After establishing himself with a string of impactful singles these last few years, Bristol-based artist Chandra is back on the grind once again to deliver his explosive new single 'I'll Be There'.
Doubling down on those bold and captivating pop-rock aesthetics he has been developing since he first emerged, 'I'll Be There' makes for an incredibly fun and immersive listen. With his vibrant vocal style threaded across a guitar-driven production from start to finish, he is quickly cementing himself as one of the more exciting names on the rise right now.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and what has been inspiring him most recently.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
When I was about 6 I had this little Casio keyboard that lit up certain keys so you could play along to songs like Greensleeves and Rainy Days & Mondays. That’s what started my musical journey. It was like a videogame really… I did it over and over and over until I perfected it.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Well that depends on what you class as ‘younger’. But when I was a teenager I fell into an angst pit and stayed there for a while… Radiohead, Muse, Suede, Mansun, Placebo, The Smiths… but secretly I also loved The Police, Duran Duran, Britney and The Saturdays. You won’t be printing this anywhere, right?
What was the first album you remember owning?
Automatic For The People by R.E.M. It blew my mind… a ‘proper’ album with dynamic shifts that took you on a real journey. It is defined by expectations for what an album should be and I listened to it religiously for the best part of a year. As a kid I went to sleep and drifting off to Sweetness Follows is a feeling that will never leave me.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Toxic by Britney… well, technically Cathy Dennis and co. It’s of its time of course but it’s one of those perfect pop songs that is so good that it could be adapted to work in any genre of music. A great song is a great song and when I first heard it I was mesmerised.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
I’ve learned over the years not to force it. When it comes, it comes but you’ve just got to be ready when it does come. I generally get an idea for an entire song in my head at once… I either dream it and wake up with a whole song or it’ll just suddenly come to me in the most random places and I’ve learned that if I don’t record it on my phone right there and then it’ll be gone 5 minutes later, never to return. Pretty, Smile (No Fox Gibbon), I’ll Be There… They were all ‘wake up at 6am and jump out of bed’ songs.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I tend to go through phases of listening to types of music for weeks at a time. A few weeks ago I was listening relentlessly to video game soundtracks. I was a massive Gamer as a young kid and a lot of my musical influence at that stage came from soundtracks to games like Castlevania, F-Zero, Final Fantasy… so that was my place to be last month. At the moment I’m listening to a bunch of more progressive albums... stuff like Dream Theatre Scenes From A Metropolis Part 2. I have to be in a very specific mindset for that though, haha.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
It used to be Radiohead… heck, it still is Radiohead! But let’s be clear, they would be playing songs from The Iron Lung EP, The Bends, Pablo Honey and OK Computer because in this crazy scenario, even though I am opening for them, I am somehow in charge of them too and get to dictate which era of the band arrives on stage.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Other people’s reactions, for sure. I’m not one of these people who writes for myself. I’m very open and honest about the fact that I write music for people to listen to so their opinion is everything. People are too shy to come and talk to me at gigs (doesn’t help that I’m 6’ 3” with a mohawk!) but with the recent singles I get a lot of messages from people telling me how my music made their day, or how it gets them out of bed in the morning or how it’s so invigorating to listen to music they like with lyrics that lift them up. That’s everything to me.
And what is the most frustrating part?
I’m not a moany person… I’m really positive about pretty much everything… but it’s frustrating how the music industry clings to pigeonholes so rigidly and is so scared to support anything that doesn’t fit. My music doesn’t really fit into any pigeonhole… sure it’s vaguely ‘pop-rock’ but people also describe it as punk-pup, glam rock, indie rock, guitar pop… one blogger said we’re like if Weezer had a baby with Good Charlotte and it was raised by McFly! And I love those kinds of descriptions because the truth is that I’m influenced by a love of rock AND pop and because of that the songs don’t sound like any particular artist. Everyday people seem to love that… the press seem to love it too but record labels simply don’t want to know. And I think that element of the music industry is why a lot of artists these days are doing their own thing independently. And all power to them.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
It’s one of those things that sounds like a cliché, and you absolutely can’t accept this advice until you’ve been through the mill, but it is simply to be true to yourself. The pressure of ‘making it’ inevitably means that you question everything you do as a musician. Every word you write, every melody, every element of your brand, you question. What will people think? Should I change this to make people like it more? Should I write about this because it’s trendy at the moment? With time though, you learn that you’ll only write to the best of your abilities if you’re completely true to yourself. Thankfully I’ve been through it, come out the other side, seen the light in many ways and I’m writing the best music of my life.
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Chandra's new single 'I'll Be There' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.