Today I’m excited to share the latest single from Saint Christopher, called “Colina.” The song comes from his new LP entitled Pop Shit, out everywhere this Friday, October 28th. On this ballad, Chris Kalil shared:
Every pop album needs a sappy love ballad, I don’t make the rules. One of those songs where you stop playing it cool and just dive head-first into the corny, by-the-numbers, Hallmark version of love. Sometimes there’s still some truth in the platitudes. The message of ‘Colina’ is simple: life sucks but love is beautiful. When the bad times come it’s better to go through them together.”
Get ready to explore the best parts of a sappy love song on Saint Christopher’s single.
I was also able to catch up with this artist for a brief interview.
It must have been cathartic to write a record that essentially calls out the fact that you were feeling unfulfilled as a cog in the industry machine. Were there any key points within the writing of this record that you feel helped the record along significantly?
Well, the truth is that a lot of the catharsis really didn’t come until a lot later on in the process. I was in the midst of a lot of those issues while I was writing and recording the album — I had moved home after losing my job during the pandemic, I left the band I had been a part of for a majority of my adult life, and a lot of the infrastructure of my life got torn down to the ground. Writing the record was really my way of surviving all of that and learning to build something new. So, while a lot of the writing process on this record was unconscious, I think the circumstances in my life at the time made it clear that the music industry doesn’t matter at all as far as my art is concerned. I’m an artist because that’s the way I navigate my lived experience. My goal is simply to write great music and be as honest as possible. That doesn’t really require an industry.
Within your years learning and growing in the music industry, what would you say are the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’m just an independent artist with a small platform who doesn’t have any of the answers so please take this with a grain of salt… but here’s a couple things that I’ve found to be true in my own experience. 1: Focus on the main thing. If you’re a musician, just worry about being as great as you can at writing and performing music. Getting better at your craft is the only thing you can control. Everything else is luck and timing. If you spend your time and energy on promotion, attention, progression, or validation you are eventually going to hate making music. I can’t tell you how many years it took me to get back to enjoying music the way I did when I was a kid. IF YOU ARE A MUSICIAN, MAKE MUSIC!!! You’re an artist, not a promoter. If that world isn’t true to you, don’t compromise your artistic values because someone told you there’s a shortcut. 2: Living a healthy and happy life is all that matters. Don’t let people try to convince you otherwise. It’s your responsibility to figure out a way to create a life that allows you to have the time, safety, and security you need to sharpen your skills and dedicate yourself to your craft. You have to be a real person if you want to make real art, it can’t be made in a vacuum. Being an artist isn’t an excuse to opt out of a responsible life or to live without balance.
You described this track as the record’s “corny” love ballad. What made you choose it as the LP’s final single?
Maybe “earnest” would have been a better choice of words than “corny”, but really what drew me to this song in particular is that it’s positive with zero irony. So much of what I’m speaking to on the record is pain, heartbreak, and frustration but I think it’s important to be clear that I wouldn’t have these feelings about the industry and the art form if I didn’t love music with all of my heart. I wanted to reflect that by highlighting a love song with a soaring chorus, lots of instruments, and a sweet and gentle message. “Colina” just makes me feel good and I hope it does the same for you.
Aside from “Colina,” which tracks off this record are stand-outs to you?
It’s impossible to pick favorites, but there are a couple tracks that resonate with me on a bit of a deeper level than the rest:
The first one is Kennedy, the fourth track on the record. This song is just pure fury about all of the ways the grind to become a “successful” artist choked the life out of me. It’s not an emotion that makes its way into my music too often, so the release of being able to speak clearly, openly, and honestly about that chapter of my life is really empowering. The other one that really means a lot to me is the closing track, Next 2 U. While a lot of the record is a mix of analog and electronic sounds and arrangements and different blends of different genres, this track is just a four-piece rock anthem. It’s a bit of a nod to the music I used to write and listen to, as well as a sign of things to come. The next step of this project is bringing in other musicians and collaborators and turning the damn thing into a live show and this song gets me really excited for what’s ahead. Music is just so much more powerful with other people included.