Chalaxy

When I try to explain the psyche rock outfit CHALAXY to people, I describe them as the guy in a sequined kimono who dropped a couple hits of acid and crashed a party where everyone else is sporting flannel and skinny jeans and drinking PBR.

CHALAXY combines a dreamy ambience with trippy guitar riffs, lots of layered vocals and an atmosphere that melts out of the neon colored amps it’s played through and saturates the room with magic that makes you want to shake it. Influenced by the likes of the Flaming Lips and My Morning Jacket, the guys in CHALAXY playfully experiment with audio samples, synth and percussion to create a unique musical experience. Perhaps the most alluring thing about CHALAXY is the live shows, which are difficult to describe because they are different each go round. CHALAXY gives a wildly energetic performance that may very likely feature led hula hoopers, glitter, confetti, Taylor’s signature red face paint, a mesmerizing light show and/or neon glow tape stuck on every thing, and if you’re really lucky you’ll catch friends of CHALAXY onstage dressed in giant vegetable costumes shooting streamers at you out of a leaf blower. At the very least, you can expect to be fully entertained.

On one of my most recent and, naturally, entertaining encounters with the band, front man Taylor Cole asked if I would come shoot behind the scene photos at CHALAXY’s latest video shoot, which enticed me since I’ve wanted to photograph the band since I heard about them almost a year ago. I pulled up to an old empty warehouse to find all the guys inside, covered (literally) from head to toe in dirt and cobwebs, sitting on the ground sorting piles and piles of glow sticks; 1000 glowing lights to be nitpicky. Taylor enthusiastically briefed me on the plan which involved hanging each of glow sticks one by one from the ceiling by tying them to impossibly thin and all but invisible pieces of fishing line of alternating lengths on both sides of a long tunnel to create a floating double helix effect when you went through it. And just as quickly as the clear as mud plan was explained to me, I found myself on the ground with the rest of the band, covered in dirt and cursing at thread for being so darn difficult to keep tied in a solid knot. I don’t remember much of the next five hours, I think I entered some sort of black hole of where time is tossed to the wayside, but I when I finally peaked at my phone, I realized I was very late to cover another show, and that I also hadn’t gotten a single picture of the band that day. The real magic happened the next day when I came back for the actual filming and watched the guys finally get to crack every last one of those glow sticks. It was a moment of sheer revelry for everyone involved. One comparable to that time Clark Griswald saw his Christmas lights lit up for the first time.

Without farther ado, here’s the premiere of CHALAXY’s new video for “Shere Khan.” - Lockeland Springsteen

"CHALAXY put on a live spectacle that evokes the spirit of Coyne and company at their peak. There's a light show, gold spandex pants, and enough confetti to make you dust off your old copy of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." - Native Magazine

Down in Five Points, the party converged on The 5 Spot, where Chalaxy and Linear Downfall were set to perform in a neon-duct-tape-covered psychedelic vortex. The best compliment we can pay to Chalaxy, who blew us away, is that they sound like The Mars Volta with restraint. The second-best compliment we can pay is that it felt like being at Bonnaroo, right down to the dope in boat shoes who asked us if we knew where he could buy some molly. - Nashville Cream

Chalaxy cleaned house this month, as there are loads of ardent fans out there who appreciate their cosmic rock and roll. If anyone lives and breathes ‘rad,’ (I bet it smells like Blow-Pops) it would be this quintet. - Nashville Deli

Local psych outfit CHALAXY has just dropped a new single titled “Dizzy” that we’re stoked to be premiering ahead of it’s official release tomorrow via the band’s Bandcamp and other digital outlets. CHALAXY tells us the single is just a taste of what lies ahead with a new album expected out this fall. The band describes themselves as “Electronic/Alternative/Psychedelic Rock”, and the new single perfectly embodies that vibe with it’s drippy, blurry guitars and vocals effects that will immediately enamor fans of Tame Impala or My Morning Jacket. It represents a turning point for the band, and a direction that we are excited to watch them explore.

However, the real magic comes from their live set which we described as “absolutely electrifying” when we first caught them. Luckily for you, they are playing a single release show at Mercy Lounge on Saturday night withBlackfoot Gypsies, Eclectic Tuba, and Levi Ray. CHALAXY tells us that they have completely revamped their live set from the new songs to the stage production, and this is one revamping that we are excited to check out. Enjoy your new jam below, and grab your tickets for Saturday right here. - No Country for New Nashville

We’ve been nerding out over psychedelic, electronic band Chalaxy for a while. A few months ago we were excited to bring you their single “Dizzy.” We’ve drawn comparisons to bands like Tame Impala and My Morning Jacket in the past but this is a band who might be inspired by others but who make music completely their own. - Nashville Scene

Who needs drugs when you've got CHALAXY?

The Nashville psych pop 5-piece have earned a reputation for bringing the party and positive vibes with their energetic, playful and ever-evolving live shows, and their latest single "Vs. Eros" is a glowing reminder that they've got the musical chops to match (and a serious tease for their upcoming album.) Exhibiting their continued growth as a band with more complex dynamics and tasteful experimentation, "Vs. Eros" is a psychedelic swirl of electronic folk rock with a rhythm funky enough to shake a tailfeather to.

Give the trippy single a listen below and get showered with a literal shit-ton of confetti at their release show tomorrow night 12.11 at The East Room with Oh, Grandpa, aave and Soft Bodies. (Get there before 10pm, and it's free!) -Caroline Bowman - Nashville Deli

This is the second year in a row in which a band featuring members of Chalaxy has completely ruled our New Year’s Eve, and for good reason. For 20 minutes, members of Chalaxy, Girls & Money and Mesmer Tea completely inhabited the spirit of Talking Heads — right down to David Byrne’s vintage goofy-dad dance moves. - Nashville Scene

After a couple of cocktails at The Beast's recently opened drinker's annex The Pub — which, located on the back side of the club, was still unknown enough to be practically dead, despite the dozens-deep scrum of smokers on the patio — it was time for Chalaxy. In our absence, the band had set up a handful of multicolored triangles (because why not?) and fired up a projector that covered the stage in a swirling kaleidoscope of shapes and colors. Trippy! But not as trippy as singer Taylor Cole appearing onstage wearing full-scale angel wings while a woman in a spandex Robin costume dumped balloons on an awaiting crowd.
That’s the kind of thing that drew us to Chalaxy in the first place: The band has no illusions about the kind of show they’re putting on, taking liberal direction from glam rock’s forefathers. Cole is clearly modeling himself after Ziggy Stardust, which made this record release party feel like a backdoor birthday celebration for Bowie himself. Not to mention, on a more somber note, a fitting tribute for a man whose untimely passing on Sunday sent the music fans into worldwide mourning this week.
After shedding the angel wings, Cole and his bandmates dove headlong into thumping grooves, while hanging their hats on wall-of-sound guitar lines that drive the band’s songs into interstellar psychedelia territory, but without the self-indulgent noodling that so often seems part and parcel to psych revival. You know how you get bored after the Flaming Lips enter minute seven of Wayne Coyne’s fever dream come to life? Chalaxy avoids that entirely, instead offering up psychedelic sounds you can dance to. How about that? - Nashville Scene