This edition is brought to you in association
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from them in a bit. Welcome back to the Chatterbooks
Redux podcast with Sue and Nick and today our
special guest is Chantelle June. This is Nick
and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need
to know about musical entertainment. Oh yeah,
Chatterbox! And now on Chatterbox, we're just
lucky enough to welcome Chantelle June. Chantelle,
welcome to Chatterbox. How are you? Hello, Chantelle.
I'm good. I'm good. How are you? Very good. Thank
you. Great to meet you. Right. We've got some
stuff to talk about what's going on at the moment.
Let's start a little bit earlier. Let's see.
When did you start singing? I mean, did you want
to be a singer as a kid or when did it all start?
Yeah, I was... I was... involved in singing as
a young child. So I believe, yeah, sang for our
symphony orchestra. And I was in choirs and we
kind of traveled all over Manitoba, my province.
And then I joined a cover band in my 20s and
kind of put everything on hold for a while, just
raising a family. So I kind of got back into
it a few years ago. Okay, what did the family
think of what Mum does and things? What's your
general opinion? The kids get a lot of attention
from it, from their friends and people in the
community for sure, so they get asked a lot of
questions. That's good, that's good. So, when
did it start? Was that your first time around
before the family and that? When did you actually
start the singing side of it? How long ago? As
young as I can remember, but my first live performance,
I think I was 21. Okay. So yeah, but it's been
a while. Yeah, and what was that? Was that in
the bar or what was the first one? Yes, it was.
Can you remember how many people were there?
It was a couple hundred, I believe. That's not
bad for a first one. That's a good start. Really
good start. I was so nervous. That's alright,
I like that, that's good. And the sort of thing
that got you down, was there anything in college
or school, did you ever do any singing of any
sort there or was it literally just when you
were 21 that was it, you stepped out and there
you were? That's it. Okay. No, no school, nothing,
no. And when it comes to songwriting, when did
you write your first song? I dare say that came
a little while before. I was a teenager, that
was probably my outlist. My parents getting divorced
and just trying to manage all those emotions,
right? So songwriting was my go -to. I actually
found an old one in a box not long ago. I was
kind of laughing at how it was written. It wasn't
bad for a 15, 16, but definitely come a long
way. Brilliant. Oh dear. Well, I added a little
bit. This has always been a fun. It's something
I've been doing in more recent times where I
do, I heard this on BBC Radio 2 in the UK, actually,
where they have a guest on and they do the google
gemini ai thing and they they they put in about
an artist and see what comes back if it's right
or wrong radio 2 yeah thank you that's what i
said oh okay thanks dear you're just making sure
right uh or you're just catching up no i'm listening
i mean okay you're caught out brilliant so this
is it uh shantelle june is an independent canadian
singer songwriter based in Manitoba, Canada.
Her musical style heavily... You can deny everything,
by the way. If it was anything that was tabloid,
I wouldn't read it anyway, so don't worry. We'd
let you know it was there, though. We wouldn't
send it on air. Her musical style heavily centres
on alternative indie and indie pop rock textures.
Though she has also explored country roots in
some of her acoustic and digital releases, she
has building her presence online across streaming
platforms sharing both original tracks and melancholic
stripped back covers notable tracks no mercy
like that one you and the moon to be human lonely
ghost wicked game cover she maintains an active
independent profile sharing behind the scenes
content lyric videos and acoustic snippets of
her upcoming projects directly with her listeners
and platforms like youtube tiktok and spotify
how correct is that That was pretty impressive
actually, it was pretty bang on. Good, that's
good, that's good. Your track, No Mercy, what's
that about? Some years ago I was in an abusive
relationship and so that was probably one of
my darker songs and I was actually talking to
a close family member about it and he always
reviews my music videos and everything and he
says I looked at the video, the AI video that
you put out, he says, and I thought the song
was about going out to maybe take someone out.
And then he says, I looked at the lyrics, he
says, I realized it was about justice. And I
said, yeah, it's supposed to be about taking
your power back for sure. And because there's
so many people out there that are Still stuck
in abusive relationships don't know how to get
out. There's not a clear way and it could be
so dangerous and so isolating I put that song
on it's probably my favorite because it is so
real and empowering Just to let others know they're
not alone and that they they can They can take
account of at least acknowledge and let the other
person take accountability for these things instead
of sweeping under the rug, right? So it's a hard
topic, but I didn't want anyone to feel alone
in that, so that's where that came from. Great
song. Well, good on you for doing that, because
you know yourself, even on each of our radio
stations, there's going to be someone listening
to each one, unfortunately, that's going to be
in that situation. Common thing, isn't it? I
mean, obviously you've written the song, you're
out of it now. And my understanding is it's the
hardest thing is to get out of the relationship.
