[Exclusive Interview]: CRAY on Gaming, Sad Music, New EP & Finding Her Sound
We don't have to talk about love here.
CRAY also known as Cheney Ray is a DJ and electronic artist. She has earned spots to perform at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Voodo, and HARD Summer. She's known for having intense, high energy sets, which have helped her earn a spot touring Japan with Skrillex in 2018. Now in 2019, the producer has made enough buzz to be playing her first live shows. As we speak she is currently touring. I got to ask CRAY several questions to have her share a little more about herself and her music and I'm happy to include her on the blog as an artist who has really been the quintessential “detour” artist, taking two big industries, music and gaming, and making them her passions and arts.
CRAY is originally from Vancouver, Canada but is now based in Los Angeles, CA where she continues to pursue her musical and gaming careers. She recently released her EP seasons change and so do i, which is a project dedicated to "the broken hearts, the i’ll be ok hearts, the i deserve better hearts, the learning to love yourself hearts, the growing stronger hearts." At least, that's how she puts it in an Instagram post to her fans. The 7-track project all flows well together as it strings you along an electronic, heartbreak adventure of anger, sadness, and reconquering self. The compilation also includes her recent hit "idontwannatalkaboutalove" which is a fun ode to the people out there who harp too much on an ended relationship when all you want to do is forget about it and talk about something else because there’s so much more to you as an individual. The song was on repeat for me all week when it came out, and it's funny that such a dark topic (and even darker music video) has me jumping around and singing along to its upbeat tempo.
Some of her other notable tracks include "Love Cemetery”, "Peaches", and "Fractions." All have a similar theme of being edgy, sporadic, and high-energy singles with an undertone of melancholy. Outside of her music, CRAY is an avid video gamer, a notable Twitch user, and has been a huge advocate for female representation in the gaming community.
Here’s our interview below:
What got you started in music?
I was raised in Vancouver Canada, the drinking age is 19 so I feel like I was just introduced to the scene earlier. I worked at nightclubs as guestlist girl / promo girl and was always around DJs. My first show ever was Deadmau5 and I completely fell in love with electronic music and the scene.
Why did you decide to write “idontwannatalkaboutlove”?
I was in a new relationship and it was bothering me how much everyone focused on my relationship more then my passions, goals, talents. I felt like my love story was more important than me as an individual, i wanted to bring back the power and focus on my art.
How much has your music evolved since the time you first started making music?
It's constantly evolving. I feel like i started making music so long ago, and with time comes change. Its evolved a lot but the core of it is similar. I love music and want to continue to grow with it how ever the outcome. Started making rap beats, to more melodic, to adding vocals, to now doing full indie pop records has been an incredible journey, i feel like right now I have truly found my sound.
What would you say is the best and hardest part of the kind of music you make?
The best would be just creating, going through emotions, pain, happiness, anything. Being able to have an outlet to creatively get past it and grow is an incredible feeling, BUT with that also comes a lot of emotional moments. Writing sad songs hits way harder, having to perform sad songs kinda takes me back to that moment to relive.
What’s a word to describe yourself?
Authentic
What’s your detour? (What’s something you’re doing unexpectedly or something that’s exciting or surprising or another side passion of yours)
Gaming, I game everyday. I also love reading, puzzles, and sewing.
Why did you decide to take this path in the gaming/electronic music industry? Has being a female been difficult in these lanes?
It just happened. I've always loved gaming and the fact that I can share it with people on live stream makes it even more fun. Being a woman is difficult in male dominated industries, of course. I wanted to be treated like a creator, artist, gamer without gender even being a topic of discussion.
How would you describe your fans?
Family. A bunch of chickens.
What do you think it takes to make a Twitch account successful?
Dedicate time, do what you love, not what you think will do well.
What are two things you can't live without?
Hot sauce, my cats.
I heard that you are super inspired by your love for classical jazz and swing artists like Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday-- in which songs do you think you incorporated those influences?
It's just a constant form of inspiration. I love using real instruments.
If you could collab with any artist, who would you want it to be with?
Frank Sinatra
What's something you'd want to tell your fans to remember?
Breathe. Keep going. You are not alone.
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Be sure to stay tuned to the new releases to come from this artist by following her online. Thanks again for chatting and looking forward to the projects to come!