Today on the podcast we are featuring the Toronto-based Alt Rock/Hip Hop artist Chris Caulfield. Learn more about him and listen to his track “Stockholm Syndrome.”

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Show Notes and Full Transcript

Today on the podcast we are featuring the Toronto-based artist Chris Caulfield. Learn more about him and listen to his track “Stockholm Syndrome.”

Hey everyone welcome to the Eat Sleep Breathe Music podcast. I am your host Jeanette Kimszal. For those of you just joining us, this is the podcast where I talk about different musicians and how their music affects me and then play I track of theirs for you to listen to.

So you can check it out and form your own opinion as well. And if you are so interested in sharing your thoughts on this track and the artist I’ll have details at the end of the show where you can leave your comments.

So today on the show I am chatting about Chris Caulfield and his track “Stockholm Syndrome.” 

Chris Caulfield is an emerging artist from just outside Toronto, Canada. 

Chris has been playing in bands around the Toronto area in his teens and early twenties. He found himself on a unique path early and was blessed to spend the next decade managing his own businesses and starting a family, bringing a wealth of events and experiences to tap into musically. 

For Chris, music was always an outlet for dealing with his chronic pain and mental health issues, but it was the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that made him dive headfirst back into music. It was a coping mechanism to deal with this challenging period of his life.

This project was different from before. In his newly set up home studio, he got to work on something new and more personal.

By late March 2021, he launched his first projects in over a decade with three singles. His fourth single released a week late garnered 10,000 streams in its first 30 days on Spotify.

This music was what kept him going. Numerous singles were being accepted into multiple Spotify playlists and influencers were playing his music.

Another thing that came out of this project was numerous opportunities to write music for TV, movies, and an artist development project with a Canadian indie label and management firm.   

So what started out as an outlet for himself to cope grew into so much more.

Listening to his music you can hear why he has been given these accolades.

Not only is the music quite alluring, but his lyrics are also something that can probably relate to a lot of people. 

Pain, depression, and anxiety are all issues that people grapple with daily. And music is an outlet that helps people cope. 

As I mentioned before mental health is a significant theme in his music. This is very relatable and offers insight for those who are also struggling with the same issues.

In the track “Stockholm Syndrome” he offers sincere honesty from a time when he was struggling with his own demons.

“Stockholm Syndrome” is a term used when someone falls for their captor. In this instance, Caulfield uses it as a metaphor for the complicated relationship people have with the hazards and benefits of drug use.

Themes of substance use and deteriorating mental health lace the lyrics. His honest and brutal words compliment the dark and evocative music that offers a somber kindness to the song.

What I like are the ticking piano melodies that run in the background. Caulfield goes from crooning to rapping into the chorus so smoothly it all flows so seamlessly together.

The song emits a gloomy dark and illicit feeling that is nerve-racking and tense but also attractive all at the same time. 

The pairing of these smooth beats and somewhat falsetto vocals enthrall and enchant the listener.

A few interesting tidbits with this song are there there is a quote from the famous Disturbed song lyric as well as the infamous quote from the movie “The Shining.”

Caufield explains the song “refers to the concept of just time going by being the enemy.”

The verse goes

“I’m down with the sick again

I’m playing this game again

Hours and hours turn me into dull boy

Diggin and power drillin’ in my skull boy

Somebody tell ‘em that I found a way

To fight the undertow, out of my brain”

He goes on to say that “The song is in the context of medications and drugs,” “And how they can both help and hurt the user.”

When it comes to describing his music, it’s hard to pin down an exact genre for this singer/songwriter. His music is a fascinating amalgamation of alt-rock, and hip-hop along with emo-era rock and trap melodies.

His bio lists influences ranging from rock, rap, hip-hop, and pop artists such as:  

Radiohead, The Goo Goo Dolls, Chris Cornell (from Audioslave, Soundgarden), USS, Oasis, Chevelle, Disturbed, Slipknot, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Breaking Benjamin, Damien Rice, Post Malone, JuiceWrld, Drake, J.Cole, Kanye West, Lil Tjay, Eminem Justin Timberlake, Khalid, and Halsey just to name a few.

With all these influences its no wonder it is is just so hard to define Caulfiled musically. But that makes it fun right? The culmination of all these types of music opens the door to a wider audience as well as what you can do musically.

If you’re wondering how he sounds his music has been said to compare to artists including Post Malone, The Kid Laroi, Billie Eilish, Juice Wrld and Iann Dior as well as bands acts like Linkin Park, Panic! At the Disco, 21 Pilots, USS, Metallica, MGK, Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and Halsey.

Listening to some of his others tracks online you can see the breadth of variation in his music and why he has become so popular. 

If you want to check out more of his music you can find Chris Caulfield streaming on Apple, Amazon, Boomplay, Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube. I can leave links to these in the show notes if you want to listen for yourself.

His musical talent has also been noted by the blogosphere with features in We Write About Music, Jammerzine, Tinnitist, Lessthan1000followers dot com, Sinusoidal Music, Find Your Sounds, and A Journal of Musical Things.

Now with that being said I’ll let you decide for yourself what you think about this artist and his song. So without further ado here is “Stockholm Syndrome” by Chris Caulfield.

We would love to know what you think about Chris Caulfield. You can tell us in a comment on the podcast webpage. You can also leave an audio comment at the link in the episode summary.

For more information on Chris Caulfield, you can check out his official website ChrisCaulfieldMusic.com.

That is C-H-R-I-S-C-A-U-L-F-I-E-L-D-M-U-S-I-C dot com.

You can also like and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

On Instagram, he is at the handle ItsChrisCaulfield.

That is I-T-S-C-H-R-I-S-C-A-U-L-F-I-E-L-D. No apostrophe.

On Facebook his handle is MelanCaulic.

That is M-E-L-A-N-C-A-U-L-I-C

I can leave links to these in the show notes.

If you’re looking for more new music be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you will get the latest updates on our artist features. 

You can also find more music features on our website at www.EatSleepBreatheMusic.com. That is E-a-t-S-l-e-e-p-B-r-e-a-t-h-e-M-u-s-i-c dot com.

Thanks for listening and see you in the next episode!

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