Introducing Canadian experimental pop artist Christian Sean and his debut single "Cold Water" out now on Bonsound
As a visionary artist with deep roots in Montreal's innovative music scene, newcomer Christian Sean is redefining pop music with his unique blend of melodic sensibilities and avant-garde experimentation. From his early attraction to indie rock and leftfield electronics, Christian Sean has evolved into an innovative force in modern music, committed to creating transformative soundscapes that resonate with audiences worldwide.
His debut single “Cold Water” is a hyper-kinetic freakout of progressive pop. Squelches of synthetic bass pulsate beneath a pounding drum loop, while a feverish sample collage of mangled handclaps and deranged synthesisers glide across the mix at breakneck speed. Circular, hypnotic, the track is propelled by a haunting topline, with lyrics that detail the rush of buried emotion that arises once the container of a relationship has collapsed.
Music runs deep in his soul. The early years of his childhood were nomadic – born in Switzerland to American parents who were members of a Christian cult, they travelled across Europe and the Southern states, before his mother finally escaped and settled in Montreal with him. Granted a non-religious childhood, he revelled in freedom, and this independence rings out in his art.
Starting with the guitar at the tender age of 10, he was gifted his first sampler at the age of 14 – the hallowed Roland SP-404. An immediate production nerd, he would pore over Animal Collective records, trying to attain their sample-delic sound. “It set me on this path,” he smiles.
Watching indie bands at shows around Montreal, he started a group with a bunch of teenage friends, playing DIY shows at warehouse spaces and house parties. Soaking up shows from Dirty Projectors, TV On The Radio and Grizzly Bear, local peers like Grimes and Mac DeMarco were just a few years older than him. “It was a really exciting time to come of age,” he notes.
Like most teenage bands, it didn’t last long. When the group dissolved, he moved to Brazil – the buzzing metropolis of São Paulo – with his then-partner, spending six months in student dorms focusing on his music. “That was the first time I’d been without a band. I just had my laptop, and a MIDI controller – and I’d spent months wood-shedding, honing my craft. Brazil is where my music really came together.”
Emboldened, Christian Sean returned to Montreal and threw himself into the city’s music scene. Whether it was touring arenas in the pop star’s backing band or playing a leftfield electronic show in an art gallery, he’d tackle each show with complete commitment. His own music gained increased focus, but something was lacking. “I was still finding myself, finding my ground,” he says.
The pandemic wiped the slate clean, and he started to write once more, refusing to be pressurised by expectations. “I had become filled with self-doubt, and felt like I didn’t know which way to go,” he recalls. “But then I started making these songs, almost therapeutically, and gradually I realised there was something in there that felt potent, that rang true.”
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