Interview: Toronto Emcee Chris Cachia Talks About His New Album "My Re:Collection"
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“More than anything, I’m proud I’ve used the album to share a bit of my story, and mainly my struggles with mental health, anxiety, and OCD”
Congratulations on the completion and release of your new album "My Re:Collection"; tell us about your creative process for the development of its songs.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. This project had a long evolution. I first started writing songs for the album in 2013 when I was struggling with some personal demons. These were challenges I’d faced for a long time, but things were definitely escalating. So, as I usually do whenever something big is happening in my life, I started writing.
Some of that writing was to process what I was feeling and some of it was just to escape. The writing process then went through a few stages. The tracks “Listen”, “My Addiction”, “Street Writer”, and “Victory” all came out of the earliest stage, which was also a time in which I was feeling a bit hopeless as someone concerned with social injustices. Then, when I found-out my wife was pregnant with our first child, I began to reach-out for help and was officially diagnosed with several anxiety disorders including OCD. That began the second stage, when I wrote “Look”, “My Diagnosis”, “Elemental”, and “Night Less”.
This was also a time, probably because of the birth of my oldest daughter, that I was feeling a bit more hopeful about social movements and the potential for change. The last few tracks were written when I was in a much better place, but also when I was feeling very determined to make a difference, and probably because I now have two amazing daughters. That’s when I wrote “Stop (Me)”, “My Resolve”, “Champion Rendition”, “Rumble”, and “Thirteen (Thoughts)”.
The album took-on this really hopeless to hopeful and determined arc, but that wasn’t initially the plan because, of course, I had no idea where life was going to take me. I did want to make a change, though, and I wanted my art to be a part of that change.
The album was produced exclusively by Charlie McEvoy. What made his beats perfect for what you were looking for to match your lyrics? Also, how did you go about selecting Charlie's beats?
Charlie and I’ve been friends since childhood, plus he’s the most gifted musician I know. We came-up with everything together, and he’s really collaborative and willing to try-out new ideas. We’ve been out on the street recording car tires pulling out, we’ve had children in the booth doubling lines, and Charlie’s played everything on these tracks from bass to piano to drums. He’s also super experimental and pushes me in really creative directions. He always asks what I’m trying to accomplish and what my vision for a song or project is.
I think we used almost all of the beats Charlie actually finished for this album. That’s because, if he was working on something and I didn’t think it meshed with what I had in mind, we’d start again or readjust. I’d trust Charlie with my life, so trusting him with music stuff is easy.
The music video for "Thirteen (Thoughts)" is epic. Who directed the visual and how did you come up with its treatment?
Wow, thanks. I have to laugh, I did all of that, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I made visuals for a number of cuts from the album, and I just use whatever’s at my disposal.
The video combined clips I’d recorded on my camera and cellphone with animation under creative commons and old movie trailers now in the public domain. I’m trying to remember, I used clips from trailers for Dracula and Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster and a bunch of other cult classics.
Rather than having a concrete treatment or storyline, I tried to capture a mood. I always love when artists repurpose and reimagine old pop culture to create something new.
What are you most proud of with the "My Re:Collection" album and do you plan to release any more music videos from its songs?
I’ve posted teaser videos for different tracks and have a few other full music videos up that are also kind of mash-ups of different elements, but I do have this idea of putting together a visual for excerpts from all of the tracks on the album, sort of like a short film.
More than anything, I’m proud I’ve used the album to share a bit of my story, and mainly my struggles with mental health, anxiety, and OCD. Because of the project, I’ve had a lot of folks reach-out to talk about what they’re going though and to ask questions about how to access support, so that’s been really meaningful to me.
I want to keep trying to be a better man for myself, but also for my family and especially my beautiful wife and daughters, and I think creating the album has helped with that.
With the album now released, what are some of your goals musically for 2021 and what next can your fans look forward to from you?
I’m always writing and plan to start work on a new album in the new year. This might be a bit overly ambitious, but I’d like to release another project this summer. I just try to make the most honest and dope music I can, and I let the other pieces fall into place.
Stream and Share “My Re:Collection” on Spotify
Connect with Chris Cachia: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp