When Alan Chapell’s friend lost her job a few years back, her story inspired “Shout.” Far from a combative, “how dare they” about her backstabbing co-worker, per se, the single is about perseverance, says the singer of the New York City-based Chapell, and one of the soul- and pop-fused tracks on the band’s fifth album CINCO, out this spring.
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“Naturally, she was feeling down and was questioning her self-worth, not to mention she was angry about how it all went down,” Chapell tells American Songwriter. “But rather than wallow in bitterness, she was able to turn that negative energy into something positive by starting her own business.”
Chapell says it wasn’t easy for his friend and took a few years—and more than a few failures—before she found her footing and now managed a team 12.
Ambitious in his own right, the singer, who cut his first album at the age of 15 with producer Jimmy Lenner (Roger Waters, Grand Funk Railroad, Air Supply), spent some years in India touring with Kalki, and continues to work his side job as an advisor to tech companies on privacy issues.
Recorded away from the city, the band moved into a house together, ate meals together, and recorded by day at Power Station in Waterford, CT. Sticking to his own unique routine, Chapell generated tracks around CINCO by waking up, doing yoga with his wife, and writing songs—and it worked.
A follow up to 2019’s Penultimate—and debut The Redhead’s Allegations, produced by Talking Heads Jerry Harrison—it’s clear Chapell has more tales to tell on CINCO through some universal narratives with “Shout” bursting through violin-steered, funk beats in anthemic, “you can do it” chants.
“I want people to feel inspired every time they listen to ‘Shout,’” says Chapell. “Don’t sit on the sidelines. Don’t worry about failing. You know you have it in you. Don’t hold back. Let it all out.”
