Interview by Stuart Blythe
Life Music Media caught up with Sydney hip-hop artist Chance Waters (formerly Phatchance) to discuss his latest recorded offering “Infinity”, touring, being an independent artist and more!

LMM: Tell us a little about Chance Waters

Chance Waters : Well, the bi-line reads Emotive, Independent Australian Hip-Hop. That covers it pretty well, the unabridged version would involve serial procrastinator, lover-not-a-fighter, vegan & facebook/twitter addict in desperate need of intervention, I also write songs when time permits.
 
 
LMM: Your latest single “Infinity” was produced by Adelaide’s One Above, who recently produced The Hilltop Hoods’ #1 Single ‘I Love It ft. Sia’
For fans who haven’t yet heard “Infinity”, how would you describe the sound and the vibe? Were you channelling any musical influences at the time of production?

Chance Waters : “Infinity” is a really existential song, it’s probably the most existential song (TM.). As the name implies it’s about infinity, but specifically what the concept of infinity really means, what implications it has for us as humans, what implications it has on experience and whether if the universe is truly infinite we’re all doomed to watch every episode of MASH infinite times. I don’t specifically mention MASH, but it’s in the subtext. The production is I think the first of it’s kind for an Australian hip-hop track, there’s no drums, till the end, then there’s too many drums, and it’s a blend of samples, live instruments and synth but in a distinctly non hip-hop arrangement, people should probably just listen to it because my mum says it’s heaps cool.
 
 
LMM: You’ve toured with Bliss N Eso, The Herd, 360 and De La Soul… to name a few.
Who has really stood out as a great live act that you shared the stage with and what, if anything, did you learn from the experience?

Chance Waters : All of those guys are great in very different ways, I love live music and I feel like Australia in particular has some of the most amazing live acts there are, particularly in terms of hip-hop, it’s only in the last few years that the American scene really started to lift their live performance standard, I don’t know why Australia has been so far ahead of the curb, but I mean I saw The Hilltop Hoods perform with an entire symphony orchestra, that’s pretty impressive. I love touring with my close friends, all the guys in ‘I Forget, Sorry!’ (Mind Over Matter, Coptic Soldier & Johnny Utah) put on excellent live performances and are heaps of fun to tour with, so I’d probably say those guys, but the biggest shows I’ve played were with Bliss N Eso.
 
 
LMM: What would be the biggest obstacle as a single artist in the music industry today?

Chance Waters : Being independent comes with so many obstacles, struggling for the type of radio support many signed acts take for granted is definitely hard, probably more-so when you don’t really fit inside the box in terms of what Australian hip-hop is ‘supposed’ to sound like, but really the toughest part is just wearing as many hats as you need to, that’s also really rewarding though, I get to maintain a lot more control over everything I do and that suits me well, I record and engineer my own music, finance the bulk of my projects and handle all sorts of admin jobs most signed musicians would never even realise need handling.
 
 
LMM: When would you say your defining moment was? When did you know you wanted to do this for a living?

Chance Waters : I don’t think there was a eureka moment, I sort of grew into it, but I guess watching the amazing achievements of people who proceeded me gave me the belief that with hard work it’s possible to make headway, I think it’s easy to idealise those things when you’re young, easy to forget just how much work and dedication goes into creating success most of us only see in a moment, but music has definitely wormed it’s way into every facet of my life and I definitely wouldn’t change that.
 
 
LMM: You’re about to kick off on tour in April. What can fans expect at the shows?

Chance Waters : I’ll be touring with a B-A-N, B-A-N, B-A-N-D, which is going to be heaps of fun. Probably not as many musicians as I took with me for my acoustic shows last year, I think we had 11 people on stage at the biggest moment with that material, but I’m taking a few really solid performers with me, including @solwat my notorious banjo/synth-when-he-can player, and definitely a bassist and hopefully some violin/vocals on most of the legs.
 
 
LMM: Is there anything you would like to say to your growing fan base?

Chance Waters : I’m sure they wish I would say less, judging by the thousands of tweets and facebook posts I’ve made. But mainly just sending them love, as usual, early adopters are easily the coolest people there are. To my h8erz c u l8rz. Everyone else is welcome to come be my friend somewhere on the internets, I’d like that.