Meet T. Chandy

We had the good fortune of connecting with T. Chandy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi T. Chandy, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
“Don’t rush it, take your time.”

While I agree, you should never feel rushed into finishing or releasing anything you create, however I find we as artists sometimes go to the complete other side of the spectrum and overcook things. I am of the firm belief that failing in front of people gives you much needed market data, that even if it falls short, you were better to get moving when the idea is hot & fresh. If you’re an artist, YOU are the anomaly, not your art. You can make another piece, but no one can make another you. Moreover, as artists, we are creating art to (hopefully) stand the test of time, and it is very common for a song that was dropped 2 years ago to become a viral #1 hit (ie. Lizzo – Truth Hurts). Even if that song you dropped last year didn’t land how you wanted it to, it could very well become next year’s latest TikTok trend. So don’t overthink, don’t overcook, just do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My family & I came to Canada as refugees in the early 2000’s, and so to teach my brother & I, my parents would only speak in our Mother tongue (Sinhala) in the house. That left me to learn most of my English through western media (and of course school). So since a young age I’ve had a fascination with the arts. All throughout junior high and high school I was writing my own songs and sketch ideas. I’d obsess over music of all kinds, but mainly hip hop. From mainstream acts, to the underground. Watching interviews of my favorite artists, documentaries, you name it & I probably watched it. However once I graduated high school, while music was always the dream, it didn’t look like a realistic route for me. So I attended Sprott School Of Business at CarletonU for a year and a half…before inevitably deciding to drop out.

And so my journey to becoming an independent artist began. The more & more I started to learn how to produce & engineer my own music, I realized everybody wants to be on the mic, but not everybody knew how to create beats and record and mix their songs. I figured using my skills as a way to get in the door and build my network and meet artists while supporting myself financially. As much as I was helping artists create music, I’ve also gained a lot outside of monetary value. I’ve built relationships with amazing vocalists & instrumentalists who I implement in my music. I also believed that mixing & mastering music for clients would fast track my mastery in it, which I believe it did.

Today I am at a point where I am focusing on building out the T. Chandy Lionheart Brand. My YouTube is the hub for all of my content. From my music catalogue to “The Lions Den” webseries to the day to day vlogs I’ll start filming one day. I’ve had the privilege to build a production company with my friends & fellow artists KAR33M & Banggz, and am able to run our operations out of the studio space I started as a solo engineer.

All that’s left now is to keep creating and dropping music & keep finding & connecting with my audience. I get inspired to make music by stories. Whether that be a good movie, show, book, music video or even a moment in life that plays out like a story. And I read somewhere that when a room of people are listening to someone tell a story, their heartbeats sync up. In an existential sense, we’re all living out our own stories. So I think there’s some part of me that, because my music career is a big part of my story that I identify with, a good story inspires me to want to go create.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
While Ottawa may be labeled as a boring city, people sleep on how multicultural the city is, and because of it you can find practically any style of food in the city’s downtown area. However, the people are definitely the highlight of the city. One thing I would drag a friend to would be the Great Ife’s private jam sessions that he throws for artists in the city. Ife is an amazing musician with a vast network of musicians, artists and other creatives, and he hosts monthly jam sessions for them to come together to play music, meet new people & vibe out. These jam sessions are one of the things I look to every month!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to give a shout out to an artist who’s business model I took inspiration from to jumpstart my career.

During the pandemic while everyone was inside, artists and creators of all kinds were pivoting and focusing on online content because they couldn’t go outside & tour. Kenny Beats was one of these artists. Kenny began streaming on Twitch, showing his creative process & how he works with artists. One of the things that stuck out to me about his story and career was that he had a home base (studio), that was pretty much open to whomever whenever. And on top of his production ability, he is also a good sound engineer, so if you wanted to cut vocals, he could get it done right then & there, and even give you a mix down of the track(s). This accessibility & flexibility allowed him to work with a lot of artists, without having to travel all around the city, and be able to control his environment. Essentially creating a one stop shop for your music needs. A safe space for creativity across the board. I took heavy inspiration from Kenny Beats’ business model & emulated his studio business model. This would not only become a successful business model, but also grow my artist network & in turn help my artistic career incline as well. Over the last couple months I also started my own webseries called The Lions Den which shows the behind the scenes of what goes on with me & the squad in the studio, inspired also by his twitch streams & YouTube show “The Cave.”

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t_chandy

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/t_chandy

Youtube: https://youtube.com/tchandy

Image Credits
Images shot by Adrian “Delaad” De la Puente @d3laad & Tani Olorunyomi @tani.olorunyomi