Dualism: Dark lyrics & Melodic Pop – a Chandler Leighton Banana Interview

You experiment with a lot of genres in your music, especially with electronic, which one would you say fits you the most? Are you planning to stay in one specific genre or would you like to keep experimenting?

A lot of the music I write and that has been released is so melodic and slow, that mixing in the electronic parts brought a whole new world to some of it. I love to dance and I grew up going to festivals so I always wanted ways to get different people to feel different things with my music. I love experimenting with different genres because music is ever-changing and I never want to be put in a box. I’m transitioning out of EDM into my solo artist project which is actually a lot more pop and dark. I think the fewer boxes you put yourself in make you more creative in that sense, but I’d say I’m the most comfortable writing dark lyrics and then turning it into a melodic pop song.

You say that it’s easier for you to write about sad experiences than happier ones. ¿Do you also believe that writing music sometimes keeps you hooked into certain situations in order to keep being creative?

I don’t ever find myself needing to have traumatic experiences to write good music. I think that’s a very scary hill to climb and you should never steal your own peace trying to come up with something good. My friend Kyle Reynolds once said, “You don’t have to have a destructive life in order to create great art“ and I could not say that any better. I wrote a lot of books and stories as a kid because I had an overactive imagination, and as an adult, I tend to now write about other peoples experiences because it allows me to connect with a bigger audience. I’ve already written a million about my own traumas, and now that page has turned. I consider myself an empathic person so it’s really easy for me to get creative with other people’s stories.

Lie Awake seems like a song to cheer someone up and let them know that better days are coming. Did someone ever write you a song to cheer you up? Who did you dedícate this to?

I wrote Lie Awake with my friend Brennan for people who struggle to see better days coming. I dedicated to my dad was dealt with depression his whole life and when I sing it, it’s like I’m telling him that I see him, I hear him, and that it’s going to be okay. I had no idea how many other people would relate to his story and my words. No one has ever written me a song but that would be pretty fuckin rad hahahaha

In your music, we see a delicate and intimate side but also darker electronic sounds, would you say that this duality is also part of your personality?

Oh absolutely!! LOL, I’m a spastic person with severe ADHD which is funny because the music I write is so sad and dark, but in person, I’m loud and hyper and want to talk to everyone. That’s the huge reason I loved writing so much for EDM cause I just wanted to cry but jump around and dance at the same time.

 

🎧 If you were a type of…breakfast?

I’d be bacon and pancakes because everyone needs a yin and yang to themselves. Sweet and salty, happy and sad, hyper and mellow. It’s good to have balance and be a little bit of everything.

 

🎧 What is your current favourite / guilty pleasure / go-to playlist? 

Songs to slow dance to by Felix

What’s your favourite movie?

Mrs. Doubtfire because Robin Williams always reminded me of my dad and it was the lash movie we watched together before I moved to Maine with my mom.

The worst excuse that you have ever used to stay at home

I told someone I had to stay home because I couldn’t stop pooping.

Your first email address

calisurfbabe96@aim.com

And maybe I had surfed twice in my whole life.

Give us 5 emerging artists that you want to highlight for everyone to discover right now.

Devon Again, Olivia Dean, Holly Humberstone, November Ultra, & Mehro

Anything you want to add before we finish?

I hope that anyone reading this doesn’t take themselves too seriously, to know that it’s never too late to start. I didn’t consider myself a songwriter until I was 22… I was horrible until I actively worked on it every day. You’re never “bad” at something, you just need more practice.

♥

Thanks a lot for being part of our banana family! Go stream some Chandler Leighton music!