5 Questions For Lorine Chia [Interview]

Behind her soulful vocals, 19-year-old Lorine Chia has begun to win over each new listener that comes her way. We got the chance to catch up with her recently to ask her about her upcoming album, her take on some of the comparisons she’s garnered as well as a possible move to Chicago. Take some time to get to know this tremendously talented NVR¢H recording artist now, because we feel she’s on her way to becoming a house hold name…

Your recent release “Living In Vain” featuring Chance The Rapper got an incredible response, catching the ears of thousands of listeners and the attention of some major music blogs. What can you tell us about the collaboration itself and then also, what was it like to watch it catch fire like that?
I was in Chicago a while back and Chance wanted to meet up to talk about making music, and I was pretty excited because I am a fan, so he came through and we were just listening to some songs off of my album and “Livin In Vain” came on. He liked it a lot and wanted to add a verse to it which I was so down with. When he finally put his verse on it I was just so blown away because he added so much to the song. I never thought It would explode the way it did because I’ve never had a song on big blogs before but it was really amazing. I remember getting home from New York and checking my twitter to see that illroots posted it and just started laughing to myself because all I could think was “what is going on right now..” Seeing the amount of plays it got and the amount of people just tweeting about it was incredible to me. It’s like I’m one step closer.

We feel that what you bring to the table musically is filling a void this music scene has been missing for a while; however, usually when that happens music critics tend to really lach onto comparisons to other artists to define your work. We’ve seen you compared to a lot of the greats (Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu) – Now, do you tend to shy away from these comparisons or embrace them? Or does it kind of depend on who the artists you’re being compared to is?
I always think it’s funny when people are trying to figure out who I sound like. They’ll say Lauryn Hill, Badu, Corrine Bailey Rae, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Macy Gray (which i don’t understand), Norah Jones, India Arie and the list goes on. I think it’s cool sometimes because they are all extremely talented women with unique voices. I really just think I sound like myself.

Based on what we’ve heard on “Purple Skies and Blue Rain” your music really encompasses an array of styles, so we assume your influences stretch far beyond the Hill’s and Badu’s. Can you let us in on some of your biggest?
People are surprised sometimes when I tell them that Badu and Hill have not really been part of my inspiration. My biggest inspirations are Chris Martin from Coldplay, John Legend, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pharrell, Corrine Bailey Rae, Mr. Hudson, Amy Winehouse, and my newest one Justin Vernon from Bon Iver.

Is this continued variety of styles going to be something we’ll see on “Lorine” when it drops? If so, do you have any collabs you can tell us about that are going to help facilitate this?
Yes the variety does continue. I have a track that I play my guitar on, I have a song with Bankie Travolta which i guess brings out that smooth hip hop feel, and so much more. It definitely sounds nothing like Purple Skies and Blue Rain. The only thing I wish I would have done on this album was making a song that I rapped on but I’ll save that for the next one. I only have two tracks that have collabs. Making this album I really wanted it to be about me. I really do look forward to working with other artists soon though because it will help me grow.

As one of your loyal Twitter followers, we’ve noticed quite a few mentions about you possibly moving to Chicago. Given the state of the city’s flourishing music landscape, it seems like a perfect move. First off, how close to reality is the move and what were some of the factors in the decision and secondly, please please please do it!
Being out in Chicago really made me interested in the city. There are way more people that I can connect with and have the same type of goals as myself which I absolutely love. There’s also a lot to do there. I’m trying to move as soon as possible like before the year ends. But i also want to travel out to L.A. and see what that’s like before I make my final decision. So now I’m really just trying to save up as much money as I can, choose the best place that would help me with my career and then make that move.