Angelic voice of Toronto’s Chlz soars with sultry lo-fi sounds on debut self-titled album
TORONTO, CANADA – It’s not often that a classically trained, triple-threat performer like Toronto’s Chlz enters the scene with all of the elements needed to create a musical hit. But now that she has it’s time to sit up and pay attention.
Originally from British Columbia, Chlz marries classic R&B, Jazz and Soul vibes with her signature cosmic and sultry lo-fi sounds. She cleverly does this in a way that makes you feel like you’re in a deep, claw-foot-tub with a glass of wine and feeling good about life.
Chlz will “take you to church” and then some, with lyrics and catchy hooks that are sure to pioneer a new sub-genre for a new era of music. Her deep connection to natural mysticism drives her music to empower and shine a light on the divine feminine within each of her listeners. She does this while also exploring and navigating the real-world ebb and flow of every-changing relationships. These elements came together while Chlz took advantage of the focused time she had during the COVID quarantine of 2020. The end result is her self-titled EP, which she is excited to share with the world.
“I was fortunate enough to find a space in which to create,” Chlz said. “The EP was born from a time of isolation while navigating various relationships, which were all forced into social-distancing statuses. It’s the kind of territory that no relationship of our time has ever faced. Everything is new, uncharted and difficult. Some of the songs on this EP deal with heartaches and heartbreaks, while adjusting to the changing times. It’s a modern and musical unrequited love sort of thing.”
Circumstantially, things are different and the pandemic has magnified our attachments, Chlz said. However, a listen through the EP reveals that the whole project is ultimately about a journey back to oneself – making “Simple” one of the most important songs on the project.
“While sitting in isolation, we can replay the relationships we had with people – how we sometimes over-complicate things and what it’s like to now be without them,” Chlz said. “It also forces you to realize that at the end of the day all you have is you.”
For many listeners, “Simple” is one of the catchiest songs on the EP. It acts as a sort of personal mantra that plays over and over again in the listener’s head, even long after the song has ended.
“It’s a musical reflection on how we tend to overcomplicate things in our mind’s eye,” she said. “Sometimes insecurities and traumas can create barriers that keep people from moving forward as their authentic selves, and instead we repeat negative messages to ourselves … which hold us back. It’s easier to deflect and look outward to others and judge their efforts while just sitting there and doing nothing. This project helped me to solidify my understanding that if something is going against the grain, or if you’re trying to force something to flow that’s not right for you, it will magnify chaos to show you that you are not in alignment with something you need to let go of. I was reflecting on how we hesitate to let things go, even when it hurts us. We hide behind beautiful lies because they create a façade of safety to avoid facing ugly truths. So, we overcomplicate things to delay that pain, and only make things worse.
“Simple” is fun, catchy and deep, but not preachy. Chlz has managed to create a song that is relevant for the current times because it was inspired by true personal reflection.
“As much as it’s a message for my listeners, when I wrote it there was a reminder to myself – as someone who has a busy mind – to just keep things simple,” she said. “I didn’t want all of my songs to be about romantic relationships. ‘Simple’ is a song about the relationship within myself.”
The full EP will drop wide across all streaming platforms on April 30. Fans can also check out all of Chlz’s previously released singles on all streaming platforms. Chlz said she hopes people will appreciate the amount of work that went into creating such a high-quality “mystical, ethereal, lo-fi” yet soulful sound.
“I’m very passionate about creating a sacred space where my fans feel comfortable enough to let their guards down,” she said. “I want to create that feeling of being in a bathtub drinking wine and just being relaxed.”
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To listen to Chlz’s music, or to follow her on social media, please visit the following links:
TIKTOK: @chlz._
INSTAGRAM: @chlz._
TWITTER: @chlz_lee
YOUTUBE:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC6TKrtIgCVD6P5PKghcHg6g
https://soundcloud.com/chelsea-lee-norgren/real-ft-macaano
https://soundcloud.com/chelsea-lee-norgren/unravelled-chlz
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