Step into the creative sanctuary of Jaguar Sun in Bodie Supply Co.'s second Creator Series. Chris shares insights into his creative process, emphasizing the fluidity of his home studio and the minimalistic setup that fuels his artistic spontaneity. With a graphic design background, he discusses the integration of visual elements with his music, creating a cohesive sensory experience. The interview goes into the challenges of deciding when a piece is ready for release, the growth spurred by collaborations, and upcoming projects. Aspirations for the future include a highly anticipated EP and an inaugural Europe tour. Enjoy our conversation with Chris as we explore what's next with Jaguar Sun.
Do you have a preferred space or environment for recording your music? How does your physical setting influence the creative process?
I definitely take bedroom pop literally and always work from home, I’ve got a little makeshift studio in my room and it makes working on music and producing such a fluid process. Any time I’m picking around on the guitar and an idea strikes, all my stuff is right there and I can start working on that idea right away with no barriers. There’s been the rare moment where I can get an idea down to basically the final track and mix in a day working that way. It doesn’t take a lot to record these days either, it's pretty amazing. I’ve got a midi keyboard and the synth / bass / drum plugins that came with my DAW, audio interface, one vocal mic, an electric and acoustic guitar and pedal board and that’s it! I’d be content recording in my room forever, I’ve never felt limited by that setup.
The visual elements accompanying your music, such as album artwork and music videos, often complement the auditory experience. How do you approach the visual aspect of your releases?
Before I started Jaguar Sun I went to college for graphic design and worked in the field full time at a tech company. It’s been amazing being able to translate that side of my life to what I’ve been doing with Jaguar Sun whether it be the merch, cover art, or video stuff. Music was the reason I wanted to get into design in the first place long before I ever thought about recording and producing, I was super inspired by cover art and gig posters so it’s surreal that I’ve ended up in a place where I can combine those two passions. The relation between art and music for me is usually just a feeling as well. The music comes first and the emotion that it evokes is what guides the artwork that follows. It’s really cool being able to steer each part of the project and do my best to make things feel like one cohesive experience!
Releasing music is a deeply personal experience. How do you decide when a piece is ready to be shared with your audience?
It can be really challenging to figure out when a song is truly done, I definitely battle with it sometimes when I’m endlessly tweaking small things. I always want to make sure I’m giving myself enough time to sit with a song and make sure it’s something I’m really proud of. Sometimes a significant new idea strikes for a song I’ve been working on for months and it’s amazing when I have the time and space to let those moments happen but I also try to remind myself that every time I release something there’ll still be so much room to grow and get better on the next thing. I don’t have to get stuck on making something “perfect” because one, nothing ever is, and two, everything I learned from making and releasing that last song will just help me make the next one that much better. I think it’s cool when people who care about the project can see, hear, and follow that growth over time too.
How do you approach collaborations with other artists, and how have these experiences contributed to your growth?
Although recording solo will always be my true love, collaboration is something I’ve become really open to and have really grown to love as well. Whether it be working on the EP Jesse Maranger and I released together Blooms or even just collaborating with the band when we’re translating the recorded music to their live versions it’s really showed me how much magic others can bring into your tracks or process. The band especially, it’s so cool seeing new life brought into the music we play whether it be Jesse going crazy on a solo the original song we’re playing didn’t have or hearing our drummer Dave bring in these crazy drum fills or solos it’s really special letting others do their thing in a way I would have never thought of by myself. There’ll be a lot more collaborative works coming from the project in the future I’m sure!
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Jaguar Sun's music in the coming years? Any upcoming projects or goals you're excited to pursue?
I think my main aspirations are always just to continue creating music that I care deeply about and I feel like I’m definitely doing that with the next EP I’m working on at the moment. I’m really proud of these new songs in so many ways and I think I learned a lot from them that’ll stick with me as I move forward, especially from a production standpoint. I can’t wait to share them next spring, they’re very much in line with my Jaguar Sun sound but it feels like a very cool evolution in my writing and recording. I went pretty hard on the drum production as well I’ve never been happier with how my snares are sounding haha!
On a different note I can’t wait to continue to grow with my live band as well. I feel like we’ve come so far in the last year and a half of playing together and I’m so stoked for what’s to come. This last summer we headlined a month-long tour around the entire States for the first time and it was one of the most surreal, incredible, and challenging experiences I’ve ever had. Next spring we’ll be heading out on our first UK and Europe tour too, it’s hard to wrap my head around how cool that is, I’ve never been overseas before period. Going out and playing shows to people who have cared about Jaguar Sun since the start and beyond is an absolute privilege and I’ll never get over how special it feels, I really want to keep it up.
