Dublin-based Electronic Artist Chósta on inspiration, collaboration and taking pride in his debut album.

By Cormac McCarthy

The burgeoning music scene in Ireland seems to continually be on an upward climb, each sub-genre carving its own niche into the framework of Irish culture. Dublin-Based electronic producer Chósta (a moniker for Conor Kelly) is one of those many artists attempting to gain a foothold in the musical tapestry. Recently named as Nialler9’s 30 Best New Irish Artists 2021, the young musician is set to release his debut album, Twilight Transmission in early 2023. 

His latest single, “That Object Spoke to Me”, which will feature on the upcoming album, is one that he’s very proud of. It is a collaboration with legendary Irish electronic artist, Jape (AKA Richie Egan). A lifelong fan, Kelly admits to “chancing his arm” a bit when inviting Egan to collaborate. “To my complete surprise, he had bought my EP on Bandcamp. I sent Richie a couple of mixes that I thought he would sound good on. And from that we just kept on going back and forth.” 

The track stems from his insecurities making music, where an uncertainty of his playing ability and technical proficiency would prevent him from producing the sounds in his head. He found sampling to work for him very well. “I was inspired by William Burroughs' cut-up technique. He would write down words and sentences, chop them up and rearrange the words. It’s a lot like how I make music of cutting up samples and rearranging them in the song.”

The recent single is Conor's first ever use of non-sampled vocals, provided by Jape himself. From this, would Conor be inspired to use his own vocals in future tracks? “That’s funny you should say that,” he chuckles. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Apart from karaoke, I’ve never really sang myself. I definitely do have something to say and it’s probably the next logical step for me. I have a little bit of fear about it but maybe down the line.”

His upcoming album, Twilight Transmission, is fully completed and ready to be released. It’s a concept album, inspired by his lockdown experiences of getting back into listening to more radio. “It brought me back to when I was younger, and it made me long for those days. The whole idea of the album is that it’s a collection of radio stations and each track is as if you’re listening to a different station, as if you’re tuning in and out.” Each track has spoken word samples in order to enhance that feeling of live broadcast radio. On the recent single, it is a quote from William Burroughs himself talking about his famous cut-up technique. 

He speaks quite passionately about the lack of support the media gives to Irish artists. “I feel like we’re in a golden generation of Irish music at the moment and they just get no coverage on Irish radio, apart from the rare few like Dermot Kennedy and Niall Horan. Fontaines D.C are on their way to be one of the biggest bands in the world and they can never get played on Irish radio. The major record labels pump so much money into the stations that their hands are tied.”

Despite this, he has been overwhelmed by the encouragement that artists give one another in Ireland. “I can count on one hand the amount of negative experiences I’ve had in the industry. Everyone just wants everyone else to do well. I have friends who are artists in England, and they are shocked at the level of support that Irish artists give each other, not that they don’t support each other, it’s just not at the same level as here.” 

His enthusiasm for the upcoming album is infectious. It’s clear to see just how much time and effort he has put into it. However, success in the music industry can often depend on algorithms and managing to catch the wave of a trend. He admits that while he is conscious of it, he is largely ignorant. “If I cared about the algorithm, then half the stuff I do would never be released. If you try to game the algorithm, it’s a dangerous slope. Sites like Bandcamp are so much better at using the algorithm to better the artist.” As a fan of music himself, he is always searching for new music in every avenue. 

A true rising star in the electronic music scene who will someday hope to perform in Cork. His new single “The Object spoke to Me” is out now and his debut album, Twilight Transmission, is set to be released in early 2023.