That's the hardest thing. You've lost your friends,
they've been taken away from you. What advice,
if it's a hard one, put you on the spot, but
what advice do you have to anybody in that situation,
listening to this interview, listening to that
song? Okay, they've got the song to listen to
and we will be playing it. But what advice have
you got when they're just sat there listening
to this? What can they do? What hope have they
got? I would say go easy on yourself because,
you know, when you're in that situation, you
do what you have to do to survive. And there's
no simple, clear way to get out. So you do what
you have to do and just give yourself that grace.
And when you have the strength, I mean, I would
say definitely surround yourself with people
that are going to build you up because you need
that support. Whether you have to do that quietly
or not, but you need that support and go easy
on yourself because you do what you got to do.
And when you get that strength build up, you
can get out. And it doesn't always and after
you're out, but it's definitely a lot more freeing.
And when you have the strength to leave, it just
keeps going after that. So that's what I like
that music. Music is the outlet for me, right?
And it's ultimately, I make sure that it is real
because that's, you know, we have AI music right
now and it's actually. It bothers me how much
I like some of the AI music. It sounds quite
good, but it will never replace that human emotion
and the struggles and real -life scenarios, right?
So that's kind of the main drive of my music,
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CBUKRDUX. Tell us about some of your other songs
that we got here. There's some I listed here,
actually. I mean, Wikigame is one that we know
about and we've played. Tell us about why you
recorded that. Wikigame, I've done a lot of covers.
I happen to just be drawn to that one right after.
right after I was newly single, actually. And
I think it was the realization that I was like,
oh, I'm going to maybe want to fall in love again
one day, but that's going to be hard, right?
So I don't know if I want to fall in love. So
that emotion just kind of went right in there
and it blew up more than any other cover song
I had. So I was really grateful for that. OK,
I've got to ask you a couple here that I don't
know about, which is news to me. So this has
come up on the Google Gemini AI thing. So we've
got You and the Moon and To Be Human, both interesting
titles. What's the story behind those? To Be
Human was... Had some people in my circle that
were struggling with addictions. Okay, and it
was more of a witness witnessing of that and
and just how difficult it was for them to not
only get out of the addictions but To give themselves
forgiveness and love right because they just
beat themselves up and it's never any cycle so
the song at the end is is really meant to help
Them look at themselves and say yeah, I can forgive
myself, too which I think is very freeing. And
You and the Moon was about really just a love
song. Having that, that's a very amazing connection
that you and I'm absolutely obsessed with looking
up at the moon. So I said, if I fall in love
one day and we can sit there and look up at the
moon together, that's like my dream. So that's
nice. Yeah, absolutely. Would you say all of
your songs are true -life stories that have affected
you in some way or another, or your friends or
whatever? Every song you've ever written, do
you think they're all true -life? They're all
real, whether it's my story or someone else's,
for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that. Okay,
and when it comes to, have you done an album
as yet? Have you really, have you just released
singles or have you released collectively say,
this is Chantelle June's album, it's called blah,
blah, blah. Have you put a whole load together
yet, a collection or has it been an album in
its own right? So far they've just all been singles.
But I mean, I've got like 30, 40 songs that are
on the waiting list to come out. So I'm just
trying to do one at a time. I don't know, I might
do an album at one point, but. Just drop them.
That's an anthology that is. It's about an album,
a whole anthology there. Did I mention Good Enough?
I don't think we've mentioned Good Enough, have
we? Good Enough is something that we got sent
not that long ago. Could you tell us about Good
Enough? That was my first single I put out. I
think it was a year before the other ones actually.
So it was a big deal, a big day, and that song
was I had a teenage daughter, had a teenage daughter,
I wrote it. And she's going off to school and
just having a hard time, right? Like sitting
in, feeling like she's gonna fit in, getting
picked on. And I was sitting there talking with
her that evening and just trying to build her
up, right? And I went to bed a little later on,
couldn't fall asleep and the song came to me.
So I was like, okay, I'm gonna write the song
for her. and put it out there for all the other
parents and kids that want to, you know, that
can benefit from it too. Why pick on other children?
It's what they do, unfortunately, isn't it? It
is, yeah. And in a lot of cases, I don't know
Chantelle, I mean we had to recognise him when
he was young, but in a lot of cases it stems
from jealousy, quite incredibly. I got bullied
because I wear glasses, because of my surname,
but look at me now. Yeah, but you've got a long
surname. It's not like there's even any way out.
Yeah, my nickname at school was Bomber. My surname's
Lancaster and I used to get called Bomber. I
would have said you got away quite lightly, but
there you go. Well, we've already decided. You've
got an anthology full of material waiting to
come out, so just sit in there in vaults. Might
be an exaggeration. So what's next? What are
you planning to bring out next? I'm debating.
There's two songs. One's a little bit darker.
