RealSoundsOK: Chimera Q&A

Your name:

Chimera. Although I've recently been going by the German iteration: Chimäre.

Where are you from?

Nowhere specific to be honest. I move around quite often. Although I'm currently located around Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

How would you describe yourself?

A lot. A little insane (but just a little); larger than life. A force of nature. Theater is my soul-mate and POP is my mistress. To that end, I suppose it's also fair to say I'm a little pretentious but not without merit. I don't believe in the term "guilty pleasure". I do believe in delivering what the world deserves.

Who are your main influences musically?

I hate to sound cliché, but the truth is that I find inspiration and therefore influence in nearly everything. For me, I find that I see music and hear visuals. They're very interconnected. Every part of of performance and the now-crumbled foundation of show business are all parts of the same organism. If you rip a vital organ away from it the creature suffers, if not dies. Despite what genres music is placed into, I believe in experimentation and genre bending. From growing up with the army of classic rock my parents listened to (my dad's obsessed with Bruce Springsteen in particular, as well as Elton John), to watching the classic MGM musicals, to YTV Big Fun Party Mixes, from just listening to the radio I was exposed to and enjoyed nearly everything that was out there. And I loved it. And half the time I thought I could do it better. And the other half I thought I'd never be able to live up to it. I'm quite partial to Muse, Florence + the Machine, Feist, The Killers, Amy Winehouse, among countless others. Hell, movie soundtracks and classical pieces can often trump all else. I tend to find love in songs over artists. But at the end of the day POP is my true love. Anything from Aqua to Marina and the Diamonds to Grimes to Lady Gaga. If music hits the pleasure center, either it'll break me down or make me wanna soar. If it makes me feel something, I'll fall for it.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I want to play for as large of an audience as possible. More than just inspire, but bring what's in my head out and to life. It wasn't meant to hide behind my skull. I want to make people dance and truly feel alive, but also give them a good slap in the face if and when they need it. Music and art have the power to do that. I want to open people up and give them an experience. And when they walk away from that experience, I hope they reach past their self-opposed limitations and not just exist, but truly LIVE their lives. Or at the very least feel like they've come alive.

At the end of the day, I want to make my dreams come true and make as many dreams come true as I can for others.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

The filming of the video for my first single Lion. It was a stressful dream come true. I'd stay up all night, every night for weeks, mapping things out and preparing the visuals, making costumes and set pieces, and listening to the music over and over. It was an incredible experience. Nothing feels better than bringing your baby to life and it allowed the music to exist on a new level and explore it further than I ever had before. That, and the day I heard the single finished for the first time. Out of my head and into reality. Greatest feeling.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Oddly enough, the day we shot the music video for Lion. Although I'm very happy with the result, I'd be lying if I said otherwise. The truth is, is that that day was a living, screeching hell on earth. Unfortunately, everything that could have went wrong did go wrong. A weird mess of a day. No pain, no gain.

If you were asked to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

At this point, I'd have to say Lion. Despite the obvious reasons it's a song that has massive personal investment from myself, lyrically and melodically, yet it remains something that people can relate to and empathize with as it speaks of a specific pain that everyone has felt. And yet, it's a dance-pop song that should leave you feeling the exact opposite. Rather than worthless and painful, but hopeful and light of heart. It was also a very experimental record for myself as the "sing-talk" style of the verses is a style I had never done before prior to recording the song, neither the spoken word of the bridge. Plus the chorus just kicks ass. A great melody is a great melody.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/chimerapop