Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician and artist from
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
Career
''Infiniheart''
Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released '' Infiniheart'' (
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
) on Canadian independent label
Flemish Eye
The eye splice is a method of creating a permanent loop (an "eye") in the end of a rope by means of rope splicing.
The Flemish eye is a type of circular loop at the end of a thread. There are several techniques of creating the eye with its kn ...
. ''Infiniheart'', a collection of songs selected from recordings made in his bedroom/makeshift studio, was picked up in 2005 by indie label
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...
. In late 2005, the album was re-released with a bonus six-song EP entitled ''Green Beans''.
''Skelliconnection''
On 22 August 2006, VanGaalen's second album, '' Skelliconnection'', was released in the U.S. on Sub Pop and in Canada on Flemish Eye. The album is composed of new songs as well as tracks previously released on his earlier independent recordings and features exclusive artwork and videos made by VanGaalen.
''ChartAttack'' reported on 17 January 2007 that ''Skelliconnection'' was #31 and had been on the chart for 19 weeks.
''Skelliconnection'' was named to shortlist on 10 July 2007 for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. The winner was announced at a gala ceremony on 24 September 2007, with the prize going to the band Patrick Watson.
''Soft Airplane''
VanGaalen's third studio album, ''
Soft Airplane
''Soft Airplane'' is the third album by Chad VanGaalen, released in 2008 on Flemish Eye and Sub Pop. It was VanGaalen's first album to consist entirely of songs newly recorded for the album; his prior releases compiled tracks from a library of ...
'', was released 9 September 2008. ''Soft Airplane'' marked a significant change for Vangaalen's songwriting as, unlike previous Vangaalen releases (where songs were collected from a vast catalogue of previous home recordings), ''Soft Airplane'' was written within the two-year time span since ''Skelliconnection''.
''Soft Airplane'' garnered many favourable reviews internationally. It was both nominated for a Canadian
Juno Award
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...
for Alternative Album of the Year and shortlisted for the
2009 Polaris Music Prize
The 2009 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto
. Furthermore, the album maintained a #2 placement in ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'''s Top Albums of 2008 and, upon release, spent 22 weeks on ''
!earshot
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'''s Top 50.
Vangaalen toured ''Soft Airplane'' extensively; performing live dates throughout North America, Europe, and the UK throughout 2008 and 2009. Vangaalen opted to tour with
Flemish Eye
The eye splice is a method of creating a permanent loop (an "eye") in the end of a rope by means of rope splicing.
The Flemish eye is a type of circular loop at the end of a thread. There are several techniques of creating the eye with its kn ...
label mates
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
for many of his performances allowing him to utilize certain bandmembers as his backing band.
In September 2009, to celebrate the success of ''Soft Airplane'', Vangaalen released an accessory EP for free download.
VanGaalen's song "Rabid Bits of Time", off of ''Soft Airplane'', was featured in the trailer for the 2011 indie film '' Norman''. His song "Bare Feet on Wet Griptape" was featured on the skateboarding video game ''
Skate 3
''Skate 3'' is a skateboarding video game, the third installment in the '' Skate'' series and the sequel to 2009's '' Skate 2'', developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It was released worldwide in May 2010 for PlayStation ...
''.
Black Mold
On 11 August 2009, VanGaalen released a full-length album ''Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz'' under the alias Black Mold.
Live shows
VanGaalen is sometimes assisted live by Matt Flegel and Scott "Monty" Munro, both of the post-punk band
Preoccupations
Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary, Alberta, formed in 2012 under the name Viet Cong. The band consists of Matt Flegel (vocals, bass), Scott Munro (guitar, synth), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums). Fleg ...
, and drummer Eric Hamelin from No More Shapes.
Other activities
In 2008 VanGaalen recorded the debut album of
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
as well as their second album.
VanGaalen is also an
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
and animator, and has made his own album artwork and animated music videos to accompany several of his songs, including "Clinically Dead", "Flower Gardens", "Red Hot Drops", and "Molten Light", as well as the Love as Laughter song "Dirty Lives" and Timber Timbre's song "Beat the Drum Slowly". He won the
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
Seth Smith
Garry Seth Smith (born September 30, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. He w ...
of the indie rock band
Dog Day
The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden ...
on the album ''Seed of Dorzon''.
Chad VanGaalen's ''Light Information'', his sixth record on Sub Pop, was released on 8 September 2017.
Soft Airplane
''Soft Airplane'' is the third album by Chad VanGaalen, released in 2008 on Flemish Eye and Sub Pop. It was VanGaalen's first album to consist entirely of songs newly recorded for the album; his prior releases compiled tracks from a library of ...
''
*2011: ''
Diaper Island
''Diaper Island'' is the fourth studio album by Canada, Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen, released on May 17, 2011 on Flemish Eye in Canada and Sub Pop in the United States.Shrink Dust''
*2017: ''
Light Information
''Light Information'' is the sixth studio album by Canadians, Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released by Flemish Eye in Canada and Sub Pop in the United States on September 8, 2017.
While alienation has always been a theme of VanGaale ...
''
*2020: ''Lost Harmonies''
*2021: '' World's Most Stressed Out Gardener''
EPs
*2005: ''Green Beans''
*2006: ''Skelliconnection''
*2009: ''Soft Airplane: B-Sides''
*2011: ''Your Tan Looks Supernatural''
Collaboration albums
*2012: Green Corridor Series #02 (with
Xiu Xiu
Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name ...
)
Black Mold
*2009: ''Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz''
Flemish Eye
The eye splice is a method of creating a permanent loop (an "eye") in the end of a rope by means of rope splicing.
The Flemish eye is a type of circular loop at the end of a thread. There are several techniques of creating the eye with its kn ...