It's about getting involved, getting into the
dating world and just playing some of those games
that people play, right? About that. And then
the other one's called Homestick. and that's
a little more upbeat happier um and about moving
away from home just missing everyone back home
so okay okay shantow if you could sing any one
of your songs which singer or band would you
want to sing a song with of one of yours so it's
a duet or band yeah or band could be a band duet
uh which song sorry which band Would I have to
sing one of my songs? Yeah, if you were to do
a duet or something or to record with a band,
you had to choose as to who it would be. Who
would the singer or the band be? And what song
of yours would it be? Oh, man. Sorry. I'm in
love with Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley right
now so much. So I'd love to do a duet with one
of them. OK. As far as which song I'm not sure
because they're not they're country artists and
not every one but maybe good enough Are you I
mean I read out the thing from what Jim Knight
AI said And basically, I think there was a it's
kind of Brushed past the countryside I would
say Yes, though she has explored country roots
in some of her acoustic and digital releases,
would you class yourself as being a little more
country than that's insinuating you are? That
almost insinuates that you've touched it in some
acoustic stuff, but am I right in assuming that
you're more country -fied than that, as a percentage
of the material that you bring out? Well, everything
I have sitting in my vault right now, I'd say
50 % country and 50 % more pop. So I'm just trying
to gauge my audience at this point, which one
they prefer, right? And it seems like it's harder
to get into the country industry, get noticed
in that world, as opposed to having like more
indie pop. It's a little easier to gain traction
because country is one of those things that people
either absolute lover they they hate it seems
like there's no in between yeah but um i love
countries so i still make it and which countries
would you would you say you were most popular
in canada or would you say that you've noticed
audiences getting interested in you and other
countries like uh the united kingdom for instance
yeah i would say the the countryside is more
united states uk okay for sure yeah okay and
i think i'm sure am i right in saying that you
had an interview not that long ago on chris james
show and rni were you did you do that i did get
going there i thought you had yeah yeah so yeah
how did that go that was great it was great to
meet him yeah we've well we've met him in real
life we've been around his house yeah we've been
around yeah not bragging we've been around his
house had sandwiches haven't we yeah and the
weird kitkat i think was popcorn kitkat Oh, I
don't know, that's more your thing. That's not
my thing, I just had it. Okay, so yeah, that's
all you had done. So hopefully this leads to,
and obviously Chatterbox is quite a big platform,
so hopefully that brings some more interviews
and some more, and of course your songs are being,
because we're putting your songs into the interview,
because that's being then heard, those songs
are being heard on all those stations, so let's
hope that spins a little bit for you over here
as well, so yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. Okay,
now, if you were to come back on this show as
our guest in about six months or years time,
what would you like to be telling Sue and I that
you've achieved? I would say it'd be nice to
have another four to six songs out. And it would
be great to have some good traction on at least
one of them. And kind of see what my audience
is enjoying, right? So I think I'm kind of just
exploring right now. But once I can see what
people are really loving, then I can get more
of that. So I'm just looking for hoping for that
that direction from them really, because it's
all for them at the end of the day. Sure. And
all those people partying all around Ibiza and
Mediterranean as well all summer, thinking of
that. Is festival something you do or you would
do? Is that, sorry? Festivals, going around to
music festivals and being live there, is that
something you've done or you would do? It's been
in the back of my mind, I've been considering
it, so it might be in the near future, in a year
or two. I know Canada's mega with festivals,
I know it is, I spoke to quite a few Canadian
artists and yeah they're doing them already and
yeah it's quite a lot, quite a lot. I guess it's
nothing like here, we've got a few, we think
we're doing well with 30 or 40, it's massive
in Canada. The only problem is it's so far apart
for each one, so you can't just do one weekend
there or do a long weekend there and then get
to the next one in no time because it's such
a big country isn't it? Yeah, and every little
small town is doing them. Okay, right, Chantelle.
I'm sure we'll chat again sometime, but before
we let you go, let's talk about some social media
where people can, I mean, tell them what platforms
they can find your music on, you know, YouTube,
Facebook, websites, anything you've got, as long
as it takes the floor is yours. I have everything
streaming on all platforms and for social media.
Facebook's where I tend to put a lot more time
and energy into these days, but TikTok, YouTube,
it's all Instagram too, everywhere. It's all
out there. Fantastic. And yeah, Chantelle James,
it's been great meeting you. Thank you for coming
on Chattergong. And wish you the best of luck
for the future and with your career as well.
And best of luck with this latest thing with
Flint Gunn. That's going to be really interesting
to see how that works out. And no doubt you'll
have a solo song on there yourself again soon.
Sometimes soon when I get sent it. But Chris
sends me everything anyway. Until next time,
Chantelle. Thanks a lot. Cheers. Take care. Bye
now. Bye. You've been listening to the Chatterbox
Redux podcast with Sir Nick and today our special
guest with Chantelle June. If you're interested
in becoming a future guest on the Chatterbox
Redux podcast or the radio show Chatterbox UK,
you're welcome to submit songs, books or whatever
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Sue, myself Nick, and Twinkle the Tuxedo Cat,
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for another Chatterbox Redux podcast. In the
meantime, take care, we thank you for your company.
And we'll catch you then. Bye bye. This is Nick
and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need
to know about music