Biography
Chicagoland indie-pop singer-songwriter guitarist Dolph Chaney can't seem to stop making new friends and fans, and that process has accelerated exponentially in recent years. After a long but low-key couple of decades self-producing and self-releasing winning but too-little-heard lo-fi masterpieces of intelligent, playful and often heartbreaking art pop, his first Big Stir Records release Rebuilding Permit brought his music to a wider world 2020. That world was unfortunately and quite literally nosediving into an unprecedented pandemic just as the record's release date arrived… but the circumstances that put the brakes on so many artistic endeavors only served to make the album the "right record at the right time", nurtured by Chaney's adaptability to quarantine-era live streaming performance and heartfelt fan interactions. Rebuilding Permit proved to be a genuine breakthrough album, winning a wide global audience and many honors, culminating in his coronation as Woody Radio's Artist Of The Year.
Astonishingly, it would prove to be just the first chapter of Chaney's 21st Century leveling-up. A consummate collaborator, Dolph has found his new stature in the global guitar pop world offering opportunities to play and record with many of its leading lights, developing a particular rapport with multi-instrumentalist and producer Nick Bertling, celebrated for his creative work as bertling noise laboratories and helming much-loved records from Chris Church, Gretchen's Wheel among others. Meanwhile, the impetus to keep his weekly live webcast shows on Woody Radio fresh saw Chaney delving into his own deep back catalog of songs. Dolph and Nick quickly hatched a plan to re-record the best of those songs with an entirely new sonic aesthetic in place – something blending the signature sounds of key Chaney influences like Bob Mould, Peter Gabriel and Harry Nilsson.
Things moved quickly, and mere months later, This Is Dolph Chaney was the dazzling and thoroughly engrossing result: an entirely new record, equal parts deeply considered craft and inspired immediacy. At once a career summation, an introduction, and a sonic leap forward for Chaney. Riding on the momentum of Dolph's emergence onto a wider stage TIDC was an immediate hit, propelling its songs into rotation and charts with radio outlets worldwide and garnering glowing notices from critics and new fans alike. With an indie hit on his hands and pandemic-era restrictions lifting, Dolph was able to fulfill his long-held ambitions of forming a backing band. It was thus that that Dolph Chaney & The Phins were born, and they've been lighting up stages in and around Chicago ever since.
Unsurprisingly, that live energy – and Dolph's oft-cited tendency to find inspiration from the bands with whom he's been sharing stages – would serve as fuel for a new set of songs. After all, it's been three years since his last set of all-new material on Rebuilding Permit, and the collaboration with Bertling has proved a natural fit. New songs have increasingly dotted Dolph's sets with The Phins and sessions with Nick have continued almost without a break since the recording of This Is Dolph Chaney, and the reality is that an audience, at home and abroad, is eagerly awaiting more music from one of indie-pop's most beloved rising stars. And it's on its way: the single “Mr. Eli” is the first track from the new record to hit the airwaves, and there's much more to come with the album set for an Autumn release. Without giving too much away, you can expect to see Dolph Chaney's mug everywhere this fall. But that's nothing compared to what you'll be hearing.
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