Welcoming, Christopher Normann. (2020)

Shortly after I released my video lookbook and fashion show online, I got a DM from a new account—Christopher Normann. He’s a 16-year-old from Portola Valley, just a few hours away from me in Berkeley. He had just put out his debut project, Berries.” After a few messages back and forth, we quickly had our first conversation that turned into a few hour long conversation about each others artwork.

We dropped our stuff off, and Chris immediately set up his keyboard, guitar, and laptop in my room—turning the space into a makeshift studio. He started digging into old projects, playing me tracks he was working on for his next, still-untitled album. Over the weekend, I learned that the project was about growing up and leaving home—a reflection of where he was in life. Chris had grown up in a tight-knit, family-oriented environment in a really great part of the Bay, and now he was at a crossroads: choosing between college or fully pursuing his true passion—music. From what I gathered, his parents weren’t entirely convinced yet.

The album itself was stunning—far beyond what you'd expect from someone his age. Most of our conversations mirrored that depth. Chris is an old soul in a young body, truly one of a kind. At one point, he tore through my fridge and started chugging every ‘SQUEEZE’ soda he could find.

We drop our stuff off and Chris immideatly sets up his keyboard, gutiar, and laptop all together in my room making his own make-shift studio, while going into past-projects playing stuff he we working on for his next, untitled project, about growing up and moving away from home as I learned over this weekend that Chris’ had gown up in a very family oriented lifestyle in a really great part of the bay where now at this pivotal point of his life, he’s having to choose between going to college or doing his true passion which is music which it seemed like his parents weren’t too sure about at the moment. To be short, this album chris was working on was beautiful and sounded years beyond his actual age. Most conversation is very similar as well. Chris is an old soul in a child’s body. Truly a one of a kid human being. he ripped through my fridge and started drinking all the ‘SQUEEZE’ soda he could get his hands on.

We spent every weekend for the past 4 months recording the CRISIS RADIO show, screen-printing merchandise for his album that released months prior called “berries” and making music videos for his newest single “flourishing”.