Success in international music, singer, songwriter and producer Chase Bell has been present in several projects ranging from solo songs, albums, however, what we have most recently is the single “Reason” in partnership with singer Selena Sofia.
Being planned since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo has already been producing different versions of compositions and in this single, the plot came from a very personal perspective of the authors: the impulsive desire of a person to be participating in a relationship.
Bell has also collected concerts in several places outside the United States, such as Europe and Africa, and says that South America is already on his list of plans, in addition, the artist has also worked with successful names in Brazil , such as Seu Jorge. Check out the interview!
At the beginning of this month of July, we started the 1st by receiving the single “Reason” which is a partnership between you and the singer Selena Sofia. How was the history of this project and partnership between you?
Selena and I started writing together in 2020 and we worked more often and on bigger and better songs and that quickly led to us playing together. We have a lot of similar leanings and strengths as singers and songwriters, so over the past 2 1/2 years we’ve made a lot of good music, “Reason” is just one of those first songs we wrote.
In addition to not being the first work of the two of you, you started producing your music in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time that greatly affected the shows and the progress of several projects. This year activities are gradually returning, and how has this return been and what impacts have you noticed in the post-pandemic?
We started working together during the pandemic yes, it was refreshing to have someone who wasn’t thrown off balance by the pandemic and simply wanted to work on music and be consistent during that time. So when the rest of the music industry started to catch up, Selena and I were ready with performances and music and eager to get on stage. We’ve performed on stages in LA and Texas at Sxsw together since…
Despite having worked on a multitude of songs, you and Selena have come to share many of your characteristics ranging from musical genres to songwriting processes. What made you identify more with Selena?
That’s how I met Selena… In 2019 I had an A&R who brought artists to me daily to show their work in front of me. I asked the artists to play one song and one song only.
I saw about 100 artists over a 4 month period and I was exhausted by the end, but Selena was one of those artists. She came into my studio and played a song on guitar, and I thought, “she has potential…”
After that song she insisted on showing me another song on the piano and at the end of that song I thought, “ah, I didn’t expect it to be so good”.
Then she said, let me play one more, and I thought, “this girl is persistent, ambitious and super talented”. She definitely deserves my creative attention. So we started after that.
This new single brings a very interesting story that shows a person’s impulsive desire to be in a relationship. Did this narrative come out of your own experiences or was it born out of observations you had about the world?
Selena painted the picture really well with the song’s verse, you can feel the passion and hopeless romanticism right away.
Great songs need no introduction, they bring you into the story in chapter 2 and you put the pieces together without thinking about it. “Reason” is relatable and, of course, the lyrics come from Selena and I’s mutual understanding of how a passionate romantic relationship can feel sometimes. I think the listener leaves with a good feeling and an open heart.
For those who still don’t know him, I would like to ask a little more about how your first contacts with music happened and if an international career here in South America is part of your plans?
I’ve performed in Europe, the states and Africa and I would love to perform in South America. I love the kind of audience that dances and makes music with you while I’m on stage and South Americans are naturally very talented and musically inclined people and they are a lot of fun.
One issue with the release of your song is that the first version of it was an acoustic version but that version has yet to be released. What was it like to hear the finished project for the first time and what are your expectations for the public reception with this release?
The original version of most of my and Selena’s songs are based around a guitar or piano pattern because it allows us as songwriters the freedom to change the underlying harmonic structure to suit our voices.
As a producer I know how to take a simple musical arrangement and inspire another producer to add those modern things that make a song pump.
My manager Andrew Verbiest sent the acoustic demo with the vocals you hear today to a young producer in Indonesia called Arnhemia and when he sent it back to us I was shocked and thrilled by the next level of production. I called Selena and told her we needed to go for a ride, and she loved it too.
Regarding “Reason”, the song brings a very cool mix of electronic and pop music. What most attracted you to these musical styles?
I’m essentially a pop songwriter and I’ve noticed that if you take any song and bring it down to its underlying chord structure, it’s all the same. Genre and style are about the interpretation of music by the artist and producer’s creativity.
I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in Edm and Pop and have loved these styles of music since the first time I heard them for the music’s ability to emotionally relate to me.
Finally, what do you have to say to the Brazilian public reading our interview right now?
Brazil has been on my mind since I worked with Seu Jorge in 2017 and he taught me about the culture and its success story. Since then I’ve always wanted a big “Reason” to get on stage in Brazil and learn from its culture and understand the love of its music and its people.