Talking To: Chrissie Huntley
Hailing from Surrey but now based in Bristol, Chrissie Huntley is an incredible singer/songwriter. I first watched Chrissie at a gig in 2019 at Cafe Kino and fell in love with her music!
With her newest single Supposed to Be out last month and her first headline show, since the pandemic began, coming up in July, 2021 looks to be a good year for Chrissie. We sat down with her to discuss what she’s been up to, what it was like performing at Glastonbury(!) and how music has helped her mental health.
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions – can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where are you from and why did you move to Bristol?
Hi! Thanks so much for having me. So my name is Chrissie Huntley, I’m a singer/songwriter and I like to describe my music as ‘smooth, sparkly soul’. I’m originally from Surrey but I moved to Bristol in 2017 to study music full time.
Are you enjoying Bristol? The music scene here is incredibly diverse!
I absolutely ADORE Bristol!! I’ve bigged it up so much to all of my friends from home that they’ve all moved here too haha! The music scene is a huge factor that made me fall in love with this city so much - I remember the first week I moved here going to open jams at the Gallimaufry and Leftbank and being like - “wow. This is INSANE”. Big change from quiet old Surrey!
For those who don’t know your music, how would you describe it?
It’s a bit of an amalgamation of soul, pop and R&B. I find my inspirations change over time or depending on how I’m feeling on a certain day so some songs are much more R&B inspired (like ‘Supposed to Be’ for example, which was heavily inspired by artists like Sinead Harnett and NAO), whereas others that I’m writing at the minute are more inspired by pop artists like Emily Burns and Violet Skies. I’d say I’m somewhere in between all of those lovely ladies - amidst the likes of Eryn Allen Kane/Charlotte Jane.
How long have you been singing/performing for?
I’ve been singing and performing on and off for as long as I can remember. My first memory of performing was when I was 5, performing at my local theatre as part of my school dance club, dancing to ‘Thank You for the Music’ by Abba. I remember it well as I was the “girl with golden hair” and I had a little solo. I remember being like “yeah this performing thing is a bit of me”!! I then sang throughout school and went on to study musical theatre at The Brit School which I absolutely loved. It was only when I was around 19 that I started writing songs of my own, though, and only in 2018 that I started gigging!
I understand you developed severe anxiety several years ago; how has music helped you?
As cheesy as it sounds, music has literally been the antidote to my anxiety. In 2017, I developed anxiety, panic attacks and depersonalisation which stopped me from going to work and leaving the house. I’ve never been good at talking about my feelings, so I would use songwriting as a means of communicating and processing my feelings. When my anxiety began limiting my life like that, I knew I needed to make a big change to reclaim my happiness, so I quit my job, packed my bags and moved to Bristol to immerse myself in music. Ever since, I’ve not had a panic attack and (along with some amazing therapy!) I truly put that down to music.
You also launched a mental health awareness campaign, #LetsTalkAboutIt, do you think it’s an important issue to raise awareness about?
So important! I launched the campaign shortly after moving to Bristol, having realised how “not alone” I was in my struggles. My family have always had a very British stiff upper lip, and sadly there have been some huge losses in my family as a consequence of poor mental health. Therefore, I launched the campaign to open up the conversation in the hope to alleviate some of the weight and pressure things like depression and anxiety can hold over people. Personally, I’ve always found music the most incredible form of therapy, but just talking - albeit a little scary to begin with - is the most accessible, universal, (free!) therapy out there, so it’s so so important we use that tool as much as we can.
The campaign was such an overwhelming experience and I’m so thankful for the honesty of everyone who took part. I had only recently moved to the city, yet this campaign built the most amazing, deep connections through honest and open conversations with, then, complete strangers. I put on an event at the end of the campaign which was the most beautiful, emotional evening, and raised £500 for Mind, Mental Health Charity.
Was it important to you to be honest about your journey with mental health?
It was. As I alluded to before, it was fairly characteristic of me to bottle things up until they finally boiled over and I had no choice but to address them, rather than having known how to prevent these situations in the first place. I’ve always found it baffling that mental health was never part of the school curriculum when I was at school (perhaps it has changed now), but when I developed my anxiety and depersonalisation, not only did I have no idea what was happening to me, but I also thought I was completely alone.
Only when I opened up about my mental health did I realise how common these issues are, being especially prevalent amongst young people. I felt, frankly, wronged by the school curriculum for never addressing any of these issues in formative education. The figures for suicide amongst young people (tragically, especially in Bristol) are heartbreakingly staggering, and I think if we had more education and conversation around these topics early on in life, hopefully there would be less permanent decisions to temporary situations.
You’ve got some impressive shows behind you, in particular, Glastonbury 2019! What was that like?
Thank you! Glastonbury was a dream. Ever since going every year as a kid, I’ve always wanted to play the festival. So when I won a competition judged by Michael Eavis (yes, I was fangirling, hard) to play in 2019, I was absolutely elated!! My band and I ended up playing 4 times across the whole weekend on different stages, so it was pretty full on - but easily the best weekend of my life. Can’t wait for the next!!
Have you missed performing live since the pandemic began?
You have no idea. There really is no other feeling like it! I’ve dabbled in virtual gigs over the course of the pandemic, but it’s the electricity of having an audience there that makes performing so special. I have a headline show at the Grain Barge on 1st July which I am SO excited for (it has been rescheduled FOUR times, so it’s been a long time coming!). The lockdowns have granted me lots of time to write, so this show is going to be packed full of brand new material which I’m itching to share with people. It had originally sold out but now that it’s post-June 21st, we’ve managed to add some more capacity! So if you fancy coming down, grab yourself a ticket - it’s going to be a really special night.
Your new single Supposed to Be was released last month; can you tell us a little bit about it?
‘Supposed to Be’ was one of the first songs I ever wrote. As I mentioned, it was only when I was around 19 that I realised how cathartic and powerful songwriting was. I had just been dumped by my childhood sweetheart, and my housemate at the time suggested writing down my feelings and turning that pain into something beautiful. I started by writing poetry, but eventually ‘Supposed to Be’ was born. It’s a very raw depiction of how I was feeling back then and, lyrically, it hasn’t changed since then. Musically, however, it’s hugely evolved and matured since it was first written, and I’m so proud of where it’s at now! I decided to breathe new life into it last year during the pandemic, collaborating with producers from all over the globe over zoom to get it where it’s at now.
Have you got any plans for more singles or EPs this year?
I do! I have my second single coming out early July, and have a few more singles in the works for the latter half of 2021, so look out for those!!
What’s next for you in 2021?
Lots of writing and (hopefully!) lots more performing. I have a couple of shows booked in over summer and I am keen to get as many people involved as possible as soon as restrictions allow - I’m talking choirs, horn sections, the lot. I think once live music comes back for good it’s never going to be taken for granted again, so there will absolutely be no half measures!!
You can check out Chrissie’s newest single on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fEex9ONZ8SSmHUgc5p27j?si=Y5DRKg7XTlKQgDs6nESOzA
To find out more, check out her website: https://www.chrissiehuntley.com/