Christian Ellery, originally from Wales but now based out of the hotbed of musical invention that is Manchester, cut his teeth working in a studio doing sessions as a producer, but soon found that he had quite a few things to say. Under his alias Posh Chocolates, his latest cut “Weird & Bizarre” taps into all the interest and energy Ellery has at his fingertips from his production skills, and blends it up with the vivid, sociopolitically active, passionate artists he grew up loving.
He cites Nirvana, and his dad (“the biggest audiophile [he’s] ever met”) as responsible for his intro to music and playing guitar, but his scope of influence sprawls out from there to encompass Kanye West, System of a Down, Aesop Rock, Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, and Brockhampton. The list goes on, but the trend is that all of Posh Chocolates’ favourites and influences are those who take a variety-box approach to genre themselves, pulling what they want musically, thematically, and emotionally, to tell the story they want to.
“Weird & Bizarre” is the tale of an outsider trying to negotiate between putting on a bit of a mask, fitting in and performing, and keeping up appearances to make everyone around comfortable – and being confused when it doesn’t quite work – versus letting loose and trying to be authentically yourself. The track depicts the sonic journey of grappling with that sense of self. Whilst it sounds like an emotionally wrought tale, Ellery uses a world of sonic effects including irresistibly buoyant bass, flourishes of production rounding out the picture, and a fuzzed-up, vivid vocal performance, to guide us through his psyche. It sounds like ordered chaos.
