Chris Caulfield has been a musician for a long time, but when the pandemic hit, he invested in his own studio at home, and started building out a new project, following a rather difficult period in his life (pandemic aside). The artist’s new project blends elements of hip hop, alt and emo rock, and pop and focuses on introspective lyrics that cover a range of personal topics like mental health, issues with chronic pain, relationships, substances and more.
Chris has been running his own business for the last number of years and sees this as his greatest venture. The upcoming album is highly reflective of where the artist was mentally at different stages of the album, ranging from dark intense pieces to lighter, acceptance-oriented ones.
‘Breaking Down‘ has been an early fan favourite and is a great piece to represent the album. Fans can connect to the level of emotion, honesty and transparency. The artist is sharing emotional stories that are personal and true and can relate to people. Chris also focuses on a more authentic delivery, not always going for full polished appeal, because he wants to show that it’s just a person on the other end.
When asked to describe his sound, the artist said, ‘I’ve been self-describing much of my current work in the emo hip hop, “sadboi”, alternative hip hop categories but I blend elements of hip-hop, emo and alt-rock, pop, etc. Some of my more recent upcoming singles are lighter overall and lean more into pop, but largely this is the “arena”‘.
The artist’s current musical influences are JuiceWrld, Post Malone, Halsey, Lil Peep, whereas earlier inspirations have been Tool, Slipknot, Three Days Grace, Radiohead. Chris says that ‘the main life goal would be to perform with any of my many influences!’
The artist’s songwriting process can slightly vary, but the first step is usually curation. He will have a concept or a mood and work on setting the right backdrop for the narrative and theme. The instrumentals often lead, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. From there it’s several combinations of steps but the artist tries to really search the flow of the song, the feelings it taps into, and the experience of emotions to build it into the song.
Chris says that he is working on a lot of new content. ‘I have nearly completed my initial release, ‘Walls Come Down’, but am also working towards another release for next year. That said, I will be regularly dropping new music this year so stay tuned! Got a few upcoming ones that I’m really excited about’.
The artist thinks that it’s great we live in a time where artists can be honest and open with things like mental health and connect with fans on more and more levels. ‘I get excited over literally every single stream and I’ve been trying to engage with everyone that’s reached out to learn more, gather feedback and share’.
Listen to ‘Breaking Down’ on Spotify.
