Chance Waters

Tell us about your music – how did you develop your sound?

My sound developed in a really organic way, I went to Fort Street in Sydney's Inner West and our year was very musical. The kids I went to school with went on to groups like Horrorshow and Spit Syndicate, and there was quite a rich musical history, particularly in regards to Australian hip-hop. Being surrounded by people who were passionate about music but didn't really understand the process yet meant that I had a few years to cut my teeth, where it was all very relaxed and really more about the social aspect of the music than any aspirations to do something professionally. I spent a few years after high school finding my feet and dabbled in a few bands - a lot of it then was live performance, I was lucky enough to play a lot of shows as a crowd warmer and the lessons which that taught me were priceless. A lot of it comes down to the music I listen to though; a large proportion of my music is melancholy and draws influence outside of the genre, because artists like Jeff Buckley, Atmosphere and Death Cab have probably been as important to my musical influence as The Hilltop Hoods or Bliss N Eso.

Tell us about your live show?

My live show varies a lot from event to event. I've done a few low key sets with live instrumentation, and I love incorporating that acoustic and instrumental aspect into my larger shows. Generally I tour with 'I Forget, Sorry!' - an artist collective I'm part of with Coptic Soldier and Mind Over Matter. I have plans for a few unplugged acoustic sets, but really I taper my performance to the crowd I'm going to be playing to. I've tried to strike a balance between the melancholy music I lean towards making, and establishing an engaging live show which is what fans of Australian hip-hop are typically looking for. You're going to have to play a very different set between supporting someone like Drapht or Bliss N Eso and playing a limited capacity pub gig, and I've tried to make myself flexible to cater to that.

What were you doing before this?

Probably avoiding maths lessons or practicing talking to girls in the mirror. Music has really been the major focus of my life since high school, everything else has a tendency to slide in around it. I still spend a bit too much time playing facebook games and getting up to mischief, but a lot of the priorities you're 'meant' to have in life have really slipped onto the back burner for me.

We heard something about a debut album...

My album’s called Inkstains, it's dropping November 27th and has taken me far, far too long to get in order. It features some really cool people, including 360 (of The Festival Song), Smiles Again (Mind Over Matter), HR King and Joyride (Urthboy - Hellsong). I've worked with some amazing local producers too, guys like Akouo, Konfuzion, Elgen and One Above. The bulk of the album is melancholy, it's a really personal and introspective release and I think that's why it's taken me so long to finalise. Doing it independently means it's grown in a really natural way; I was never wrestling with any deadlines or trying to create singles, I just wrote lyrics as life demanded it and this is the end product. It's a conceptual album - Inkstains is about the mark that music has had on my life and the mark that life makes on the self. Hopefully people can connect to it on a personal level, that’s really what I was gunning for.

Australian music is?

My Raison D'etre. Also a really good way to blow money in JB HI-FI.