Chris Grey Reveals the Secrets and Mystery Behind 'The Castle Never Falls'

Ing wektu ing panggonan musik iki didominasi dening hit sing cepet lan trend sing langgeng, Chris Grey nawakake pendekatan sing beda. album debut artis Kanada, The Castle Never Falls, iku ora mung apa sing sampeyan ndeleng - iku apa sing sampeyan ndeleng. Dark, cinematic, lan banget emosional, album iki nyetir sampeyan ing donya, siji sing Chris wis nyebatake kanthi hati-hati layer-by-layer. ing wawancara eksklusif karo PopFiltr, Chris nyebataken babagan perjalanan, nggawe The Castle Never Falls, lan pengalaman pribadi sing ngleksanakake suara.

For Chris, the connection to music wasn’t just a passing childhood phase—it’s been a constant in his life. “Honestly, it goes back farther than I can even really remember,” he says with a smile. “Music always called to me, even as a kid.” But it wasn’t just any music that drew him in. His first musical obsession? Live Aid. "Kad aku umur lima, ibu bapa aku ngandika Live Aid DVD. Aku bakal nonton kabeh konser ing loop, utamané kinerja Ozzy Osbourne lan Queen. Aku obsessed. saben malam, aku bakal nonton kinerja Ozzy," ngandika, nyenengake ing ing ing ing ing ing memori.

That early love for rock set the stage for what was to come, and by the time he was 12, Chris was already learning to produce his own music. “At that time, I was really into EDM. I had all these ideas in my head, but I didn’t know how to get them out,” he explains. Learning how to produce changed everything for him. “That’s when I could finally start shaping the sound I wanted.”

But iku nganti Chris heard The Weeknd's Wicked Games, at the age of 13, that his musical path really started to take shape “I listened to it five times in a row right after. The Weeknd’s sound just gripped me,” he recalls. “That’s when I started to really dive into darker, moodier music. That song completely changed the way I thought about sound.”

Sawise Chris miwiti ngembangake suara, tantangan sing dadi seniman indie tumrap banget. "Itu iku perjalanan kesepian kadang-kadang, utamane minangka seniman indie. Sampeyan nglakoni kabeh keputusan dhewe, lan iku bisa ndeleng ketakutan," ndadekake. Tandatangani karo Rebellion Records ngganti iki. "Sampun nggunakake karo Rebellion Records, aku duwe wong-wong ing ndhuwur kanggo bounce ide-ide saka. Iku nggawe perjalanan ndeleng kurang isolasi. Ups lan downs saka industri iki bisa intensif, nanging iku nice kanggo duwe wong kanggo ngucapake dhuwur lan mbantu sampeyan liwat dhuwur."

Ngobrol kanthi alami dadi album debut Chris The Castle Never Falls, proyek ambisius, dimulai karo perjalanan menyang London. Ana kang Chris ndeleng Phantom of the Opera for the first time—and it left a huge impact. “It blew me away! I left so inspired,” he says. “I already had some songs, but I was trying to tie them together with a story. Once I imagined an orchestra playing one of my songs in a castle—it all just clicked."

Orga lan unsur orkestral sing nyetel lagu kaya Sick and Twisted, Haunted, and The Castle is nodes langsung kanggo theatricality saka Phantom of the Opera. “You can hear the influence throughout the album, especially with the organs and the dramatic build-ups,” he explains.

The album clocks in at 42 minutes, but it wasn’t always meant to be that long. “It started at around 30 minutes, but I kept adding more,” he laughs. “I’d listen to it on long drives, make notes, and tweak it. Then, a month before release, I made I Got You, lan iku nalika iku ndeleng pungkasan.”

A cornerstone of the conversation is the storyline. Chris repeatedly emphasized the importance of a fully immersive experience and the journey through the complexity of human emotions. “I really wanted to tell a story with this album. The Castle and Guarded are bookends and are some of my favorite pieces of writing. The whole album was visual for me.”

Salah ing musik Chris iku perhatian kanggo rinci. Dheweke nyebarake lagu-lagu kanthi kekayaan sing nyenengake multiple listenens, nyedhiyakake luwih saben wektu. "Aku wis uga dadi produser maximalist," nglarengake. "Beberapa wong suka nyimpen barang-barang minimal lan bersih, nanging aku suka nyedhiyakake layers. The Castle, track intro album, sing ngandhut 380 layers. “That track broke my personal record for layers,” ngandika kanthi senyum. "Aku pengin album kanggo ndeleng gedhe, cinematic, minangka film muter ing kepala sampeyan."

Salah siji saka momen paling bangga Chris ing album iku ngrekam chore live - milis pribadi kanggo dheweke. "Itu iku impianku kanggo nggunakake chore, lan aku mung bisa nggunakake kanggo album iki. Aku terbang menyang LA kanggo kurang saka 24 jam mung kanggo ngrekam, nanging iku benar-benar layak," ngandika, jelas uga enthusias ing ing ing ing ing ing ing.

But it’s not just traditional instruments that Chris plays with. When asked about the most random sound he hid on the album, he points to I Got You. "Itu kanthi lembut diinspirasi saka sawetara lagu reggae tua babaku bakal tetep ndeleng. lagu iki sebenarnya sampel saka lagu reggae Jamaika saka 1970-an. Ana sawetara sampel reggae lan dub banget sing disimpen ing ndhuwur," ngandika Chris. "Jika sampeyan ndeleng kanthi hati-hati, sampeyan bakal njaluk loro."

Dan nalika Let The World Burn has already exploded with over 116 million Spotify streams, Chris’s personal connection to the song goes beyond its numbers. “I love that song, but it’s crazy how much it’s resonated with people. From the demo to the final version, it came together in just two weeks,” he says.

Tetapi ora kabeh iku dadi gampang. Grey kanggo kang Give Me Your Love is sedikit tantangan. "Aku ngandika korus sawetara wektu, nanging nalika aku nyoba kanggo ngakhiri, aku ketemu kanggo njaluk. Allegra lan aku nggunakake akeh wektu kanggo crafting sing siji."

Another fan favorite, Make The Angels Cry. The song’s 2-minute, 22-second runtime even feels serendipitous, given the significance of 222 as an “angel number” in spirituality, signaling guidance from a higher power. “I’d love to say it was intentional, but it was an accident,” Chris laughs. “The first bounce of the file was that length, and I decided to keep it. It just felt right.” The track also features Allegra Jordyn, Chris’s girlfriend and long-time collaborator, on the outro. “She killed it on that part,” he says.

For fans who love digging into the details, Chris has hidden some lyrical “Easter eggs” throughout the album. “There are a lot of references to my earlier work, and Allegra’s music too,” he says. “If you really listen, you’ll hear us kind of talking to each other in our songs.”

Looking ahead, Chris Grey Ada rencana gedhe kanggo touring, nunggu kanggo njaluk The Castle Never Falls on the road next year. “I’m really hoping to tour next year and take this album on the road,” he says, hinting at potential shows in North America, Europe, and Asia. Beyond touring, Chris dreams of performing with a live orchestra. “I’d love to do one of those screenings where the orchestra plays the soundtrack live alongside a movie. Hearing my music played by an orchestra would be a dream come true.”

Throughout the interview, one theme is clear: Chris’s passion. “I love passionate people, and I try to put that into my music,” he says. For him, it’s about creating an emotional experience, not just following trends. “I’ve worked my whole life to get to this point. To finally see the reactions coming in, seeing fans listening—it’s just been a dream.”