Interview with CHAiLD.
Interviewed by Laury Verdoux
Meet CHAiLD, the young rising pop artist who is making waves in the music industry. Born in Luxembourg and currently based in Brussels, CHAiLD's unique voice, inspired by artists like Troye Sivan, Sam Smith, Julia Michaels, and Mø, has captivated audiences with its soothing yet intense quality. We got to chat with him around the release of his new EP “Urgent Care” under Beast Records.
Hey CHAiLD! Can you start by telling us the story behind your stage name?
Yes for sure !
I think it’s so so so important to keep seeing the world with the eyes of a child as we grow up, to not become bitter or cynical with age. Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming or getting emotional over things most people would consider trivial, but they’re not. We’re just all so used to spend our lives with blinders on that we forget how to actually FEEL.
CHAiLD comes from a desire to experience every emotion at its fullest.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you?
I like to say that it is positive melancholic pop music hahah with a warm voice, which one wouldn’t expect in pop and mostly full of emotions.
Your new EP Urgent Care is described as raw and emotional, inviting listeners to join you on your journey. Can you share some insights into the themes and emotions explored in the EP?
Urgent Care is, as I see it for myself, a coming-of-age story. Every song covers a very specific emotion, from self-doubt (Waterfalls) to love (close to you, You) to the realization that part of healing lies in accepting our vulnerable side and learning how to let go of everything holding you back
(Urgent care, Hollywood baby). Hardcore is no different. I mean, it is a love song, just articulated differently.
By the end of the record, a lesson is drawn. CHAiLD is growing and opening up a new chapter. I hope the listener can relate to all of this when they’re listening.
The biggest lesson of “Urgent Care”, just like I sing it very explicitly in Hollywood Baby, is that we are all so much more than the role we think we have to play in life. I realised that I needed to find my worth as a human being, because up until then, I wasn’t allowing myself to love myself for who I was outside of CHAiLD. So I guess that the EP really helped in reconciling Adriano (me) and CHAiLD (also me haha). Both live together now and I feel more authentic than I’ve ever felt.
You’ve mentioned that you used songwriting as a way to cope with anxiety. Can you talk about how music has been a source of healing for you and how it has helped you express yourself?
Basically, I was in need of “Urgent care”. It was a time where I felt like everything I hadn’t properly dealt with in my life just collapsed on me at once. I found it hard to even get up in the morning because the anxiety was just weighing on me so much. However, every time I went to the studio and wrote a song,it made me feel hopeful and proud. The high would last 2-3 days before my bad habits would come back, so I booked a new session. And I did this over and over again until I felt better. Without realising, I had written the EP, it all made sense and most of all, it made me understand the real power songwriting has. I had forgotten it.
Your EP includes the title track “Urgent Care”, which lays bare your struggles and the acknowledgement of needing help. Can you share more about the significance of this track and its meaning to you personally?
Urgent care is about accepting the need for help. Being able to show vulnerability to others, but mostly oneself, is the real strength. I spent my life trying to put up walls around me, a different hat every day, all in order to avoid showing how I truly felt. Once I came out and did the whole emotional work that goes with it, I had not realised that I kept this front of invincibility. I had a crazy desire for revenge on life. For the first time, I felt free to be who I truly was and my career was simultaneously taking off back home in Luxembourg. In my eyes, I wasn’t allowed to show weakness, I had to have my shit together at all time. Well, we know how that all ended haha but I gotta say, I’m grateful for the past year, even if it was rough. I learned a lot, and to be fair, isn’t life all about learning. I’m only 24, this is just one of the many challenges that I’ll have to face.
Can you give us a sneak peek into your future plans and upcoming projects after the release of your EP “Urgent Care”? What can your fans look forward to in the near future?
I’m already working on the next record, doing a lot of songwriting right now. After “Urgent Care”, I didn’t really know what to write about anymore. But here I am, writing music truly transcends me again. As I said before, CHAiLD is growing and this next record will be proof of it.
There’ll also be lots of shows, some of my first ones abroad, so I can’t wait to meet see you guys on the road !