Name: Chris Barr
Nationality: Kenyan
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Chris Barr's new single “Like You” is out now.

If you enjoyed this Chris Barr interview and would like to know more about his music, visit him on Instagram, and tiktok.

For an interview with one of his collaborators, read our Waithaka interview.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

My major trigger in creation is a feeling. It could be from past experience, a memory of something I encountered, a sentiment, an observation - basically my entire knowledge bank of my lived experience.

Inspiration is everywhere and as much as I could dig for great ideas, I believe the best ones show themselves without much effort or pursuit.
 
⁠For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I need to see a vision first. It doesn't have to be complete and most of the time it isn't. Then, I use that as a route map to actualisation of the idea.

Most times, it ends up taking a different face but with the original pivoting feeling. This opens up more possibilities for what the work could become.

Planning and chance work hand in hand but my take is that planning precedes chance. I can't rely on chance to get things done.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Oh yes! The music always keeps morphing and taking new shape until I feel like it's in the best form in comparison to the message I intend to put across. This involves research, looking for the best words to describe what I'm putting across, seeking inspiration from other musicians, seeking critique and so on.

However, every song comes with its own path so I can't really say I have a specific way of doing things really. Or maybe I haven't noticed the pattern yet.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I believe new ideas are really intersections of many different ideas and data points that collide and surface on the mind.

An example is how I could sing a melody with a mix of tones borrowed from Neosoul, cursive singing and steal in some Western classical influences as well.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

I like to envision lyrics as a different-edged paint brush just as like melody and the different aspects of production.

I do find myself extracting music from my journal entries. However, for my process, the foundation of every song I've written have been melody and rhythm in any form.

⁠Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I like to let the music unveil itself in its own timing.

I do find myself wanting to control and micro-manage. But time has always been the best way to uncover my music.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

It does. I've found myself switching themes because what I initially started with doesn't really hit home or is not really moving forward.

So, I lean more towards watching the music undergo metamorphosis until it sits in a comfortable position in my mind and heart.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

There is. My music, or rather the approach I like to take with it, is very spiritual and I'm always making musical choices based on what I feel sits right.

Music and art in general are a window to humanity and the deeper I can go within myself, the more doors I open for others to do the same.

So yes, it's all spiritual for me.

When you're in the studio to record a piece, how important is the actual performance and the moment of performing the song still in an age where so much can be “done and fixed in post?“

My direction in my recording process is to do what feels right and true to the emotion being painted by the music. This could mean post production alterations and adding elements in a way that doesn't feel very human-like.

As long as it still relays the message clearly, I'm not opposed to technological alterations in music. This doesn't exempt me, however, from always putting up my best vocal performance in studio because the aim is to connect with a human audience.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Well, as an overthinker I tend to "overcreate" for lack of a better word. I tend to feel like it can always be better, even when I know deep down I've done enough already. I use this thought process as a measure, coupled up with following what my heart is telling me.

Very often I just know when I need to stop adding elements and thinking too far into them. I still do think it's important to let the music sit and come back to it later. If it's finished, it will feel finished for a long period after.

Whenever I don't feel the need to add onto, I know I'm ready to let the music go.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

Production, mixing and mastering play a very vital role in a song. I like to see them as channels to the ear into another's conscious and or subconscious.

If the music doesn't flow easily into the listeners ear, then  production, mixing and mastering, in my opinion, can do this for the music. The vocalist provides a drawing of the structure - while the producer builds it up.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Time. I let time replace the thoughts that are attached to specific points of the process that just ended.

I also regard these periods as my rest periods, to recharge before taking on new projects.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I'm learning to see how music doesn't have to communicate to everyone and this applies to me as well.

I can never understand all the languages that exist but there are a few that I comprehend and I'm learning to be comfortable with that. The same ideology goes for my music and how it's perceived out there.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

To some degree, yes. It all boils down to what the individual is feeling. A piece of music could trigger a memory from literally any point in the listeners’ life and that's how we get relatability. So I see music, just as other mundane activities, as a portal to tap into different human experiences.

Music is a language, as earlier mentioned, and it's a language I can speak fluently. Someone else would put across the same feelings in a different medium and still relay the same message.

Therefore, I use it to express the different human experiences I encounter. Pain, anger, heartbreak, love, sadness, disappointment, joy … the list is endless.