Chet Lam Draws From “The Little Prince” in His Newest Album, ‘Back to the Stars Again’
Chet Lam is a globally recognized artist with 33,987 monthly Spotify listeners, and a body of work spanning nearly 20 albums, featuring songs sung in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. He writes and sings sensually and sagely about relationships, heartbreak, and new love. “I like to ask the right questions in my songs instead of giving themes and content away. I like to challenge people a little bit,” Chet says.
He recently released his indie folk album, Back to the Stars Again. It has an overall folk sound similar to Simon and Garfunkel meets James Taylor in the intricate songwriting and warm vocals. The album is inspired by the classic French story “The Little Prince.” He gives each character a song that exemplifies their motives and wants. “I wrote these songs from the perspective of each character,” says Chet. “The Little Prince is a romantic, of course, The Fox is simply a drama queen, The Rose is spoiled, The Ghosts are actually everyday life people, The Snake is actually innocent... all characters coming together will be a life lived to the fullest.”
Listen here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/56CpqTO0v7txzhRdNcA3HP?si=HxB7H6fYTaaEQEvq4B66gA
Outside of his solo career, Chet founded two independent labels, including Lyfe Music through which he releases his albums, he’s published 9 bestselling books, and produced concerts for himself and other independent acts. In 2015, Chet co-founded the crowdfunding website www.MusicBee.cc dedicated to Chinese independent music artists. In just two years the platform raised nearly 6 million Hong Kong dollars for about 30 music projects. In addition, Chet has penned national pop hits for other artists such as Eason Chan, Stephanie Sun, Dadawa, and Gigi Leung, among others.
Despite all his successes, Chet never had any formal music training. He got his first guitar at the age of 10, and it was literally bigger than him. He found his way as an artist through obsessively listening to mixtapes of American folk, singer-songwriter, and country artists. “From a young age, I knew I was different, and it felt like music was a way out. Songs by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Emmylou Harris were my escape and my education,” the globally-based artist says. “I noticed their theme of thriving in the face of hardships to also be very present in Chinese pop music.”
Connect with Chet Lam
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