We discovered Chelsy Kaze via Musosoup, we’ve been listening to her debut album “Skyline” in our (home) office a lot and has been quite soothing for us. We thought it would have been nice to hear where she’s coming from with her music and how. We sent her over some questions and she kindly obliged and opened up about her life and her music.
She hails from Vancouver, Canada. Her album came together via rehearsing with each of the band’s member separately until getting in the studio. Despite this way of putting it together you can still feel a great synergy and everything is so well tied together.
“This album is an open book. With every song, you catch a glimpse of pain, joy, love and heartbreak.”
Listen to the album here while you read the interview:
Here’s our Question(s) Time with Chelsy Kaze:
Hi Chelsy, we found your music on Musosoup and we are very glad we did, your album is brilliant and we are very pleased to be chatting with you about your music.
To start with, please tell us a bit more about your musical journey, when and how you started getting involved with music? There was a particular moment when you decided you wanted to be a musician?
Ever since I was a kid I always had a passion for music. I was taking piano lessons, I taught myself how to play guitar and recorded covers from time to time. I don’t think it was until I started writing songs that I realized it was more than just a hobby though. I didn’t exactly come from a family of musicians so I wasn’t sure if it was something worth pursuing. However my cousin, Alan, is a musician as well and I saw how proud he was about his music. I guess in a way he became this role model and that motivated me to show my music off to people. All of the sudden I had this desire for my music to be heard.
What is your main goal with your project? I am sure taking over the world is somewhere on the list but if you could name one single thing you’d like to achieve what would that be?
That’s definitely on top of the list! But other than that I want this album to open new opportunities and hopefully I get the chance to reach out as many people as I can through my music. I wanted this album to be relatable. My main goal was the chance to connect with my fans in a deeper and personal level. As a musician, I don’t think there’s a more humbling feeling than people enjoying your songs, as well as taking the time to appreciate the story behind it all.
How are you finding the first reactions to your album? I hope it’s already being well received. What’s your feeling?
It’s been great so far! I’m so grateful to everyone who took the time to compliment me on this release. I have friends and family who have been very supportive since I released my first single in March. I honestly can’t express how happy I am to have people follow my work and it just makes me love what I do even more.
How do you see your music right now, in the current situation and how/why do you see it being relevant in the future?
Well as most people know, I’ve written some of the songs from my album yers ago. Recently, when I was listening to “Turn Around” and “Rescue Me”, it made me think about what’s happening in the world right now and the song affected me in a different way. It’s pretty great how anyone can take a simple song, find comfort in the lyrics and make it relatable to their current situation. I want my listeners to be able to do that with my music and find their own interpretation of it, regardless of when it happens.
About being relevant, who are the artists you follow at the moment and you believe being the most relevant right now and why? Can be more than one of course.
Lately, I’ve been listening to John Mayer’s older songs and I really appreciate the message that comes with it. I never really thought about the lyrics before and all of the sudden I’m hearing it in a different way. His songs “Waiting on the World to Change” and “Say” recently became more meaningful and it’s nice to have music like that to listen to for comfort.
How have you been spending the lockdown? Were you in Vancouver? Obviously hoping you and your family didn’t have to deal with the virus at all. Have you been more or less creative and productive during the last 3 months? We heard from many artists this hasn’t been the most productive of times for them as they felt they “had to” produce just because they had more time on their hands rather than feeling “naturally” more creative and it didn’t quite work out as they hoped. What’s your take on this?
Yeah, I was in Vancouver when the pandemic started. Being in quarantine was honestly not as bad as I thought. Obviously it was scary and my heart feels heavy knowing how many people are suffering out there. But in a way, it brought me closer to my friends and family.
I’m actually happy that you mentioned that because I felt the exact same way. Everyone had all the time in the world to be productive and the pressure to produce music was inevitable. I did write one song for my boyfriend during quarantine but that’s about it. I feel like I write better songs when I’m experiencing actual events but being stuck at home narrows out my options for creativity. Especially with the release of the new album, I was so busy the last few months that I felt the need to take a break. Overall, I didn’t feel inspired enough to write something worthwhile. It’s definitely gotten better over here though and it’s motivating me to do something more.
How do you see your musical project in a post-lockdown world?
Releasing music during a lockdown has not been the easiest of times I am sure, without being able to support it live. Are you already thinking about live dates or are you just living in the moment and working on your recordings?
I honestly cannot wait to start playing gigs again. I haven’t given it much thought and it’s a little hard to plan anything right now. The city is just starting to open back up and that’s a good sign but a lot of things are still uncertain. I’m just hoping for the best and when I get the opportunity, I’ll be ready.
Have you been writing new music? I know the album has just come out but wondering what your plans are, release wise, in 2020?
I wrote one song that I’m planning to release in fall or winter of 2020. I want to start writing more songs and I’m working on a couple acoustic covers that I would really like to share, hopefully this year.
Before we let you go, can you recommend a couple of great new bands/artists you are into at the moment? Any Canadian artists we should be aware of here in the UK?
I’ve been listening to Elle King and Grouplove a lot lately. I just love feel-good songs and both their albums have been on replay this summer. As far as Canadian artists go, I recommend listening to Carly Rae Jepsen, Lights, Marianas Trench and Faber Drive. I fell in love with their music when I was a kid and I’ve been following them ever since.
Follow Chelsy Kaze here:
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Spotify
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