Canadian artist Chris Nine has recently unveiled his EP, the heavy, which is proof positive the Toronto-based rocker is a force to be reckoned with all his own.
Featuring tracks, “fracture,” “ghosts,” and “the rage,” the blistering trio of tracks serve deeper purpose than an all-out, high-octane sonic sojourn; in fact, they nothing short of extricated the singer/songwriter after a devastating series of events — a concussion, a breakup, a global pandemic, to start.
“The songs on the heavy all resemble the past, present, and future components of dealing with relationships and trauma,” Nine reveals. “I was navigating this mental fog, and confronting shadows of my past. From this, the heavy was summoned; each song sheds light on the different perspectives each version of self brings to the table, and the emotions that follow.”
“This EP was a way of voicing frustration and growing pains in an incredibly cramped space that was the ‘quarantine,’” he continues. “I was lonely after a breakup, after losing friends, and I was feeling brain fog effects from a concussion.
“I felt I needed to become something new, and grow from it. With residual effects from my post-concussion syndrome, my eyesight and sense of self were removed. Ultimately, it forced me to adapt, and to start playing and writing in a different manner.”
One such way was using chord variations due to the decline of muscle memory. Focusing on simple, ‘to the point’ solos, all to avoid getting lost, Nine worked diligently to not only prevent forgetting ideas, but to not to create over-stimulus — which could have potentially worsened his symptoms.
Nine found the ongoing pandemic was exacerbating his experience and, after returning from a trip to the grocery store, feeling overwhelmed by the situation and its effect on his life, he experienced a breakthrough.
“I came home, quickly grabbed my guitar, and played a riff I had never been able to write a melody line for,” he recalls. “I started to scream the first verse lyrics and, suddenly, a new style of lyric writing had become available to me.”
The new single, “fracture” was the first to receive this treatment, with “the rage” and “ghosts” followed soon after.
“‘ghosts’ was conceived in the idea of telling a full story, similar to the anime openings that had kept me sane and feeling secure the whole quarantine,” he shares. “Overall, this was the first time I delved into a more compressed tone, and really learned how to excel as a vocalist. Songs became more about melody and tight structure than they ever had before, and attention was paid to performance and emotion over what was ‘correct.’ It allowed me to open my writing to darker conversations, and take risks in my songwriting.”
Check out “fracture” below, and stay up to date with Chris Nine via his socials.
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