Pop-rock artist Chandra, who is based in the UK, recently unveiled his new single/music video, “Smile (No Fox Gibbon),” a cheeky rhyming pun on the popular phrase and his own take on not worrying about what others think.
Chandra explains, “We all have moments in our day when we unashamedly beam or uncontrollably snigger at something we’ve seen, remembered, or heard. If we’re in public then that joyous moment is quickly curbed as the self-conscious part of our brain realizes we’re on a bus, in the office, in a queue for a coffee, or walking down a street. I am the worst at it and it’s gone on for so long that I now find the self-tempering of joy is an autonomic reaction. I wrote this song because it’s something I actively want and need to improve on. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all gave a little bit less of a damn who is watching and really enjoyed those amazing moments in our day? Let’s all let go and smile like there are absolutely no f**ks given.”
As usual, Chandra has his own take on this trope. Rather than apathy, it’s amusement he asks his listeners to find in the No Fox Gibbon approach to life. Tapping into those humorous moments all humans have where something truly funny or genuine happens and we’re taken out of our egos to our true selves.
It’s a positive spin on the ingrained idea and something we can all relate to and, as the Bristol artist recommends, work on. Being present with one’s joy isn’t always easy, but Chandra declares it’s also preternatural and, in some cases, may take nothing more than a smile to give no fox.
Talking about his influences, Chandra shares, “Growing up my parents’ record player always had Bowie, The Beatles, The Carpenters on loop. I grew up learning what a great melody was. My teenage years were rocket-fueled along by Suede, Blur, Oasis, Manics, Supergrass, Elastica, Mansun, Radiohead, and Coldplay… but it was REM’s 1995 Monster Tour at Milton Keynes Bowl that lit the spark before all that. From then on I knew that all I wanted to do was perform my own songs live to thousands of people.”
“Smile rolls out on potent guitar chords atop a contagious pop-rock rhythm pulsing with infection energy. Chandra’s upbeat vocals infuse the lyrics with galvanizing flavors, giving the tune intoxicating panache, at once inviting and encouraging.
“Start grinning, start winning / Less fox gibbon and it’s starting to show / The whites of your teeth are starting to glow / Start singing, we’re winning / Find your little monster deep down inside / Let it out, let it shout, nothing to hide.”
Humming with beaucoup feel-good oomph, with “Smile (No Fox Gibbon),” Chandra zeros in on the sweet spot of pop-rock.
