Meet The Incredibly Talented Persian-New Zealander CHAII
Rising artist CHAII is an empowering Persian-New Zealander that needs to be on your radar. The creative talent made her debut with her self-produced track South, which set the bar for the songstress and her unique style. CHAII’s music embraces a genre-bending sound and impactful lyricism that spreads a postive and uplifting narrative. The release of her new visual triology – which coicided with the release of her EP Lightswitch – is the perfect representation of her creative powers, diverse outlook and bright future.
We were able to chat with CHAII about her incredible new videos, California, and more…
We need to talk about your new visual trilogy ‘Lightswitch’. Absolutely fantastic! What do you want music listeners to take away from the three videos?
Thank you! It would just be awesome if people vibe to them and feel some kind of connection.
Each video represents a different facet of L.A. Why do you feel it’s important that people see this version of Los Angeles?
Diversity in cultures and influences within L.A
Speaking of California, what inspired you to film your trilogy there?
The Inspiration came from my deeper learnings about Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, resulting in countless creative talents, including musicians, actors and artists, to leave Iran and relocate to California – after their work was banned in their homeland. California remains home to the largest Persian music community outside of Iran. The strong connection musically and culturally I had with the area, and my sound being a fusion of hip-hop and Persian music, made it the perfect place to do this project.
What surprised you the most about California during filming?
I found it crazy that you can be one street away from entering a totally different neighbourhood. One area that surprised me the most was Westwood where there were SO MANY Persians. Most businesses were Iranian owned and the shop signs were in Farsi. Buzzed me out.
With this new batch of music inspired by Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979, can you take us through your thought process while writing and creating the records? Has this experience brought you closer to your culture?
It really made me understand and feel a glimpse of what those artists who migrated felt. Also, I could relate to their process while they were adjusting to a new environment and how that altered their sound. I find it so interesting that there are generations of us mixed cultured individuals doing music, and I feel lucky to have gotten the best of both worlds.
Looking back to you creating the records and visuals – which moments or memories stick out to you the most?
Legendary Sylvia Massy and I went crazy with tracking ‘Nobody Know’ at her studio in Oregon. She set up a vocal chain through a lightbulb, some dope outboard gear and vintage mics. It was such a fun and perfect way to approach the record. On the filming side of things we had so many memories, I wouldn’t know where to begin. A highlight was that my NZ friends coincidentally were in LA too. Having them be in the ‘Lightswitch’ video was the best.
If you weren’t pursuing music what job or career would you be doing instead?
I’d be Producing/Mixing music for artists. But if it had to be something completely outside of music then I guess I’d be a professional fisherwoman? Or a stunt driver.
With this amazing video trilogy finally released, what can fans look forward to in the coming months?
I’ve been working on the next projects and there are already definitely some unexpected records in the mix.
Make sure to watch CHAII’s new release’s below! Featuring ‘Lightswitch’, ‘Nobody Knows’, and ‘Middle Ground’…
