By Benjamin Millerman
There aren’t many artists that are super difficult to place into a genre but when an artist’s style changes with every song you listen to, it’s hard to pinpoint them to one niche. Differentchris is just that, different. Unplaceable into a single sphere, he describes his music as “self-reflecting”, creating his music around whatever he is listening to at the moment. Clicking shuffle with a differentchris playlist, transports you from world to world with every song, constantly making you check your phone to see if it’s even the same guy. But that’s the beauty of it. The constant changes shift like moods, making his music more relatable.
For him making music is also self-reflection. Chris has loved writing since he was a young kid, an outlet for him to express himself and have fun. When listening to music he realized that music is the same thing, just people venting their frustrations into music. Chris made the switch to music, blessing us with his new creative form of self-reflection.
However, the process of writing music and journaling is different. The writing is as it is when journaling, a constant flow state of thoughts onto a page. But before then Chris scrolls through beats until a hook hits him. Songwriting for him is a one-sitting process, explaining that “If I don’t finish a song in a single sitting I lose all my juice, it’s weird, but that’s how it’s always been for me”. Creatively he is inspired by Mac Miller, King Krule, and Clairo. The variety presented here is shown in his versatility as you can pinpoint certain songs to have strong affiliations with these artists, like Day 1 and its heavy Mac Miller inspiration.
While Chris hasn’t struggled to create, he struggles with comparison. No matter how many can relate and find comfort in his music, it is often hard to silence those voices, stating that it’s just “Hard to not compare yourself to people your age or slightly older who are in a better position than you”. Thankfully this issue has improved, and as differentchris continues to put more music out, the voices will grow quiet.
The music growth won’t slow either. Chris finds the most joy in the memories of creating music. Meeting people, making cool music, and enjoying the process is a success, not the numbers that are on the screen. But in today’s age, the music marketing scene is cutthroat. Differentchris has found success with Tiktok. It allows Chris to display his versatility, but it does water down the music due to a formula of spamming being the winning technique.
One of Chris’s songs was able to catch that wave, exploding past 100k streams. Walls In Your Room is a well-crafted track that you can’t get out of your head. With the soothing guitar alongside enjoyable stringy vocals with a strong lyrical structure, the song has everything you want in a hit. Chris explains it as a song that “changed my life for the better”. It finally helped him visualize how people relate to what he is feeling and has pushed him to create more. It introduced him to more incredible people and conversations that have further opened his eyes to music.
But with a highly recommended further look through his discography, you will find banger after banger, especially the ones with Fah. Fah is a close friend of Chris’s and has helped him create music since they were 13. Every song that includes both of them is well constructed and songs you can’t stop playing. Chris furthers his collaboration artillery with artists like Jamo, Angierzzz, and Selines.
Chris has also been able to bring his music to a live stage. He wants to continue to do more as when he is on the stage he enters a state of euphoria, “I grew up with a stutter my whole life but on stage, I don’t stutter at all, so it’s euphoric”. Chris manages to enter a state that allows him to be fully in the moment, unaffected by outside factors, another reason why a musician is what he was meant to be.
The other thing that instantly pops out about Chris is his album covers. These are carefully crafted, and inspired by artists like Mac Miller. Each album, past and future is already planned to a certain color, a concept he has held onto since high school.
Chris is still on his journey but for him, music isn’t a job, it’s something fun to do. It never feels like a chore, it’s something he wants to make time for it and to continue to create. For those who want to create like Chris, “Never take it too serious cause as soon as you do it’s not fun”. Focus on making something you like and enjoy the process.
Keep an eye out on differentchris, as you will never know what his next track will be and just how much you are going to love it. He will continue to grow, expanding his musical circle in Houston and pushing for more live shows.
Chris is an artist who is really sticking true to the “different” in his name. He isn’t going to be like the rest. He plans to stay relatable and genuine to the average person, promising to continue to do good. Currently, Chris is taking it day by day, putting his best foot forward. Chris is an artist who refuses to be boxed in. His next track? No one knows, but that’s what makes him Different.