Throughout these last few months, Bristol’s Chandra have cemented themselves as one of the more uplifting names on the rise. And with the buzz around them continuing to grow, they recently returned with the truly euphoric new single ‘Lifted’.
So with their presence continuing to shine, we caught up with them to discuss their past, present and future ambitions.
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Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in music?
We’re from all walks of life really but it feels like we were all meant to meet at this point in time. Rock is from Hong Kong and only came to the UK recently. Keith has been in covers bands for years but desperately wanted to find success with his own songs rather than someone else’s. Chris has essentially played every stage going so we’re really lucky to have him. Me, man, well, I’ll tell you my story a bit later.
Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
Growing up my parents used to always have vinyls playing… The Carpenters, Bowie, The Beatles… so the melodies are pure and simple and even today melody is king for me. Britpop dragged me through puberty so bands like Blue, Oasis, Coldplay, Suede, Elastica, Mansun etc etc are all bolted onto my skeleton, so I guess that’s why pop-rock has ended up being the best way to describe our music.
Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to pursue music seriously?
As a very young kid my first gig was with my best friend Graham; R.E.M. on the Monster Tour at Milton Keynes Bowl. It was the night that changed my life. I’d never even considered playing music for a living before that night but watching Micheal Stipe control the crowd like that… It was mesmerising and from that moment on all I wanted to do was be in a band.
Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
Truthfully I don’t have one. I’m both blessed and cursed in that I will wake up in the middle of the night with an entire song in my head. And I mean the whole song; it’s just there… melodies, chords, production, everything. But the flipside of that is that I might go for ages and not have a single idea.
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
I spent years going round in circles trying to figure out what ‘my sound’ was and what I wanted to write about. I tried changing myself to fit trends and went through a phase where I was embarrassed to write about what I wanted to write about because I thought it wasn’t cool. Eventually though I came round to the idea that to truly be happy and write my band music, I needed to just be honest and open, come what may. It turned out that actually, the things I wanted to write about resonated with lots of other people and Lighters To The Sky was the first song to come from that. So now I just write about human problems that I’ve been through and battled through but I don’t whine about it. Our lyrics and messaging are all about the light at the end of the tunnel. They are celebration songs that give you hope.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Just that, whatever you’re experiencing or whatever awful things are going on in the world, there is hope and goodness waiting for you. You’re not alone. Let’s do this!
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
Ironically, everyone has the power to do pretty much anything in the music industry these days. The tools are there to do it. The problem is, that means that literally anyone with a phone is able to put music out, so the field is muddier than ever before. Someone looking for good music now has 1,000 times more options to wade through than before so it’s harder than ever to stand out.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
Finally getting to the point where people say that the songs resonate with them or that they listen to them to start their day because they find them uplifting. That’s exactly what we want to achieve so in many ways it’s ‘job done’.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
We’ve got to a phase in our lives where we just don’t care about what people think. We write good music about what we want to write about. It’s a simple question: “does this song make people smile and want to go off and have a great day?” What’s going on around us doesn’t really come into it because we’ve all been down the alternative road and it doesn’t go anywhere.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours?
Our debut EP is out on 30th August! Mega excited about that because it’s a collection of songs that we’re super proud of and it’s available on CD and limited edition 12” vinyl as well as digital. We got to work with legendary animé illustrator Wil Overton on the cover art and it’s out of this world.
Then we’ve got a Christmas single coming out in November; think Pretty and I’ll Be There mixed with The Darkness and Slade and you’ll have a good idea of what’s coming!
Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
It’s going to take a while and definitely another EP to really get to a place where we can make an album but in 5 years’ time we will have released a smash hit album full of songs that make you happy and make you want to be a better person and we’ll be preparing the to launch the second album!
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Watch the new video for Chandra’s ‘Lifted’ below.
