Emerging Artist CHISEKO On New Single ‘Outside’
A polished blend of abundant grooves and effortless flow, Perth dynamo CHISEKO impresses with a brand new beam of euphoria via his new single Outside. An alternative dance-fuelled paradise, Outside also arrives armed with a music video drenched in vivid chromatics and CHISEKO himself drawing you deeper into his creative universe.
A slick, suave and confident array of warmth, charisma and grooves, Outside finds CHISEKO fusing elements of hip hop, rap and house into his own addictive style, with diverse nods to the likes of Kaytranada, Azealia Banks, Tentendo, Aluna, Disclosure, Isenburg and The Streets percolating alongside CHISEKO’s glossy flow. CHISEKO talks more about his music with Hi Fi Way.
How has the build-up been leading up to the release of Outside?
Pretty smooth compared to normal TBH! Usually at least one thing goes wrong but this time the music gods had mercy on me. It took us a really long time to finish the track, I’m not sure if that counts as part of the build up but we enjoyed the whole process and learnt a lot!
Was the process of making your single as challenging as you thought?
Definitely! This is a slightly alternative sound to what I usually make so a lot of learning had to happen on the production front. Abe and I also hadn’t released a song together before, so we spent some time gelling our sounds by trying a few different ideas. We ended up making twenty eight versions of this song!
Sonically, how would you describe your music?
Upbeat, bouncy, vibey and housey. I make music that exists somewhere in between a sunset drive with your hair blowing in the wind and a sweaty rave in an underground basement.
Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music and why?
Definitely Biggie Smalls. Hearing him rap is what made me fall in love with hip hop. He was my entrance point into rap and through him I learnt about the 90’s era of rap and really fell in love with the culture and the artistry of it all. I still don’t think there has been a rapper since with a flow more silky and rhymes more vivid. Biggie was also the first nickname I received in high school.
Best piece of advice you have been given?
Run your own race, don’t pay too much attention to what’s going on around you.
What is the “CHISEKO” life story?
I was born in Zimbabwe, my parents moved us from there so that we could have a better life. My dad worked for Air Zimbabwe and sold plane tickets until we had enough money to leave. We then moved to the UK where I spent the next eight years of my life. Each summer I’d stay with my grandparents in Switzerland, and they would take me around the countryside and over to Germany and France whilst my parents were working. My dad worked at Disneyland in Paris and my mum was a nurse in the UK at the time. We then moved back to Zimbabwe for a year whilst our visas cleared and then to Australia where I’ve been ever since.
Throughout my childhood I kept a sketchbook and would pass time sketching/drawing. I went to nine schools in three countries, so I always struggled to maintain long term friendships. One time to pass time I even tried to build a Formula 1 car in my bedroom out of old toilet paper rolls and cardboard boxes. I transitioned from visual art to music in high school after hearing the Jay Z Linkin Park album in my dad’s CD collection and learning about Biggie Smalls after all the kids in school started giving me that nickname. Music was a great way to escape and gave me an identity/connection to people who were like me.
This was super significant as I was one of the only black kids in my school. Since then, I’ve been releasing music quite regularly. In 2017 I released a song called Juice which blew up and now has 8.5 million streams and since then I’ve been honing my craft. This year we’ve been on multiple tours including with Seth Sentry and Illy I also opened for Yung Gravy at the Astor Theatre performed at SXSW and BigSound and had multiple sold out headline shows.
Are you looking to tour more broadly?
100% I plan to tour Europe soon and eventually America. I think my music would do really well over there.
What’s next for you?
More music, big collaborations and potentially some exciting label news.
Who’s your favourite Adelaide artist/group at the moment?
Tkay Maidza. She’s one of the most talented artists in Australia right now for me and it’s not even a debate. It’s criminal how much she’s slept on in power rankings etc.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Connect with CHISEKO
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Spotify
