Interview: Chris Caulfield
When people listen to your music, what are you hoping they get out of it?
I tapped into a lot of difficult personal experiences with these recent projects, in some cases in a reflective format, in others almost sarcastically or exaggeratedly "leaning into" the pain - for me, acting as an outlet, and why I've been using the working title, Catharsis. So I think beyond of course just connecting in general, and engaging with the storytelling and lyricism, I would love to see it act as a sort of outlet/catharsis for the listener as well, and if they can't connect with the subject matter, to be able to connect with the emotion.
How would you describe the sound of your music?
That's something I've been spending a lot of time talking about with friends, my team, etc. In a short time it's shifted a bit, but still I'm incorporating rock and hip hop broadly, but recent projects are more specifically honing on elements of "emo", and 90s/2000s era alternative, combined with hip-hop and current pop elements. The theme mentioned above has a somewhat "dark" tone around a lot of the releases, sometimes in an exaggerated fashion to combine with energy, emotion, etc.
Who would you say are some of your musical influences?
I grew up listening to a lot of rock, anything from Oasis, Radiohead and Colplay to Korn, Slipknot, 10 years, Disturbed, and everything in between. I'd also say artists like Justin Timberlake, David Bowie, Michael Jackson are influences as well. In the last decade, I've been a lot more focused on hip-hop, favourites from Drake, JuiceWrld, J. Cole, Joyner Lucas, Iann Dior, Eminem and more. Bit of a mixed bag!
Did you always know that music was something you wanted to pursue?
Yes. That and a passion to create. I wrote a lot of music in my teens and early 20s, played in some bands, etc, and then spent over a decade running my own small businesses, another creative outlet.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
I'm still figuring a lot of this out myself, but, I'd say you need to really have a strong trust in self, and what you do. There's a lot of opinions and music is so subjective, gotta have a strong read on where you are at all times in order to kinda keep course.
What is your favorite song to perform live?
Currently, I'd have to say my new release, Feelings would be my pick!