Get to know [@Chrystal01204] Bolton’s rising star

It’s not often we come across artists from Bolton, a small town in Greater Manchester residing in the North West of England.

However, once we heard the sounds of Chrystal,  a vocalist who projects a sound that is reminiscent of Lily Allen mixed with Ray Blk, we knew she would be one to watch.  The Bolton native has released two tracks already with first single ‘Waves’ whilst developing a partnership with John Calvert. Chrystal oozes confidence on new track ‘2 Real’ and therefore we felt to catch up with the newcomer on her journey into music and her influences.

What is your journey with music?

I started a course about 7 years ago in music production. At first, I just wanted to compose music for other artists but I eventually came around the to the idea of being an artist in my own right. I was doing a lot of house & garage music in the earlier years of the journey. After some time, I left that scene because I wanted to explore another side of my artistry. I’ve experimented with a lot of different genres and sounds over the years and in the past three years I’ve found my sound.

You are from Bolton; can you explain the music scene up there?

I love my town and I love where I’m from but the scene is lacking for urban music events. Unless you are into bands there isn’t exactly anywhere to go to hear new and local talent. It’s big on the house and garage scene and I’ve got mates who run really great nights and festivals but mostly dance orientated which is cool but for urban music it’s not exactly known. Maybe there are places and I just don’t know about them.

You recently dropped the video for your single ‘2 Real’, what’s the song about?

It was my first trip to London and I had my first day in the studio with John Calvert. After that I went to meet a guy who is now my manager and another guy who owns 37 Adventures. At the time they were strangers to me. I was very much out of my element on my first trip, I was on the defence. They tried to talk to me about possible future plans and I was very dismissive because I didn’t want to talk about anything but how many 0s we’re getting added to my cheque. I was struggling to get by at the time and I didn’t want my time wasted like it had been previously by industry people. Anyway, we’re all friends now but the song in short means I know my worth & you should too. I don’t usually like to explain my lyrics because I like when people take their own meaning from it, like I’ once heard someone describe ‘2 Real’ as me telling a potential lover that it’s not going to work out which is a cool idea too.

Explain the video for 2 real?

The video for 2 real was pretty much a day in the life of me and my pals in Bolton.

How would you describe your sound?

Future iconic.

How do you prepare to make a song?

I don’t really prep, it just comes out.

Who influences you?

My daughter, family, friends and the world as a whole.

If you could work with any artist who would it be?

It’ would be Pharrell, we need to collaborate soon. It’s been a long time coming for me.

The Brits happened recently, if you could sit on a table with anyone who would it be?

If I could pick someone for just the night then I’d pick my dad. Then he could see how far we’ve come.

What’s your plans for 2018?

To smash it.

Watch the video for ‘ 2 Real’ above and catch up with Chrystal on the socials below.