Chris Velan is a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

-based singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Career

While in college, he studied law. After passing the bar, he traveled to West Africa where he was the music producer of a documentary film about a group of refugee musicians from Sierra Leone. In 2003 Velan returned from West Africa, releasing his debut solo album ''It's Not What You Think'', which incorporated a mix of his old and new influences ranging from folk, pop and rock to world music and reggae. Live, Velan uses a loop pedal which thickens and layers the music, as he performs live as a one-man band. His last album ''Solidago'' was released on NewSong Recordings. This is his third solo album and some of the artists featured on this album include San Francisco artists The Mother Hips,

Animal Liberation Orchestra Animal Liberation Orchestra (also known casually as ALO) is a California rock band currently signed to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released four full-length albums for Brushfire, as well as a number of prior independent r ...

, Jackie Greene and Adam Topol (Culver City Dub Collective,

Jack Johnson (musician) Jack Hody Johnson (born May 18, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and former professional surfer. Johnson is known primarily for his work in the soft rock and acoustic pop genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after ...

Influences

Velan's influences include

Neil young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

and

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

Velan has been compared to artists including

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and Jack Johnson. Due to his use of the loop pedal at his live performances, he has also been compared to

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. The ...

Experience

Velan has performed with well-known acts across North America including:

Discography

;Solo *''Songs About Songs'' – 19 May 2023 *''Amateur Hour'' – 14 September 2018 *''Glow'' – 2 March 2016 *''The Long Goodbye'' – 23 July 2013 *''Fables for Fighters'' – 7 June 2011 *''Solidago'' – Released 7 April 2009 *''Twitter, Buzz, Howl'' – 8 January 2007 *''It's Not What You Think'' – 25 November 2003 ;With Equalizer *''Rise'' (1998) – Peter UnPlugged ;As Producer *''

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (also called Refugee All Stars) is a band from Sierra Leone which was formed by a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Since their return to Freetown in 2004, the band has t ...

-"Living Like a Refugee"'' (2006) – Anti- Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velan, Chris Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Musicians from Montreal Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)