Chris Emond
Raised in San Jose, California, Singer-Songwriter and Experimental Composer Chris Emond had already released two projects on Bandcamp and founded Orange Label Records by the time he enrolled in college, aged 18. Building a budding scene around his off kilter electronic and folk influences, Emond championed local acts by directing and shooting music videos. Through his eclectic blend of folk-rock and minimal IDM, Emond is bringing notoriety to San Jose music nationally.
Biography
Live Dates
June 6—Mercury Lounge—New York, NY // TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Latest Release
AVAILABLE FORMATS
DOWNLOAD / STREAM
BUY NOW ⟶
Chris Emond
Mismatches, scores and demos (2019-2023)
ALBUM | 12TH APRIL 2024
After compiling over 400 demos, songs and scores over a 3 year hiatus from releasing a body of work, Chris Emond opens the tap on the vault with the aptly titled ‘Mismatches, scores and demos (2019-2023)’—listen/share here.
The 16 previously unheard songs feature track-to-track shifts between intimate tape recordings and expansive electronic sketches. Recorded from December 2019 - April 2023 during the recording of his debut EP ‘Oh yea! Dance, boogeyman!’, Emond elected not to let the songs drop into the endless abyss.
On the release, Emond says, “Necessary canon listening for square peg Round hole folks. Big kinetic candescent Canadanamericana. Old slang. Lips and hips. Kiss ‘em and weep.”
Releases / ALL
Oh yea! Dance, boogeyman!
AVAILABLE FORMATS
LIMITED EDITION CD / STREAM
Panthers Juno
AVAILABLE FORMATS
STREAM
Polka-dot - Postcard Boy/ carwash
AVAILABLE FORMATS
STREAM
FASHIONABLY EARLY
Emond creates an effortlessly nostalgic soundscape with a profusion of fuzzy synth motifs that ring powerfully through the chorus and verses. Additionally, his vocals encapsulate an existential feeling and add to the ethereal atmosphere built around himself. As a whole, “Harmony” tugs at the heartstrings of those who hold psychedelia and late 2000s indie/alternative rock near and dear. […] Chris Emond has an abundance to show for himself in the creative world, and we’re waiting eagerly for his next move.
CONTENT MAGAZINE
His recent follow-up, Panthers Juno, is an album admittedly rooted in nostalgia. […] There’s a postmodern feel to the work, thanks to what Emond describes as “weathering”; Sometimes the songs themselves break down, derailed by Emond’s own frustration or insecurity getting in the way of a take. We hear glimpses of conversations with friends about how listeners will perceive parts of the work; such intrusions included to add a more immersive feel. As he continues to plot, the repurposed Western Appliance sign on his label’s shirts stands as a beacon to Emond, pushing him to be hopeful about just what lies in his, and his label’s future. “I want to have us be the trigger to creating something that puts San Jose on the map,” he says.
MEDIUM.COM
“In August of this year, [Chris] released his debut album: Panthers Juno. His work is the embodiment of everything the label represents, visually: with an abundance of film photography and camcorder videos, overlaid with doodles; sonically: through its freedom of genre non-conformity. It’s truly eclectic, with influences coming from all over the place — from electronic music to household noises and old voice recordings to psychedelia and indie rap to the sound of old records. “It’s kind of a narrative of his life in San Jose and what it’s like to be a teenager in suburbia. Just like falling in love and falling out of love and friendships and relationships and creative endeavors… it captures all of that.”’ -Dasha Balshova
NU SOUND ONLINE MAGAZINE
“San Jose Singer-Songwriter and Producer Chris Emond is new, electric, and drawing with a sound grounded in evident influences from late 00s indie/ psychedelia. A virtually unknown artist we are hopping on the bandwagon for early in anticipation of his debut record."