"Thinking about You" (feat. Yvana Murphy)

Hi everybody,

I’m releasing a single tomorrow!! It’s called “Thinking about You” and is part of an electro-pop EP to be released in late March or early April. It features the jazz singer Yvana Murphy. I was trying to write something slightly abstract this time. I was very happy working with Yvana, so if you’re looking to book studio sessions , or are in need of a competent, encouraging and child friendly Vocal coach, she’s your woman. She’s in Berlin and teaches in English.  Her website is :. https://www.piano-and-singing-berlin.com. The cover art for this single was shot by Rebecca Agnes, a dear friend and inspiring artist. You can find her work at: Www.rebeccaagnes.org.

Hope you enjoy,

Chris 

Thoughts on 2020/ what's to come next

It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted on my blog.  So here’s a short update and some random thoughts . 

The days are getting shorter and winter is setting in in Berlin. It’s been a very difficult year. .It’s been hard not to be lonely or isolated.  On the other hand, I find myself being thankful for life in Berlin before the pandemic, and  for the normalcy that will hopefully set in soon again. I have never lived in a situation where I had to confine myself to my home or have the society I live in at risk before. I often think about my troubles and how to manage them, how to heal, and how to build a meaningful life for myself. Although those are good goals to strive for, this has been a lesson for me to just try to enjoy myself and collect good memories in the here and now and not always be busy building towards a brighter future. I hope you are able to do the same. It’s not easy living with chronic hallucinations but life generally isn’t easy for anybody I think.  And I do increasingly have moments in the day where I’m not hallucinating, where life seems still and serene like a quiet winter night with fresh snow.

I actually have 2 short collections of songs ready to release. I haven’t decided on the titles yet but one is an electro-pop EP and the other is an IDM, electornica(ish) EP. I’m excited to show them to you guys ASAP :) I will start releasing the songs in the coming months.

Be safe and please take care!

Yours truly,

Chris 

Why I decided to be open about my condition

The reason I decided to talk openly about my schizophrenia is first and foremost because I would like people with my condition or similar conditions to know that I am out here making music for you and managing my life the best I can. I wonder if a lot of you have felt hopeless or pressure to compromise your dreams and aspirations or have had people give up having expectations of you, or just give up on you? I hope my music speaks to people who have felt the same way as me. Another reason  I mentioned my disability is that somebody said something a few years ago which haunted me. They said “ don’t you want people to know about your condition once you have established yourself a bit? What if they pigeonhole you or think you made it because of your disability as opposed to because of the merit of the music? “. I know that argument doesn’t really make sense because anybody who has a disability knows things don’t get easier in life with one. But It made such an impression on me that I had decided not to mention schizophrenia in the context of music, despite the music partially being written on the subject and having dealt with the condition for all of my adult life. However, I decided to be open about my condition because otherwise, I would have to erase part of my identity, and potentially miss out on one of the target demographics I’m hoping to reach. I hope to be making music for many years to come and hope to be in touch. 

About "Stars and Reveries"

The EP “Stars and Reveries” was written in 2018/2019 in my home studio in Berlin, Germany. It’s an indie-electro pop EP largely about experiencing and recovering from a 5-month psychosis and 10-month post-psychotic depression. I had debilitating amounts of visual hallucinations in a day, maybe  almost 1000 a day which left me in a near-catatonic state. As I finally started recovering from depression, I wrote this EP. I had been reflecting on my life and the past 15 years with Schizophrenia, reflecting on the condition itself as well as the effects of medication on my body and mind, the psychiatry, the time that passed while I was struggling with this condition. The lyrics are simple and honest, I felt that for this EP I would just sing what came to mind when I played the song so as to try and capture an unfiltered reflection of my state of mind at the time.