CHINCHILLA, a rising Pop artist in the world of music, recently released her latest single ‘The Lockdown Getdown.’ To talk about the song and music in general, CHINCHILLA joined us for an interview.
Firstly, how are you, and how have you been coping with the current COVID-19 crisis?
‘How are you’ – the question which means SO MUCH MORE in lockdown… I’m alright! Ups and downs. Thriving and surviving. Focusing on music and checking on friends a lot. Trying not to be glued to my phone and stay hydrated… easier said than done.
You recently released a new single named ‘The Lockdown Getdown,’ how did the idea for it come about and what was the goal of the piece?
Me and one of my best friends Boonif wrote and produced this together, purely as a bit of fun to be honest. We were chatting all things quarantine and he said, ‘have you written a lockdown song yet?’ Which I hadn’t, and we went from there, listing off all the things we’d been doing in lockdown and were sick of. We’d both been having trouble sleeping and burning lavender oil to try and help us sleep, which is where the first lyric ‘lavender on my sheets, but I still can’t get to sleep’ came from. We really just got bored of the mundane new reality and thought ‘fuck this I’m gonna be fabulous’ – just wanted to spread some joy I think.
Were there any challenges making the song?
There are always challenges, Lockdown didn’t make things easy, and actually in the lead up to this single I’m pretty sure I had some sort of version of corona virus, was stuck in bed for 2 weeks which prolonged this song coming out… how ironic. But, in saying that, with this song in particular it really just felt like fun. We had such joy writing it, producing it, recording it, shooting the cover for it, etc. All of it just felt… really fun? I’m lucky to have that kind of team around me. I think you can hear that joy in the song.
In terms of new favourites, has there been any contemporary artists you discovered during COVID-19?
A bunch of new ones actually. I’ve started a playlist called ‘THE FEMME BUFFET’ on Spotify and I’m adding 10 new songs to it every Wednesday made by my favourite women in music right now. A few of my favourite new finds would be REI AMI, Leikeli47, La Chica, Yaeji, Tkay Maidza, Nathy Peluso.
If you could give any advice to somebody who wants to become a musician, what would it be?
I’d say trust your instincts. Take in the knowledge of those around you but also know that a gut feeling about something can be powerful as fuck and level out years of experience. Try to stay in the present – not think too much about the future, the past, or compare yourself /your progress to others around you.
Finally, do you have any positive words for other creatives, during these challenging times?
…You can’t get out so you might as well get down.
