we’ve got our next Knead To Know interview for you, this time with a good friend of ours who we’ve known for a long time now – Chris Tavener!

Chris has been on the scene for a good while now, and we’ve been massive fans of his from the start, with his witty and tongue-in-cheek songwriting, ability to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand, and excellent repertoire of songs behind him – a real talent whose been making waves across the North West now for a good number of years. it was lovely to chat with him here – find the full interview below! ⬇️

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Hey Chris, thanks for doing this interview for us! Tell us a bit more about yourself and your music!

Thanks for having me! I’m a singer-songwriter, originally from Northwich in Cheshire, but I now live in Manchester. I write music that’s inspired by quirky rock ‘n’ roll with some acoustic folk inspirations as well. I’ve often described my songs as satirical because they are humorous, character-based narratives that I create based on social commentary observations. 

We’ve been huge fans of your music for the past few years, having listened to you perform a bunch. What got you into music?

I originally became interested in music by listening to my Dad’s CD collection in his car, with albums by: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. I think I’ve carried a lot of that 60s/70s inspiration into my songwriting. The likes of Randy Newman, Loudon Wainwright III and even Monty Python got me into writing songs with a cynical edge that would make people laugh. 

Tell us a bit more about your new single “This Is The One”!

’This Is The One’ is a football song for the FIFA World Cup 2022. I’m really interested by the hysteria that seems to emerge every time England performs even remotely well in an international tournament. I find it hilarious that the most unlikely football fans are suddenly cheering with incredible passion for the sport as soon as England reach any kind of final. 

What got you into writing more satirical music? Is it something you always wanted to do?

I’ve always loved comedy, looking at the funny side of life and I find it quite difficult to take being an artist very seriously. As a result, I think I’ve naturally gravitated towards expressing myself through humour.

Being cynical and joking around is what I’m most comfortable doing.     

With the song being focused around the World Cup, are you a big sports fan?

I’m not, unfortunately…I’m a fraud! In fact, the sentiment of the song is relatable to me because for years I would only be interested in football when the world cup was on. Nowadays I’m a casual, premier league team supporter but I wouldn’t say I was a big sports fan.

What are the processes involved in creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?

I usually arrange all the instrument parts for a new song at home via Pro Tools recording software. I find it’s the easiest way to save money and time in the studio since I can be quite particular about what I’d like the track to sound like.

After that, I prefer to take these demos into the studio where session musicians and myself can give it a more polished sound.

Which studio do you go to?

Green Velvet Studios in Manchester. I highly recommend them!

What inspires you to create music?

I’m constantly inspired by the works of other songwriters; particularly lyricists. I find a lyric that can make you understand a complex feeling or sentiment in a short amount of words is so creatively invigorating. I’m always striving for that.

When I pair that with the fun performance style of rock ‘n’ roll, it’s a combination that’s never failed to keep me motivated to release music.  

What have you been doing over the past few years, musically? 

In the past few years, I’ve kept myself very busy performing hundreds of gigs a year. I enjoy keeping up a steady stream of music releases which is why I’ve never gone a year without releasing at least one single with a music video since I started in 2015.

I’m always trying to challenge myself as well, which is why I’ve performed abroad in Europe/Ireland and I’ve written a number of song commissions for individuals, filmmakers and organisations.

With each release, what do you find motivates you to keep going and putting out more?

I’m not the sort of person that experiences constant creative inspiration, I usually have to deliberately sit down to write new songs. What motivates me most of all is the thrill of performing live to a captive audience, I think there’s nothing like it.

Where have you been performing lately? What gigs have been special for you?

Recently I’ve been performing a weekends tour with Thomas Benjamin Wild Esquire. He’s another funny songwriter and it’s been fantastic playing to a room full of people that are up for a laugh. We’ve stopped in Nottingham, Liverpool, Brighton, Ipswich, Manchester and Chester. I will also be announcing a new tour for Spring 2023.

Have you got any more stuff in the works?

At the moment, I’ve been having ideas for songs that aren’t quite as satirical as what I’ve done in the past. There are still some songs with a humorous edge but they’re less character-based. I’m not sure yet what to do with these songs but I think it might be a positive progression to try them live and perhaps in the future make my first studio album.

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as always, we love making these up – learning more about artists’ inspirations and musical journeys is always super interesting for us to see. Chris’s new single sounds great as well, another fantastic piece of music to add to his already incredible discography! big love to him for doing this for us, and thank you all for checking it out! 🍞

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