#MusicInTheAir Podcast hosts this week :

CHELSEA COMO

For this week’s MusicInTheAir Podcast Chelsea Como debuts on Villahangar. Born and raised in Miami, USA, she lives between Europe and Miami.

Singer, songwriter, producer and DJ, she writes her own songs and produces. Her musical style is Afro House with influences from R&B and Neo-soul, with an eclectic array of musical influences such as Sade, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill ed Erykah Badu. Her favorite artists are in fact Sade, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Jhene Aiko, Black Coffee, and Kaytranada.
With inviting, velvety and hypnotic vocals, she has a DJ style heavily influenced by Miami Bass, House, and Afro House music. When she takes off her DJ headset she loves to listen to vibey music. “Anything from R&B, Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Amapiano, and Jazz”, she tells.

After graduating from the University of Miami, Chelsea Como started singing background vocals. This introduced her to Richard Aspinwall, two-time Grammy award winning producer. With his help, Chelsea recorded a collection of songs at the legendary Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. “As a child my mom played Miami bass, R&B, and House music. Then I started singing gospel in the church at 5 and I played classical music in the church orchestra”, she tells.

After venturing to Europe, she started recording with House producers in Rome and London. Chelsea’s most recent single ‘Waves’ remixed by South African rising star Enoo Napa was heavily played and supported by Black Coffee during his worldwide tour and at his residency at Hi in Ibiza.
In 2020 ‘Waves’ was included in Black Coffee’s ‘Music is King 2019 Appreciation Mix’ generating a lot of hype and was played at the best clubs and festivals worldwide.

She often collaborates with Jacko, Dj and Producer from Rome. Togheter they published her following hits, which scored 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify: two singles in October 2021 on two of the most prolific Afro-house record labels: “Flames” on MoBlack Records, remixed by Enoo Napa and “Until Tomorrow” on Madorasindahouse, remixed by Africa Deep, DJeff and Dorian Craft.
Both versions have gained a lot of support and played from the likes of Black Coffee, Brina Knauss, Hyenah, Kasango, just to name a few.
She says about it: “I wrote Flames initially as a follow up to Waves and it was inspired by a passionate experience where I was afraid to fall for someone but felt I was drawn to that person against all logic. Whereas, Until Tomorrow was lyrically and melodically inspired by the pandemic and lockdown. It was very different than my previous work and was unconsciously created with the intention of bringing comfort to my friends in Italy and the world during a very unprecedented and challenging time. My writing process is influenced by my musical background of taping into an authentic feeling or memory to create a melody then once I’ve played the melody I picture the scene then create the lyrics to complete the story and song. Enoo Napa is out of this world! As a producer and remixer he makes unique music that sounds like it’s from another planet. His use of afro tech synths, bass, and drums that support my vocals and complete the song is just perfect for me”.

Chelsea has performed at the Biennale in Venice and sang and modeled during the Milan Fashion Week for Stella Jean.
She has played in Italy, UK, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan and of course the U.S. as New York and Miami.
Currently, Chelsea is recording new music. “I have a song with Enoo Napa coming out on his upcoming album as well as a couple of other projects I’m finishing up – she tells. – At the moment I’m finishing 2 songs and developing my hybrid set. I also have a few projects that I’m finishing while juggling my Masters in Music program at Berklee Valencia”.

You are a singer-songwriter, and you write your own songs and produce some of your own music. You come from the world of r’n’b, what can you tell us about it?

Yes, coming from a gospel background I witnessed the power of music to uplift people at a young age. The next progression from Gospel is usually R&B/Soul because its roots come from Gospel. I personally love the energy and power that this kind of music has to touch people and transport them to another place. When I sing it’s like I tap into my higher self and I’m able connect with people on a deep level and uplift them, which feels like a high. I also grew up listening to percussive music from the Caribbean and Latin America which has a similar more ancestral feeling connected to the African Diaspora. So, when I heard Afro House for the first time by way of Osunlade, Boddhi Satva, and Black Coffee I fell in love with it at first listen as if I had heard it before.

You often collaborate with Jacko, Dj and Producer from Rome. His DJ Sets range from House to Afro-House and Afro-Tech, he is also known to leap between genres, showcasing emerging and cutting-edge dance/electronic music and R&B/Hip-Hop/Afrobeats.

I connected with Jacko because of our common love of R&B, Neo-soul, and House. We also both love Afro music in general. Jacko inspired me to develop my sound as a singer/songwriter in house music then motivated to produce my own songs and now is supporting me as a DJ.

How was your winter? Do you have dj sets or festivals planned at the moment for the present and the future?

I have a residency at The Sanctuary and at Naos in Rome, Italy, with upcoming live sets in the summer in Italy and Spain.

What do you think of the electronic music scene of your country? What do you think are the differences with Europe and the rest of the world?

I feel the electronic music scene in Miami is not as consistent as the scene in Europe due to other genres like Pop, Hip-Hop, and Reggaeton dominating the Miami scene. However, I’ve seen a lot of growth in the past few years with the III Points Festival and new venues that support electronic music in Miami. The other half of the year when I’m in Italy I see that people are opening up their minds and hearts to Afro House.

What evolution do you think electronic music is experiencing on the international scene?

I think electronic music is gaining a lot of visibility and interest due to collaborations of mainstream artists and electronic music producers. Examples are of Black Coffee collaborating with so many artists like Drake, Pharrell, and Usher and Beyonce collaborating with Honey Dijon.

What can you tell us musically about your Podcast for Villahangar?

I created this mix to showcase my current tastes and to share some of the tunes I enjoy playing and dancing along to. Hope you enjoy it!