Chance: Eleven Through Fifteen

I've been a rabid fan of the artist known as Chance for almost two years now. I remember at first listen, I really wasn't sure what I thought of him. Now, while I'm sitting here listening to his latest release entitled "Eleven Through Fifteen", I know exactly what it is that made him a bit of a grower for me. It's the simple fact that the man is 100% unclassifiable. He sounds like nobody else. It's impossible to even explain to someone else what kind of musical genre he is ... he simply plays Chance music. Oftentimes an artist will be described as "original", but the truth is that nobody is completely original. They can always be compared to someone. But I struggle to compare Chance to anyone else. All I know is that the first time I heard his music, I didn't know what I thought about it, but I knew I had to hear it again. And again. And again. I guess when you hear something that is completely detached from anything else you've ever heard, then the ear and mind need to be trained to accept it. Now I've just resigned myself to the fact that Chance has the potential to be a true musical phenomenon, if given the right exposure.

This CD is a compilation of his last 5 singles plus a few little extras. You see, Chance doesn't release a song until he feels it's worthy of release. So when a new song is posted on his site, you can be assured that Chance has devoted a lot of time and energy in crafting that song. He doesn't believe in filler. Just listen to "Man On A Mission", the opening track. The chorus is so ridiculously catchy, that you may as well abandon all other associations for the day, because you will annoy your peers as you repeat the phrase, "repeat...repeat...repeat..." all day long. His songs really are that catchy. Other highlights are "Independent" (which has this repetetive driving beat that isn't dance music but it kinda is...well...just listen to it, you'll hear what I mean.) My favourite song is "That Means Everyone", which was previously a fans-only release. It begins in a relatively humble way, piano and mild bass and drums, joined by Chance's voice singing in a hushed almost-whisper. It manages to somehow build in progression without really going into a giant power chorded frenzy. And his completely uncomfortable version of Kelis' "Milkshake Song" has to be heard to believed. (It should be noted that this song was done as a challenge presented by Chance to his fans to select the worst song they can think of and watch as he tries to somehow do it justice.)

Chance is an artist that takes his work very seriously. He also strives to develop a relationship with all of his fans, prefering to call them the "Friends of Chance", as opposed to his fanclub. He is as much a fan of his fans as they are of him, which is a very endearing quality. Buy his music, become a friend of Chance and get better acquainted with a true musical phenomenon!

Downloads:
Man On A Mission mp3
Say What You Will mp3 (From his 1st CD...this song is still my personal favourite)

Check out Chance's myspace page here.
You can now purchase all 3 of his CD's for only $20 here.