Spotlight: With Collaboration and the Desire to Share, CHAII Releases ‘Pineapple Pizza’
MOMENTUM — is on CHAII’s side, especially since she released her latest EP, Pineapple Pizza, earlier this month. The Persian-Kiwi artist is a multi-hyphenate on the rise, and she’s determined to have fun in the process. The eclectic collection of songs — including one fully in Persian — aren’t afraid to get in your face, yet they’re easy to groove to. “I think that's my way of just expressing that,” CHAII says. “I come from a very dance-y, happy culture. Everyone loves dancing; everyone loves music. So I feel like I've connected with that side again a lot more.”
But when CHAII is away from sets and recording studios, she’s Mona: a young woman from Iran who moved to New Zealand when she was 8 years old. She learned to speak English by listening to rap music, and her music career reflects all of those influences. She lives in Auckland, so when she says, “Life is good in the city I’m in'' in her song “Get It Done,” you know she meant it. In four months time, she’ll be performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas for the very first time.
Although she describes her music as experimental, it’s evident that there is a level of thoughtfulness that goes into it. The title track, “Pineapple Pizza,” was written through a program called SongHubs in New Zealand, in which artists are paired with writers and producers across New Zealand. “We were laughing the whole session,” CHAII describes, who wrote the track with Rory Noble, James Milne, and Mazbou Q. “Throwing bars at each other... that's how the song came together, and it stayed exactly the same as it was that day that we made it.” The final product came together in one day, and it was able to maintain the buoyant energy that was in the room while creating it.
The music video for the track is a colorful world for viewers to step into. The video was filmed at Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand, directed by CHAII, and produced by her friend, Althea Strydom. “She’s amazing,” CHAII says of Strydom. The singer has worn many different hats within the industry — from audio engineer to producer — she values how well-rounded those experiences have made her. She also appreciates and is often inspired by how special collaborating can be, especially when she already knows the kind of sound she wants to go for.
“With certain songs, I'm like, ‘I'm definitely doing the video for this,’ and there's certain songs I wanna see what another person would do for those,” CHAII explains. “And then you know the exact person. You're like, ‘Oh, so and so, I know their creative vibe, and I wonder how they would interpret this song, 'cause I could imagine them.’"
CHAII’s ability to create space for herself in an industry where it’s difficult for women of color to breakthrough is something to be admired. It’s gotten her the chance to soundtrack a Fendi campaign and Netflix’s film The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron. She became Spotify’s first Radar artist from New Zealand — a big opportunity for artists that want to reach more listeners. Her identity as an Iranian artist and a woman gives her a distinct point of view that is socially welcome now more than ever. Creative people — especially those from minority communities — often struggle with self-doubt; that what they’re doing won’t be acknowledged.
“Everyone's gonna have their own take on it, and I think that's the beautiful part,” CHAII shares. “If you accept the fact that your work can create conversation and create a new kind of perspective in the music world, that's an awesome thing on its own.”
The release of her EP isn’t stopping CHAII from working on new music, however. She describes what she’s doing at the moment as a marriage of Pineapple Pizza and her debut EP, Lightswitch, but admits it is ever-changing depending on her mood. Going in and out of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and listening to her favorite artists (Duckwrth, Bree Runway, Childish Gambino, and J. Cole), moved her to keep her music light, as opposed to the melancholic tunes that could have come from this time. “I feel like I've been making more upbeat and happy music as life goes on,” CHAII says. “I think I need it.”
She’s looking forward to the new year to explore more of her music and to continue living in the moment while she’s in Los Angeles. As for how she wants to end 2021, she’s optimistic. “I think I'm just going to end 2021 on a high note,” CHAII says definitively.
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