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, makin ...

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 ''Infiniheart'' is an album by Canadian artist Chad VanGaalen. It was originally released in 2004 on Flemish Eye and was rereleased in 2005 on Sub Pop. The album was recorded in a makeshift studio in VanGaalen's basement, and uses a diverse ar ...

'' (

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 6 ...

) 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 k ...

. ''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 often ...

. 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 ''Skelliconnection'' is the second album by Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released on August 22, 2006 on Flemish Eye (Canadian distribution) and Sub Pop (U.S. distribution). In addition to writing and recording the album, VanGaalen ...

'', 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 of ...

for Alternative Album of the Year and shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize. 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'''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

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 Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

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 Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

''. 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 3 a ...

''.

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). Fle ...

, and drummer Eric Hamelin from No More Shapes.

Other activities

In 2008 VanGaalen recorded the debut album of

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 An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, 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 Love as Laughter was an American indie rock band from Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Se ...

song "Dirty Lives" and

Timber Timbre Timber Timbre is a Canadian music group, featuring Taylor Kirk. The moniker refers to an early series of recordings made in a timber-framed cabin set in the wooded outskirts of Bobcaygeon, Ontario. History Timber Timbre released two albums indep ...

's song "Beat the Drum Slowly". He won the

Prism Prize The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada."Chad VanGaalen Wins 2015 Prism Prize for Timber Timbre Video"
''

'', 29 March 2015. alongside a second nomination for the video for his own single "Monster". He has also designed album covers for other artists, including

Shout Out Out Out Out Shout Out Out Out Out was a Canadian dance-punk/ electro group from Edmonton, Alberta. The band's lineup is unusual in that it includes multiple drummers and bassists, as well as vintage synthesizer equipment. History Shout Out Out Out Out was ...

's ''

Not Saying/Just Saying ''Not Saying/Just Saying'' is the debut album from alternative dance band Shout Out Out Out Out. It was released in Canada on July 26, 2006 on Nrmls Wlcm Records. The album's cover art was designed by Chad VanGaalen Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) ...

''.Jason Anderson
"Solo 2.0: Ingenious young musicians are redefining the one-man band"
cbc.ca, 30 October 2006. In 2015, VanGaalen collaborated with

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 ...

of the indie rock band Dog Day on the album ''Seed of Dorzon''. Chad VanGaalen's ''Light Information'', his sixth record on Sub Pop, was released on 8 September 2017.

Discography

Studio albums *2004: ''

'' *2006: ''

'' *2008: ''

'' *2011: '' Diaper Island'' *2014: ''

Shrink Dust ''Shrink Dust'' is the fifth studio album by Canadians, Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released by Flemish Eye in Canada and Sub Pop in the United States on April 29, 2014. The album was featured on the ''Toronto Stars website as pa ...

'' *2017: '' Light Information'' *2020: ''Lost Harmonies'' *2021: ''

World's Most Stressed Out Gardener ''World's Most Stressed Out Gardener'' is the ninth studio album by Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Sub Pop worldwide and Flemish Eye in Canada. Background All the tracks on the album were written and recor ...

'' 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 co ...

) Black Mold *2009: ''Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz''

References

External links

Chad VanGaalen
official site at

{{DEFAULTSORT:VanGaalen, Chad 1977 births Artists from Calgary Canadian people of Flemish descent Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian rock singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian indie rock musicians Living people Musicians from Calgary Sub Pop artists Canadian animators Canadian music video directors Canadian illustrators 21st-century Canadian male singers