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June 2017 - p.36
Guitarist and singer-songwriter
Chantel
McGregor
released her highly anticipated
album, Lose Control, in October 2015 on her
independent boutique label
Tis Rock Music
,
The album was the follow up to her critically
acclaimed 2011 debut solo album, Like No Other.
After four years of touring and festival
appearances, Chantel returns with a vengeance
with ten new songs that not only salutes
contemporary rock, but shows her gradual
transition from conventional Blues to a harder,
bigger and bolder rock sound with progressive
influences.
“I’ve always been interested in the dark side of
Southern Gothic literature, artwork and media,”
says Chantel. “I wanted to create an album that
reflected the imagery and themes of that genre.
I drew inspiration from the TV shows True
Detective and True Blood and studied the literary
works of Tennessee Williams, Carson Mullers
and Mark Twain.”
“I also surrounded myself with imagery from
artists and photographers such as Walker Evans
and Clarence John Laughlin, all to immerse
myself in the sinister, dark world of depravation,
magic and voodoo, writing most of the songs
from the perspective of the disturbed flawed
characters.”
Lose Control, sees Chantel channeling her guitar
playing and song-writing into an exciting
pantheon of rock crescendos and riffs, that will
not only leave her devout blues rock fan base in
awe, but will also lead them into a sonic journey
that will take them into new musical territory,
whilst sticking to her current obsession with all
things Southern Gothic. “My interpretation of
Southern Gothic is the loss of control, either
spiritually, physically (through other people or
CHANTEL
MCGR
substances), or emotionally,” reflects Chantel. “I
drew on this theme a lot throughout the album,
hence the title Lose Control. I wanted the sound
and emotion of the album to reflect the concept,
so I juxtaposed heavy, guitar riff-based, dark
tracks with haunting, emotive acoustic tracks,
whilst tying them together with the lyrical themes
of desperation and loss so often seen in
Southern Gothic fiction.”
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered
at Livingstone Brown’s studio in Brixton over the
space of 6 months, interspersing studio time with
touring. Livingstone Brown, (Ed Sheeran, Bryan
Ferry, Robin Trower), played the majority of the
bass on the album, with Chantel playing small
parts, and her touring drummer Keith McPartling,
playing drums for the whole album.
Says Chantel, “I did the vocals, backing vocals,
all guitar parts, arrangements and some
production. We brought in two amazing string
players, Charlie Brown on the violin and Chris
Worsey on the cello. I really enjoyed the
creativity the studio gave me and loved venturing
into the production and arrangement sides of it.”
For the album artwork, Chantel wanted to reflect
the darkness of the album whist retaining an
eerily traditional feel. To make this happen, she
contacted a friend of hers, Mark Eliades, who
created all of the calligraphy by hand, which
Chantel transferred into digital format to design
the album cover. In addition to designing the
cover, Chantel also did all the photography and
visual effects. The imagery is all Chantel - from
the voodoo doll, the scratched song lyrics and
the gothic old door, all of which tie into the
Southern Gothic theme, reflecting the dark
undercurrents and disturbing concepts of the
album.
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21
YEARS
1995-2016
