For Chezile, Music is Connection, Nostalgia, and Living in the Present

Fresh off of a tour across Europe and the UK, Chezile, singer-songwriter from Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose songs have recently become viral anthems across social media platforms, is ready and more inspired than ever to keep the music coming.

Chezile led two intimate sets in Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands on Friday, August 7th, inviting his audience to remain present and feel the music freely. Chezile’s vivid music blends dream-pop and indie-rock instrumentals with his relaxed and honey-sweet vocals. He evokes feelings of longing and nostalgia through an effortless and cinematic combination of groovy rhythms and wistful instrumentals. Chezile’s musical palette washes over you like a heavy ocean, peacefully holding you in a cycle of emotions, but his sensitive lyrical storytelling pulls you back to the surface for a breath of fresh air.

Photo courtesy of Lia Crumpton @crumpnugget

A standout track, “Alē,” from his EP of the same name, finds Chezile reflecting on his childhood: “Skating along/Back into town/I’m running back home/The grass here is brown/Broken glass all around/Painted a smile/So I feel less alone/With painted people around/Their cover is blown/Their colors are shown.” He is not afraid to ruminate on the hardships he has faced, lending his music a refreshingly human sound that stays with listeners long after the instrumentals fade away: “No silver spoon/Just a fork in the road/Hungers killing the mood/And the heater is broke/Now the shower is cold.” Set to a jazzy and more upbeat instrumental track rich with a delicate piano-run and grounded drums, “Alē” is both sweetly nostalgic and finds Chezile grateful for the life he has lived to get to this moment in his career. After a rapid ride to the spotlight due to his songs going viral on social media, Chezile now finds himself in a place where he is making the kind of music he loves and performing for passionate and generous crowds. Driven by the same passion and work-ethic that has got him to this moment, Chezile is ready and more inspired than ever to keep bringing his dream music to life.

Chezile’s latest track, “Mr. Man” combines soft guitar instrumentals with building harmonies, creating a gentle moment of bliss for listeners while Chezile reminisces on a lover who feels like a refreshing escape: “You’re my sweet escape/The worlds on my shoulders/I’m keeping us closer/You’re my sweet escape/When walls keep on closing/This love remains frozen.” The song highlights the power of connection and love that not only Chezile weaves throughout his music, but that exists in the world. Sometimes temporarily lost or forgotten amidst the chaos, “Mr. Man” reminds us that love and connection are what is most important.

During his sets at Outside Lands, Chezile cast a comfortable spell over the crowd, especially at Duboce Triangle, where he delivered more acoustic and stripped back versions of tracks such as “Beanie” and “Alone At Last.” Pulling upon the surrounding forest’s natural mystique and looming fog, Chezile performed “Blue” with clear and shining vocals, highlighting his impressive range.

Sitting in a similar world as the hypnotizing melancholy of “Cigarettes After Sex,” “Blue” ties its lyrics and instrumentals together to create a magical ambiance that reflects the track’s themes of falling in love while realizing the feeling is not being reciprocated: “Go go go/Right from wrong, wrong, wrong/Baby I don’t know, no, no/Learning kind of slow, slow, slow/Shackled to your throne/Can’t leave it alone/Even though I know, I know.” The audience gathered around Chezile during both of his sets fell into a warm embrace with his heartfelt and emotional tunes. New listeners and passionate fans alike found a natural rhythm and bliss in his romantic, sensitive, and wistful lyrics and sonic landscape.

After his two soulful and spellbinding sets at Outside Lands, the first at the Panhandle stage and the second at Duboce Triangle, Chezile spoke with Off the Record Press about his musical inspirations and what drives him to create.

How are you feeling after your sets today at Panhandle and Duboce Triangle? How do you feel about being at Outside Lands?

It feels very good to be here. The crowd was absolutely beautiful for both of my sets. With Lollapalooza, I'm upset that my set fell through because of the rain, but I know I'll be coming back in a year or two and playing a bigger slot and it's going to be just as beautiful as it was today.

You just finished a tour in the EU and UK. How are you feeling about that? How did that tour go for you?

That tour was absolutely beautiful. The energy was so good. The experience was so fresh for me because I had never been out of the country. I come from a place called Albuquerque, New Mexico and to make it to places like a little town in Germany where people know the songs I have written and that I am singing is something that's very surreal and very refreshing. I'm really looking forward to continuing to create and make more music that can connect with people.

How does touring and performing inspire you to make new music and inspire your art more generally?

That's such a good question. It inspires me so much. I really feed off of the energy from the crowd, and seeing how they resonate with certain songs pivots me unconsciously to create more stuff that sounds and feels like that so I can capture that more often whenever I'm playing live shows.

You've had several songs go viral on social media. How do you feel about that? How does that experience inspire your music? How do you stay present and grounded when things like that happen?

It's very refreshing because it's a reminder that I've been given a gift to resonate with people through ideas and feelings and it is a reminder to continue to do exactly what I'm doing and to not lose sight of that. To be free and to have fun creating because at the end of the day, I’m a nerd when it comes to music. I love it. I love creating. I love writing. I love expressing myself and there's no other beautiful way to do that than through music. Music is a universal language. I've seen it firsthand in different countries with crowds that might not know what I'm saying, but when it comes to a song that I've written, they know every lyric.

When did you initially start getting into music? Has it been something that's been a constant throughout your life?

Music has been around me forever. I lucked out being surrounded by musicians. My pops played music. His pops played music. And it really rubbed off on me. I kind of took what I got from them and really honed in on what I liked and learned the most I could about it.

Can you share any fun pre-show rituals with us?

I love being absolutely alone and away from everybody. I sit in front of the mirror and I remind myself of the younger version of me. The young kid who has always visualized this and wanted to create something similar to what I've created. I keep him present and remind him that we've done this and this is our time to go out there and express and have a fun time with everybody very freely.

All photos courtesy of Lia Crumpton @crumpnugget