It’s time for the last in our series of Southsea Sound Icebreaker Showcases 2023.

We hope you enjoy watching some of the best talent the Icebreaker Festival had to offer. Did you miss the others? View them here!

THE PREMISE?

The final installment of our showcase videos looks at local acoustic musician CRSTIAN TR. We’ve been holding this final blog back while he works tirelessly behind the scenes getting his most recent single ready for release. We’re delighted to now be able to share this stripped back performance with you. First, here’s a little more about the man himself.

How did you get into music?

I was exposed to music early with a very musical family on my mum’s side, my great grandfather in particular playing double bass in big bands in London. After teaching myself guitar pretending to be Kurt Cobain as young teenager, I started writing and recording at around 14. The early break never came, and so I chose to change tack, moving to London to work in the film industry. During a period where work dried up, I found my mental health deteriorating, in a pretty bad way I moved back to Portsmouth to get my shit together. It was here I started writing and re-found my first love, music. Countless gigs later, 3 Eps, 5 singles and a live EP later I am still channelling my inner torment into my songs.

What is a cause you feel passionate about?

I feel hugely passionate about mental health but more specifically men’s mental health. Theres such a stigma around just talking and admitting you are struggling, and this has led to many suicides in and around my life. I myself has struggled for many years with my mental health, leaning on prescribed medication and then also my own vices. Music has always given me an outlet to try and make sense of the world around me. My lyrics specifically have always tried to tackle the love, life and loss that litter our lives.

What inspired the track you sang for us back in Feb?

Everyone always tells me my music is depressing and that I never smile, so I wrote ‘Rawhide’ to show I do actually have a happy side. The upbeat track paints a picture of long summer days with my friends where I am my happiest and can block out the outside world. The lyrics also try to tackle my guilt and insecurities in actually feeling happy in my new outlook on life, as well as coming to terms with some of the realities of growing up. Overall, the lyrics try to leave the listener with a sense of optimism and defiance, something that I am trying to utilise day to day.

What are you up to next?

So, I have actually held up Southsea Sound in releasing their last live session video because I was waiting for my next release… 8 months later I finally got my ass into gear and finished off writing/recording my new record. It had been over a year since my last release which was the song ‘Rawhide’ in the live session as life just got in the way really. Whilst I have been gigging loads throughout the year, I really have to be in the right headspace to throw myself into the writing/recording process and so I never force myself to put pen to paper or lock myself in the studio like some artists do. My new single ‘Where Do I Go?’ (released October 27th) was written at a crossroads in my life where I am getting older, trying to make better choices in life and to leave my past life/ways behind. This period of reflection means the song is pensive, looking back at what could have been but also filled with optimism and hope for what is ahead in life if I make better decisions. The song is musically still upbeat, a little less country than usual and was recorded at my home studio, then mixed/mastered in a studio in Norway.

What artists should we be listening to?
I can’t stop listening to Zach Bryan’s self-titled fourth studio album released this August, the songs are just so simple, heartfelt, and beautiful.

Thanks for popping in back in Feb, no worries at all about the wait. And now, enjoy Rawhide by CRSTIAN TR