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Chel
'Fried Plantain because it makes everything lit, as far as I’m concerned it’s the main event baby!'
Chel is an indie British singer & songwriter of Angolan and Congolese descent, whose music is primarily a fusion of Pop and R&B. Her budding discography continues to be influenced by the likes of Jojo, Kehlani and Tinashe among others, delivering songs that are both vocally and lyrically arresting.
Growing up in a suburb of North London, Chel’s teenage desire to create music led to her subsequent enrollment in a school of performing arts, where she honed her innate talents and voice. Her big moment will seemingly arrive in 2017, after the then aspiring artist was recommended by a friend to perform at an open-mic concert. Things would unravel relatively fast for the budding artist there after, culminating in Chel’s first extended play (EP) ‘’Reclaiming My Love’’, which was up for streaming in 2018, marking her official entry to music; a move that was definitive of her steady rise to prominence.
Since ‘’Reclaiming My Love’’, Chel has collaborated with acts in the frame of C Cane and Joey K for ‘I Got It’ and ‘Love Me’ respectively, earning the young songbird a string of features on; RNBrit, GRM Daily, Link Up, Mixtape Madness, The Voice Newspaper, Raydar Magazine, Noctis Magazine, Into The Culture, SpotlightFirst and Industry Me to name a few. Chel is also into video production, having produced all of her songs accompanying music videos, notably ‘Call’ and ‘Push My Bottons’.
As of June 2021, Chel is readying for the release of her next project ‘’NOLAH’’; an acronym for ‘’No Love Around Here’’. We sat down with her to find out a bit more about who she is as an artist.
NEO: Where did your artist name come from?
CHEL: It’s a shortened version of my full name! My dad gave it to me, and then I adopted it to the outside world when I started uni!
NEO: How would you describe your music journey?
CHEL: A constant journey of self discovery, it happens in real time! Whatever I’m in to or going through at that particular time goes into my music. I’m just a human that’s trying to live and do it all whilst turning my experiences or others experiences into music!
NEO: How long have you been making music?
CHEL: Probably since I was 11.
NEO: Who inspires you musically?
CHEL: Jojo, Tank, Eric Bellinger, Kehlani, Tinashe
NEO: What’s life like for you outside of music?
NEO: Who are your top 3 present artists and why?
CHEL: Tank, Eric Bellinger and Kehlani - their songwriting is NEXT LEVEL and they’ve kept R&B current
NEO: What is your guilty pleasure?
CHEL: Ordering whatever I want from the menu. Or someone paying for my food bill, or putting money in my bank account for food. I love food so much!
NEO: What was the inspiration behind your recent release?
CHEL: Being a boss babe, and seeing all the other boss women out there!
NEO: If you could be any animal in the animal kingdom, what would you be and why?
CHEL: A monkey simple because I was born in the year of a monkey! Or a Squirrel because I have a lot of squirrel habits lmao
NEO: If you were a main dish, what would you be and why?
CHEL: Fried Plantain because it makes everything lit, as far as I’m concerned it’s the main event baby!
NEO: Let us know where to find you on social media
CHEL: @itschel