Chala, in her own words:
“I’m a Song Writer, Producer, Visual Artist and Singer in a brand new EDM/Pop duo called House of Goobata with my partner, Luther Mallory. Five years ago, we took a shower together and played a game we made up called “What’s This?” where one of us has to come up with a word or a phrase and the other has to guess what the word or phrase might mean. (We do most of our songwriting in the shower together!) I came up with “House of Goobata” and Luth decided it would be a perfect name for an EDM duo. At the time neither of us listened to or knew anything about the genre. Over the years we always came back to the name “House of Goobata” I always insisted it would be the best possible project to pursue. So, several other music projects later, House of Goobata was finally formed. Sun Runners is our first official release.
I have an Honors Undergraduate Degree in Law from York University. During my years in school, my focus was on human right’s law, criminal law, women’s rights and indigenous rights. I am also an animal activist and advocate in the animal community rescuing and networking dogs from high-kill shelters across North America. I am also in the beginning stages of fighting OHIP’s healthcare laws here in the province of Ontario on behalf of Canadian citizens. Activism and fighting for change are a big part of my life.
I am the Co-Founder of a global digital creative agency called Super Social. Luther Mallory and myself created this business back in 2013 after I left the corporate world behind as a way to work for myself and focus my entire life on music and acting. I work with businesses all over the world helping them brand and market themselves online. In addition, I am part of Canada’s Music Incubator’s acclaimed Artist Entrepreneur Program where I teach artists and musicians how to market and brand themselves within the music industry. I have also worked as a mentor through CMI’s Artist Manager Program and their APTN Indigenous Mentorship Program.”
Below is the interview of Chala with the S.A.C.:
How can S.A.C. help you?
S.A.C. can help me be a voice for artists across Canada when it comes to fighting for our rights. Being able to have an amazing platform to speak my voice and represent other musicians and artists in the industry is very important to me. As artists nowadays, we put so much work and time into our art and we are lucky if we make a few dollars off of it. I don’t believe this is just. The government needs to step up and take action to protect us artists and see the value of our work.
Do you have any advice for upcoming songwriters and creators who are looking to break further into the creative scene?
Yes. My advice to other upcoming songwriters and creators looking to break further into the creative scene would be to respect and focus the marketing and business side of music just as much (if not more) than the creative side of it. I work with a lot of artists who put 100% of their work into creating their art and not enough time is spent learning how to be a business person in order to be able to properly market and get their art in front of the world. Creating art is great, but if you don’t have the skills or abilities to be able to get your art in front of the right people, then you are only ever going to make music for yourself, not the masses. Some artists are content and happy with this, but most of us want some level of success I believe.
If the music community could do one thing better what would it be?
I think that the music community needs to become more educated and united when it comes to protecting all of our rights. These rights include copyright laws and equality between males and females within the industry. I myself am a feminist and feel that the music industry still has a long way to go in terms of treating women with respect and as equal to males. Part of the reason why I am learning how to become a producer is because there aren’t enough females at the top level in EDM. I don’t think females are properly represented in this genre and I would like to break this mold and show other females that we can make it to the top level because we are just as talented and driven as men. This is something that I strive to work towards daily through my music and skill building.
