Chris Gabo

1) What's something about yourself that your fans may not know?

A: When I was six years old I used to think that I could sing to bring the rain and I would

stand outside on the front lawn, head to the heavens, howling in the most melodic

gibberish only I could understood until the clouds gathered. And cuz it was Florida,

eventually it would rain….or maybe it was me. Who knows how magic works. Probably

it was just Florida though.

2) What was the process behind your upcoming single 'He Would?'

A: This was one of the rare occasions where I actually came to Brainius with a scratch

beat I had made myself. It was terrible it was like one bass note on garage band but it

allowed me to get across the minimalist heart broken James Blake-low-end thing I was

going for while also expressing the key and then Brainius came back to me with the

beat and it was perfect as always…….but because he’s Brainius and always has a trick

up his sleeves he then flipped the script on me and hit me with that almost lounge-disco

ending part and I almost had a heart attack, it was so dope, and it was very clear what I

had to do on it. I love my cousin so much, my man keeps me on my toes at all times.

3) Where does your passion for music come from?

A: This feels like it should be an easy question to answer but like…..it’s kind of like asking,

“where does your passion for drinking water come from?” --- I don’t know was always

there. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

4) What's it like working with The Weeknd as a consulting producer on The Idol?

A: Abe is an incredibly talented dude. He’s a real artist, you can see his point of view in

everything he does and I learned a lot from him during that process. It’s wild because

his story is that he always wanted to be a director but dudes from where he’s from didn’t

become directors so once he realized he could sing he decided to pursue music so that

he could make the pivot into cinema years later. My story is kind of the opposite: the

first thing I ever wanted to be was a musician. I was touring since I was in high school

and I didn’t want to go to college I wanted to stay on the road but my parents begged

me to go so then I ended up doing all this school that I felt like derailed me as a

musician….but the funny thing is it actually didn’t derail me at all. It just put me on

another path --- just like Abe’s music didn’t derail his film dreams, his music just made

his journey to film that much more exciting. And it’s wild cuz I feel like the other side of

that coin and watching him find a way to manifest both of his dreams at the same time

was so inspiring. It made me realize something that I wish someone had told me as a

young musician---that there is more than just one path.

In high school, I was doing national DIY tours from like freshman to senior year I was

building something that requires constant vigilance and momentum and the only way to

keep building it --- or so I believed --- was to just stay out on the road and since I was

only able to tour during breaks — finishing high school was as miracle for me I was like

“Thank god! Now I’m free to be on the road 300 days of the year and keep build my

audience” and when my parents were like “We didn’t come to this country for you to not

go to college, you literally have to go to college” ……..I thought it was a death sentence for my music and turns out it wasn’t.

5) Have you been able to get any feedback from artists by connecting with them

through your TV jobs?

A: Nah lol. I try to keep those things semi-separate. I mean, I hear the question behind the

question and as much as I would love to run up on cats with my mixtape, it would be

super unprofessional. If they asked me, absolutely I would show them the music but I

can’t go there unsolicited. It would be disrespectful. And you gotta imagine, like, we’re

talking about people whose lives are a minefield of people asking for a handout and I

don’t wanna add to that. I like these people.

6) What's next for you as an artist?

A: The big lesson that I learned making “Price of Anarchy” was that genre is as mutable as

you make it and if you’re coming from a place of pure love for the form you can stray as

far as you want from the style people know you for and it’ll still sound like you. The most

important trait you can have as a musician (in my opinion) is an idiosyncratic identity. I

want people to hear two seconds of a record and go “that’s Gabo” you know what I’m

saying? And because of that desire my biggest fear that stopped me from

experimenting in the past was the fear that I was gonna ruin my ability to be recognized

by say, making a metal song, or singing an R&B joint over a single piano….but once I

saw that my voice still sounded like my voice no matter what I was doing I got brave

again. And what’s next for me is pushing that envelope further, getting braver, seeing

what else my voice can do. I’m working with a genius vocal producer named Raz

Kennedy on this next project and he’s got me out here singing four part harmonies while

still rapping my face off. I might write a pop song in Arabic. Might write a trap joint in

French. I love language I love sonics. What’s next for me, is just more freedom. Price of

Anarchy is out on all streaming platforms on Dec 10 th so go run that up. Smiley face emoji.

Follow Chris Gabo:

Instagram - @mirachrisgabo