Pop-Culturalist.com

Victoria, BC-based singer-songwriter Adrian Chalifour has been connecting with audiences for over fifteen years. As the founder and frontman of Towers and Trees, he’s performed around the country and at festivals including Canadian Music Week, Indie Week, Breakout West, and dozens more. His original music has struck a chord with listeners and charted on Canadian radio. In 2019, he made his national TV debut on the popular Canadian series, The Launch, which marked a new chapter in his career as a solo artist. In June, he dropped his new single, “Open Heart”, and spoke with Pop Culturalist about the track.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Adrian: My parents would tell you it was there from day one, when I was still a baby banging on pots and pans, but my most formative time of discovery as a musician came through playing in church. That was where I learned music not as a performance, but as a language to bring a roomful of people together in a genuine, vulnerable way. I let go of my faith years ago, but I’m grateful for how it shaped my understanding of music. It’s something that still bleeds through my own music today, and in many ways sets me apart.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Adrian: Owning and defining my own terms of success is what made a career in music seem possible to me. In my mid-twenties, I totally gave up on music. The fear of failing to make it big—or make it at all—was too much, so I shelved it. It took several years and counseling to come to the realization that just creating and sharing music was being successful because it honored the gifts I had to give. That was a transformative moment in my journey for sure.

PC: Tell us about your new single, “Open Heart”. What inspired the song?
Adrian: “Open Heart” is dedicated to the givers of the world—those incredible people who are the first to love and the last to leave, the first to give and the last to ask anything in return. They add so much color to our world, but it’s a tough job that comes with a lot of hurt and heartache.

I see it in my partner, Jenni, and our daughter, Violet, even at just two-years-old. They have these big, beautiful, wide-open hearts that I want to nourish and protect. They also inspire me to open my own heart a little more each day.

PC: Tell us about the music video. Walk us through the initial concept to the final product.
Adrian: The video for “Open Heart” is unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of! It was produced by videographer SHIRAZ and stars an incredible drag queen from Victoria, BC named Jimbo. I like to say it’s Jimbo’s video and I’m just lucky enough to provide the soundtrack! It’s also a dance video, featuring choreography and dancers from a very cool, progressive studio called Raino Dance.

The concept was inspired by the opening line of the song: “Does it ever seem like in a world made out of concrete, you’re a tangerine?” Jimbo is our hero and an absolute ray of color and light in an otherwise dreary setting. As the video goes on, Jimbo’s radiance is more and more infectious, and she lights up the world around her until it’s one big, colorful dance party by the end of the song!

PC: You were the frontman of Towers and Trees. What did you learn from that experience that you’ve been able to apply to your solo career?
Adrian: Too many things to list! The sooner you can be honest with yourself and those around you, the better, even when it leads to tough decisions. My last single “The Dark” is about exactly that and was inspired by my journey with Towers and Trees. It’s easy to avoid hard, honest conversations when you sense that tugging on that thread could make the whole thing unravel, but putting those things off won’t make them go away, and certainly won’t make it any easier later on. It’s a lesson I’ll probably have to learn the hard way a few more times before it sticks.

PC: What does the rest of the year hold for you as we look ahead in 2019?
Adrian: 2019 will be a very full and rewarding year! “Open Heart” drops June 21. I’ll release two more singles between then and October when I release the full album. I’ve got a dozen live dates over the summer and am booking shows throughout Canada for the fall months. I may even manage to play my first shows in Europe this September when I’m over there visiting family!

The new album is called JOY, which is something I’ll keep chasing in the midst of all this business.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Adrian: I have spun the hell out of Graceland by Paul Simon over the past two years—enough that it probably shows on a couple songs on the new album.

PC: First album you bought?
Adrian: My buddy’s cool older brother sold me some CDs he was bored with. They were Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, Nirvana’s Nevermind, and The Fugees’ The Score…not bad for a clueless thirteen-year-old!

PC: First concert you attended?
Adrian: In 1994, Victoria, BC hosted the Commonwealth Games, and it was such a big deal that the Crash Test Dummies played a free show on the Legislature lawn. 60,000 people showed up! I don’t remember much, but my little sister got lost in the crowd for about ten minutes, and everyone suddenly stood up when they sang “Superman’s Song”, which was a bummer for me as a kid because I couldn’t see anything.

PC: Someone you’d love to collaborate with?
Adrian: I just met 29 other ridiculously talented artists on season 2 of The Launch. I’d love to collaborate with every damn one of them!

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Adrian: U2’s Joshua Tree was the first album that made me think, “Holy sh*t, this is the kind of music I want to make!” It sounded huge, bold, and energetic, but equally earnest and sensitive compared to most rock music. I want every album I make to be as heart-driven as the Joshua Tree felt to me the first time I heard it.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Adrian: Massey Hall. Theatres are my favorite venues to perform in because every nuance of every song matters. There’s nothing to hide behind, and as unnerving as that can be, I do believe music is best experienced in vulnerability.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Adrian: A well-stocked toiletry bag! Nose spray, lozenges, Tylenol, cold medicine, extra contact lenses, hair care, pretty much all things self-care. I lost my toiletry bag in Toronto once on tour and it was more traumatic than losing all my clothes.

To keep up with Adrian, follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and pick up “Open Heart” on Amazon Music, iTunes, or stream it on Spotify.