From East Rand - Gauteng, South Africa resides the passionate songwriter by the name Chenél No.1. Chenél No.1 has had the love for music from a young age with her father loving CCR and The Shadows. Although she started releasing her music in October 2019, Chenél No.1 has been growing her fan-base with each song she releases and thus far her most streamed single "Just Because Of You" is sitting on over 5000 streams on Spotify alone.
When asked about her stage name, it appeared that whenever she introduces herself to people they often comment "like to the perfume Chenél No.5" and according to her, her response is always "No, I'm special, No.1." she said. If you listen to Chenél No.1, you get the feel that she likes to write songs with deep meaning and some story telling, "Although I don’t like putting myself in box, the genres I prefer are folk, country, rock & pop. I
do also like writing gospel music occasionally." Chenél N0.1 explained.
Explaining her creative process, "It is simple for me, I write the lyrics first then create a melody with a chord progression played on my guitar or I’ll start with the chords, humming a melody until I find the words that would fit." said Chenél No.1. She further explained that she thinks of herself as a storyteller when writing her songs and prefers keeping it short and straight to the point.
Aside from doing music, the independent musician is a wife, a mother of three girls and works full time but still finds time to make her music. Chenél No.1 aims to be a better lyricist with every song she writes and hopes to meet her fans expectations.
Q & A with Chenél No.1
Q: If you could open a show for any artist who would it be and why?
A: It would be Cher. I love her ability to evolve through the decades, she has an amazing voice and has a timelessness approach to making music. I do think she would have a lot to offer as a mentor.
Q: How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
A: The internet opens doors to reaching people that are genuinely interested in what I have to offer as an independent artist. At this stage, I have a bigger following of supporters on streaming platforms overseas than I currently have in South Africa. I would like to change that and increase my local musical footprint. I think South Africans have a lot of diversity and creativeness to offer in the global market and the internet is the tool that can make discovering us possible.
Q: If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
A: It would be great to have the opportunity to be able to have someone in the music industry to mentor you through the various phases you’ll go through in your journey as an artist.
Get In Touch:
Instagram: @ChenelNo1
Twitter: @Chenel_No1
Facebook: @ChenelNo1
"I am truly thankful to everyone who supports me as an independent artist. So far I’m overwhelmed by the response I have received and hope to meet my fans expectations by becoming better with each song I release." - Chenél No.1
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