Chris Grey
Chris Grey’s new single “No more” is quite addictive. The more you listen to it, the better it gets. I love what Grey and 2latefor did on the production. It feels edgy and powerful. The chorus is what makes me want to keep listening to this song. It is not a typical pop record and you won’t hear too much of this vibe nowadays. “No More” is different from what we’re used to listen to and that’s what makes Chris Grey stands out from the crowd.
I’m happy I got to discover another great talent from Toronto and I can’t wait to hear more music. Hope you enjoy this interview :)
“No More” is now available worldwide !
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I’m a Toronto based producer/singer/songwriter. I started producing when I was 11 and initially wrote songs and hired other people to sing them. I started getting frustrated with having to get my ideas and vision out through other people so I started writing songs for myself. It’s kind of cool to have come back full circle, since now I also produce for other artists and just hung a JUNO nomination up on my wall for it.
I’m Jamaican-Canadian and my music reflects the different genres I grew up listening to. My dad was a celebrity DJ in Jamaica in the 80’s before he immigrated to Canada and my mom was born and raised in Canada so I grew up listening to R&B, disco and reggae with my dad and Canadian rock and pop staples with my mom.
"No More" is your latest single - what's the inspiration behind this song?
The song actually has an interesting story behind it. I was a few weeks into seeing this girl when I found out she hadn't fully broken up with her ex when we first started dating. I was telling my co-writer about it and it turns out she had actually heard the story from the other guy’s perspective because they were friends. When we realized all this, we got inspired and decided to write a song from his perspective about me and came up with No More.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this particular song? Who helped you create it?
The song started with a melody sent to me by 2latefor, a producer from Poland I collaborate with sometimes. We work on a lot of beats together that way, where he’ll send me a melody and ideas for a beat. I turned the melody he sent me into the beat for No More and then wrote a rough hook on it. I played the song for my co-writer, Allegra Jordyn, and she really liked the vibe of it so we wrote the rest of the song together. The hook I had written ended up kind of applying to the situation I had found myself in, so we decided to use that as the inspiration for the rest of the song. This song had one of my shortest turnaround times from writing to releasing since I wrote it last winter.
What did you feel when writing this song?
Normally I write from my own perspective, but I thought this would be more interesting to write about myself from someone else's point of view. In this song I sing about myself as the antagonist, since in reality I’m the one taking this guy's place. It was a very interesting and reflective experience to write like that.
What's the inspiration behind the music video?
The video is really supposed to reflect the anxiety of waiting for a response and not knowing if you’ll ever hear from someone. In one scene, I’m literally weighed down by old phones which is how I often feel in certain situations. I also wanted a vivid red colour scheme given the angst and aggression in the song. The video features a lot of shots filmed with a fisheye lens to show how I’m not thinking clearly. I didn’t really have a full storyboard when we filmed it but I definitely had an idea of what I wanted.
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP?
This EP is my first time really collaborating with other people on my own music and I think it really shows. I’ve been writing and producing with a lot of other artists for their own music but I’ve always worked on my own stuff completely by myself. It’s opened me up to some new sounds and ideas. This EP is definitely a nod to some of my older dark and intense songs combined with some more pop elements. Expect to hear a metal guitar solo right next to a catchy pop hook.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
I’d say the hardest part is that the future is always unknown. It’s one of the least stable career paths and sometimes the unreliability can get to me. The best part is doing what I love every day. I couldn't do something everyday that I wasn’t passionate about, so being able to make music and be creative every day is amazing.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I think it’s been great how artists are able to be fully independent. I think it’s allowed for more niches to be heard and for artists to break out of genre molds. My music wouldn’t have really been possible with some of the barriers from the past. The only downside of that, is that with all the music being released, I think it’s made music become more disposable and have a shorter shelf life. After working on something for months or even years it sucks to see people move on from it in a couple weeks.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
To say yes to things and get out of my comfort zone. I used to say no to so many things and would rarely say yes. At the beginning of 2020 I decided to start saying yes to more things and I feel like ever since then I’ve noticed things going better in all aspects of my life. I missed out on a lot from just saying no to things because they were out of my comfort zone but No More of that!
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
I think if people were better at listening and trying to understand other people's perspective the world would be a much better place. I feel like these days a lot of people are becoming reluctant to hear differing opinions and instead just want to stay in their bubble. I think it’s driving people further apart and just leads to more conflict.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?’
This sounds kind of cheesy, but I really want people to know they’re not alone in their situation or what they’re feeling. I’m a big overthinker and when I get really anxious, music is the only way I can calm myself down and I want my music to do that for other people. I want my music to do the overthinking for you so you don’t have to.
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