The Rolling Stone AU/NZ ‘In My Room’ series has seen some incredible backdrops, sessions never solely confined to someone’s room, but rarely one filmed somewhere as cool as a Los Angeles rooftop.
The ‘In My Room’ series has also seen some incredible artists, both established names and ones just starting out, but we’ve rarely had a session from an artist as cool, or as unique, as CHAII.
On our radar since being named one of 8 Kiwi Artists Tipped to Take Over in 2022, CHAII has spent the past few years lighting up stages in London, New York, and, unsurprisingly, LA, showcasing her music at key events like SXSW.
Her music has appeared on video game soundtracks, from FIFA to Fortnite, and her songs have featured in ads for iPhone, FENDI, KIA, as well as in Marvel movies and Netflix films. She also joined forces with Tones and I and Young Franco via Coke Studio’s first project in Australia and New Zealand, producing the collaborative single “(Can’t Get You) Off My Mind.”
At the same as doing all of this, CHAII somehow found time to work on her debut album, Safar, which finally dropped last week.
Produced alongside the Persian-Kiwi multi-hyphenate’s collaborator and life partner, Frank Keys, CHAII says Safar (which means “journey” in Farsi) captures her journey of moving from Iran to New Zealand at a young age, and “continuing to have a connection to my culture through my music.”
“I spent the last three years working on Safar and it’s hugely inspired by both Persian music and hip-hop,” she adds. “While the mix of those two might not completely represent either genre clearly, it represents me as someone in between the two worlds.
“15 years ago, I told my school music teacher that I was going to mix Persian and Western music together and since then I’ve continuously experimented and had fun with it, while going through different phases of my life at the same time.”
For her ‘In My Room’ session, CHAII and her band performed several standout singles from her debut album on a rooftop under the baking hot Californian sun, the Los Angeles skyline glittering in the distance behind her.
The City of Angels was the perfect spot for the session, with CHAII telling us last year about her fondness for LA, which boasts a significant Persian community.
“I love going to the food shops, just polishing up my Persian, and talking in Farsi. It’s nice. And I’m so excited talking to them, like, ‘Can I get this and this and this?’ And they just look at me like I’m crazy. ‘Why is she so happy?!'” CHAII said.
Watch CHAII’s full ‘In My Room’ session above, and read our full recent interview with her here.
CHAII’s Safar is out now.
