Inspired #0055 - Chelou
Chelou has treated us to his latest dose of psych-pop with new track ‘Garden’, he took a moment to talk to us about all the things that inspire him.
Who are you top three musical inspirations?
It’s always hard to answer this question and I generally give a different answer each time. when someone put me on to Cat Power I instantly fell in love with the album ‘You Are Free’, probably in a slightly obsessive manner - ha. It just seems unreal that I’d never heard this music before and it shared so many comparisons with my own. The rawness of her voice and power of her lyrics and delivery are truly magical and haunting and it inspired my writing massively from then on.
It’s impossible not to reference Neil Young, especially “Harvest Moon’. It was one of the first records I got and I listened to it constantly. I was completely influenced in the way I structure songs and create chord progressions from his work. I’ve never truly been confident as a singer but artist like Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Jack White reassured me how vocally strange you could be and still make it sound sick!
Alt J was the soundtrack to my final year at Uni. Chelou didn’t exist at this point and ‘awesome wave’ really brought together all new music I was consuming at the time with the guitar music id grown up with. Mayas work on my album was also just about finding a nice balance between my acoustic songwriting and her heavier electronic production, which Alt J did so perfectly in their music.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
My Own Private Idaho is a movie I’ll always go back to and enjoy. There’s a rawness and pace to it that gives it a great edge, something that can only be captured when you truly immerse yourself into a character. Flea and River Phoenix were mates and in the film together and there’s a lot of behind the scenes footage of them squatting and jamming together. Part of me has always desired a life on the road with the underdogs
What city do you find the most inspiring?
However much I try to resist it London is my town and it’s taken me a while to realize that there’s truly no place like home. It’s about having that ability to feel confident and comfortable in the surroundings you’ve grown up in and watching and understanding its development for better or worse. Everything I know and the people I love are centred in London. That being said I do need regular escapes to the country to keep from imploding.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I know its corny but has to be my mum. I’m far to similar to her which makes us very disagreeable at times but to have raised 4 boys, and knowing full well how annoying me and my brothers are, I have to give her the upmost respect and credit for not kicking us out on our arses along time ago.
What were your inspirations when writing the track?
I rarely have one motive or inspiration for writing a song. Because of the time it can take and the changes in oneslf that occur through the process of writing and recording, inspirations come from all over. Then again it goes without saying that certain life occurrences have directly inspired a song. I don’t think i could write a song like ‘like a dream’ without being in the midst of a breakup.
How would you like to inspire people?
I hope I can inspire people through my words, help them feel better and find understanding in shared feelings and good sonic vibrations. I know how much of an impact music has on my life and to be able to connect with people through a common love for sound is all I really can ask for.