Artist To Look Out For: Stef Chura

Indie rocker Stef Chura is not trying to be anybody else. Guitar in hand, she's unapologetically herself– with a distinctive tone that toes the line between 90s garage-rock and 70s folk music, finding both solace and inspiration in the musical streets of Detroit.

Her story begins 251 miles away from Detroit in the small woodsy town of Alpena, Michigan.

After getting kicked out of boarding school at 15, Chura began writing songs in her bedroom. Growing up with "hippie" parents, as she says, she was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music early on.

"My dad had great old punk records," she said. "He had Devo, the Jim Carroll Band, Lene Lovich and all this really crazy shit that probably not a lot of kids would hear, let alone kids in middle-of-nowhere Michigan."

She spent some years gigging in Ypsilanti before moving to Detroit in 2012, where she kicked it and established herself in the local scene. "There was a golden era with the garage-rock stuff and Jack White and the White Stripes but … do I relate to the current scene?," Chura reflects.

"There’s definitely a scene that I’ve played music in for a long time. So I do relate to that."

It was after a friend died in a drowning incident that she began to reevaluate her life and switched her entire focus to music. She began playing in bands and released her first album in 2017.

In June, Chura released her second LP, Midnight, on Saddle Creek Records, which reissued her 2017 debut, Messes.

"For most people who create art, I would assume there is some kind of deep unanswerable hole in your soul as to why you're making it," she said ahead of the release of Midnight. "A lot of the writing is a little all over the place for me because we pulled songs from different eras of my life."

She says the album– which was recorded and produced by Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest– is a testament to the creative process. Like her debut, Midnight is comprised of new, unreleased demos as well as older ones ("Method Man" and "They'll Never").

It begins with "All I Do Is Lie," a double entendre full of contradictory emotions about an ex-lover. The variations in her vocals push the song to vulnerable points and create a unique sound that's only hers.

Stef Chura, "All I Do Is Lie"

Other standouts are "Scream," a feminist anthem denouncing suppression, "Jumpin' Jack," an ode to a crumbling relationship and "They'll Never," a Kurt Cobain-like grunge anthem about refusing to forget a place she loves that's getting torn down.

Toledo contributes his vocals on "Sweet Sweet Midnight," which could also serve as the album's unofficial title track. In it, the two reflect on the loss of Chura's friend in a swirl of cathartic angst.

Stef Chura, "Sweet Sweet Midnight"

Toledo also plays bass, guitar, organ and synths throughout the record. It's not the first time the pair have collaborated; they actually met in 2016 when they toured together with Car Seat Headrest.

"He told me that he found my music on Tumblr via a Pitchfork article that compared us to each other," Chura said.

"He invited us to the studio to check out the record the next day. When we stopped by Will had finished mixing early and asked us if we had anything going on recording-wise. I said I have a couple of songs that got cut from Messes I want to record for a 7-inch and he was like, 'Cool, wanna record them right now? I'll play bass.'"

In April, Chura released that 7-inch, Degrees B/W Sour Honey, which featured reworked Messes cuts "Degrees" and "Sour Honey." It gave fans a glimpse at her range in both songwriting and musicianship in general, as it completely metamorphosed from her melancholic breakthrough.

"I'm dripping sour honey, and it all starts to feel funny, I didn't mean to go to places I don't know," she sings in "Sour Honey," which she wrote as a cocktail waitress at a strip club. "It's in tune with knowing something is wrong and doing it anyway," she said. "A theme for Messes, but maybe not an intentional concept?"

Toledo encouraged her to break free from her Messes mold in "Degrees," which began as a fingerpicked folk song and transcended into a much bigger, Janis Joplin-esque sound.

Stef Chura, "Degrees"

Singing with loud bands over time has actually gifted Chura with the ability to recreate herself using different voices. Messes is defined by her soft and airy croons whereas on Midnight, she lets the instruments take the lead (primarily her own guitar work) and relies on her damn-near perfected indie-rock howl/yodel to power her through the track list.

If Stef Chura is still soul-searching for liberation, she's finding answers in her own voice.

She's currently on the road in support of Midnight, so head over to her website for ticket details and check out her summer itinerary below!

Stef Chura 2019 summer tour dates:

07/19 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
07/20 – Houston, TX @ The Satellite
07/21 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
07/22 – Dallas, TX @ Regal Room
07/25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
07/26 – San Diego, CA @ Sodabar
07/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre
07/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
07/30 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
07/31 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
08/01 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
08/02 – Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge
08/03 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
08/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
08/06 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
08/07 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb
08/09 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
08/10 – Milwaukee, WI @ Backroom at Colectivo

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Last updated: 29 Mar 2024, 11:08 Etc/UTC