’m a 21- year old multi-faceted creator and I grew up in Pickering, ON. I grew up in a musically oriented family and I feel like a lot of them had a big influence on me. My little brother Victor, my uncle Sanjay and I would have little performances in front of the family and we’d always jam with each other. My parents and grandparents actually played live shows when I was younger as well and I think being around that kind of creative energy really played a big role in me wanting to become a musician/artist.
How long have you been making music? Since your debut, what are some things you have learned during your career?
I’ve been making music for about 3 years now and since my debut, I’ve learned. At the end of the day, it’s your art/work so don’t get too caught up into what other people say/think and do it for yourself first. Shoot your shot, you never know what’s going to happen because in the 3 years that I’ve been making music, I’ve met and come across so many talented and lovely people and I don’t that would’ve happened if I was just sitting and waiting around.
What artists have influenced you, your sound, and your creative process, and which artists are your top five at the moment?
The artists that come to mind when it comes to the influence on me, my sound and my creative process and they are: Childish Gambino, Marvin Gaye, Tyler, the Creator, Steve Lacy, JMSN, Thundercat, Omar Apollo & Blood Orange.
My top 5 artists at the moment are: Men I Trust, Q, Yellow Days, Brent Faiyaz and Hiatus Kaiyote.
So you're based out of Toronto--which is a big hub for emerging artists-- so tell us about your experience in the area? As you've been growing in your career what are some skills you've picked up?
So far I can’t complain, I’d say I’ve had a good experience in the area. Collaborating and meeting new people/creatives is always fun and it’s something I’d love to keep doing. It’s unfortunate that we’re in a pandemic but it’s good that we’re able to work around it with Zoom/Facetime calls.
In my career, I feel like I’ve been getting better with the skill of networking/connecting with others. There’s definitely more for me to learn but I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress compared to 18-year old Chris. I also feel like I’m getting more comfortable when it comes to producing for others. When I first started releasing music, I always wanted to know how to make beats but I was way too anxious about it but as I got older, I would keep trying out different things that I thought sounded cool and I think it eventually worked out for the better.
\We've had both of your label mates on the platform before and it was very intriguing learning how they got signed to the company. So tell us your story: how did you and Tom Boy Records get on each other's radar and what made you sign with them?
I actually dm’d Cass who started up Tomboy Records. We both went to Durham College together and after finding out that she was behind the label and that Amaka and Elyssa were the artists she was working with, I really wanted to be a part of the roster and see what could happen. After checking out my music, Cass got back to me and gave the good news and I’ve been with Tomboy Records ever since!
Now getting into your music you have three solid songs out right now; ‘For Nothing’, ‘Summertime’ featuring 0 Hype, and ‘Circles’. Tell us about each of these songs. What inspired them and how they came together?
For Nothing was something I made with a friend of mine who goes by the name of Rarely the Student. I remember Rarely sent me a beat pack with all of these crazy sounds and I was trying to write to all of them, even if whatever I was writing wasn’t good. When I got to the original beat for For Nothing, I remember hearing it and instantly vibing to what I was writing. I hit up Rarely and told him that I think I might have something. Next thing you know, we got the song recorded and dropped it as soon as we could.
Summertime was something I made with my friends 0 hype and Sachin B. It’s always a great time working on music with them because the chemistry and the energy is always right whenever we link up. We met up at Rudi’s and started chilling/listening to Kevin Abstract and throughout the night, Sachin and I would lay down instrumental layers and Rudi would be writing to whatever we had going on. At some point during the night and I forget when but I remember I started writing to the song as well. Rudi and I both recorded whatever we liked from our notes and next thing we knew, we all had a song to release for the summer and for people to enjoy.
Circles was actually something I made on a whim with my buddy Bailey. I remember I was a bit indecisive about the original idea/lyrics of the song at first but I really really wanted to make something that sounded like Arctic Monkeys and Cage the Elephant. I recorded the vocal arrangement on my phone’s voice memos and wrote the music over that. When I brought the idea to Bailey and he loved it. We ended up recording the song at his house and released it as soon as we could.
You also just dropped your newest song titled ‘Shine’ which is a vibe. Tell us about this song and what inspired this one as well?
Shine was something I started working on last year around March. I remember thinking I wanted to make something that had a lot of people on it. After listening to the Revenge of the Dreamers III project and seeing all of the talented artists on it, I was really influenced by that and wanted to atleast make a song that had a lot of talented artists on it, didn’t necessarily have to be a big project. In terms of the sound, I was actually listening to a lot of The Internet and Marvin Gaye around the time I was working on the song and I think they influenced the sound behind it in some way.
You worked with a lot of people including; label mates Amaka Queentte and Elyssa Plaza to produce ‘Shine’ together and the result is AMAZING. So tell us about the creative process of putting this song together and how was the experience working with other people rather than solo?
The creative process was actually kind of a fun learning experience to go through. At first, I didn't know that I’d have this many people on the song but I knew that whatever was going to be recorded, it had to feel as live as possible and as if we were all in the studio together.
When it came to working with other artists rather than solo, I genuinely had a great time. It was my first time collaborating with all of these other artists and although we weren’t able to get into a room/the studio together, I’m glad we were still able to work from home and get the song done.
Big thank you to Elyssa, Amaka, SAAKB, Bubby, Kev, Josh & James for being a part of the song, I couldn’t have done it without you guys.
So your singles are great but I would love to hear a whole project by you. Is there a chance you will be dropping one this year?
I’m actually planning on releasing a 7 song EP this year! My team and I are hoping to release sometime in April but we’ll see what happens just because I don’t wanna rush anything. In my opinion, it is close to being done but I think it just needs some final touch ups/revisions and it’ll be ready for everyone to experience.
What’s next for you in 2021 and where do you hope to be by the end of the year?
I want to be better than I was the year before. As a multifaceted creator, I wanna explore the different fields within the art industry and I wanna keep building on the skills I’ve developed throughout the years/during quarantine (music, photography, graphic design etc). Aside from that, I hope to release an EP and a short film with some friends of mine and I hope to keep growing/working on myself as an artist/person.
Shout some friends out!
Not in order and also my bad if I forget to mention you, I still love you but I want to give a shout out to: Cass, Tejas, Hennigar, Emrys, Knudsen, Rudi, Sachin, Duran, Mooks & James
I also want to shout out my family because they’re hella supportive and it genuinely means a lot.
Any last words?
I wanna thank you for having me. Secondly, I hope you all have a great year, trust me we all deserve it after getting through 2020 and last but not least, give Shine a listen and let me know what you think of it:)
