Project Description
Interview with
CHAY SNOWDON
by Dave Bruce
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Chay Snowdon is an alt-indie, pop artist who is for fans of; early Kings of Leon, Circa Waves, Catfish and The Bottlemen and Jordan Allen. He has two unreleased singles out coming out on the 25th Jan. Chay has got some wonderful feedback from BBC Radio 1 as well as excellent support from BBC Introducing West.
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How did it all begin? Where did you develop your interest in performing music to an audience? What was your first big break that told you “I am in the right place”?
It all began by picking up a guitar and trying to learn as many songs as possible. Emphasis on the trying because as soon as I learnt new chords, I couldn’t help but try and write my own tune instead.
I developed an interest to playing to an audience by performing at as many open mic nights around the town. I loved the buzz of playing to an audience!
The first time I felt I was in the right place was performing to thousands on the Hoe in Plymouth … It was an amazing experience!
What kind of music did you grow up on? Which artists inspired you?
Elvis Presley!! From the ages of 5 – 10 I lived in a small Spanish village, the only CD I had was Mr Presley’s number 1’s and it still inspires me to this day.
We all live busy lives and seem time poor. How do you find the balance between your everyday life and your musical one?
I don’t think there is one haha! I’m constantly working on the music side of things 24/7, whether it’s writing songs or sending out emails. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
With your latest singles “Mon Cheri” and “Sha La La” can you describe their origin and evolution? I know how challenging the creative and producing process can be. How good did it feel to complete?
‘Mon Cheri’ was a very quick project although it was completely backwards to how I usually work. Historically I come up with the hook line (which also tends to be the title of the song) and then write the rest of the lyrics around that. However, in the case of ‘Mon Cheri’ I had the verses and then came up with the hook which was quite a refreshing change!
‘Sha La La’ was written a few years before it’s recording, but it was a regular feature in our live sets. Because it’s taken this long to finally lay the track down, it’s been slowly reworked over time. So to finally complete this tune was very satisfying!
Why drop two singles at the same time? Won’t they be competing with each other?
We originally went into the studio to only record ‘Mon Cheri’. But it was a very quick process so we had some recording time left over at the end, so we decided to record ‘Sha La La’ to. As the feel of both songs are so different, we weren’t worried about the two competing as a radio station that would play one probably wouldn’t play the other … But if they both get played that’s a bonus!
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Are there any videos in production?
Yes! There is a video for ‘Mon Cheri’ on the way. There isn’t a video for ‘Sha La La’, but there could be a live session on the cards in the future.
Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
One day for sure. I’m constantly writing, so when we feel the time is right we will definitely do an EP or an Album!
Do you plan to tour the singles? Any shows or major events coming up soon?
Later on in the year we definitely will tour. We also plan on hitting the festival scene hard, so there’s lots of shows on the horizon.
If you could pick absolutely anyone to bring on tour with you, whom would you pick and why? (Dead or Alive)
Elvis Presley because the amount of stage craft he could teach me would be incredible, what could be better than learning from the king.
What are your major goals or milestones for the future?
To get our song played on BBC Radio 1. That would be a biggy for all of us and a huge milestone achieved.
Finally, this is a paragraph dedicated to some quick discovery. Really corny, but for the fans, can you tell me your favorite album, artist, movie, place, drink, meal and person (living or dead)
Okay, my favorite album would have to be ‘AM’ by Arctic Monkeys, favorite artist … again would be Elvis, Titanic is my guilty/ not so guilty pleasure I must admit, I love Los Gallardos in Spain as that’s where I lived for 5 years of my life, drink would have to be a Heineken, for a meal you can’t beat a pizza and person I’m sorry but again its gotta be Elvis! But Leo Dicaprio is well up there to!
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