Life & Work with Chantal (SABZ) Saberi of Burbank, CA

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantal (SABZ) Saberi

Hi Chantal (SABZ), so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
So my upbringing is pretty typical for an Angelino.
I was born and raised in the valley between Encino and Woodland Hills by my Persian Jewish family. From a young age, music was always a central part of my life.
For example, my grandfather on my mother’s side is from the Iranian province of Isfahan. It was customary for people there to gather under the Kaju Bridge, known as the singing bridge, to sing traditional songs. My grandfather brought this tradition with him, transforming our kitchen table into his personal stage long after our family moved here.
Our home was also filled with the sounds of Persian radio playing 24/7 (shout out to KIRN), so the powerful voices of Persian powerhouses like Hayedeh, Googoosh, Ebi and Doctor Holakouee (if you know you know 😉 ) echoed through our halls constantly.
My family discovered I had perfect pitch when I was around two years old. They noticed me repeating certain motifs from TV on my children’s xylophone with remarkable accuracy.

My parents enrolled me in piano lessons, but given my undiagnosed ADHD, it was challenging for me to stay disciplined. I often neglected structured practice, preferring instead to teach myself how to play the pieces I was passionate about. Growing up, I participated in various after-school programs, including musical theater, private vocal lessons, Join The Band, and many more.

Eventually, I attended CHAMPS Charter High School in Van Nuys, where I was part of the Music Academy. Four years later, I was accepted to Berklee College of Music. During my time at Berklee, I met many of my closest friends and collaborators, with whom I still work today. I spent the first three years honing my identity as a musician, and just as I was ready to start releasing material, the pandemic hit. Despite this setback, I released my debut single “Defective” in 2020, which received an overwhelmingly positive response.

A few years and several single releases later, I decided to overcome my intense performance anxiety and start performing at venues. After my first Breaking Sound performance this year, I began receiving outreach from producers and programs interested in collaborating with me. Last year was particularly challenging due to personal struggles, which left me feeling defeated about my music. However, I’m now back in the studio with a renewed sense of purpose and have a lot of new material that I’m excited to release this year. So definitely stay tuned!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think a lot of folks in the creative world can relate to this since many of us are some form of neurodivergent.
Having ADHD and anxiety disorder makes it feel almost impossible to stay productive. I get distracted easily and sometimes forget what I’m doing at the moment especially if I’m spiraling over something due to my anxiety. There have even been times when both I and a person I’ll collaborate with will have ADHD, and spend more than half of our sessions going off on tangents about anything and everything, which can be both funny and frustrating.

Beside that, I have clinical depression, which doesn’t help when it comes to burnout, dealing with stress, or even feeling comparative to others who are doing much better than me. When I’m having a tough time, my motivation can vanish, and even simple tasks like getting out of bed feel impossible. During those times, I try to be gentle with myself and I have a really good support system around me to keep me accountable when I can’t.

I always try to remind myself that these tough feelings are temporary. Having good people around me and being kind to myself helps me push through and keep creating.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been a professional vocalist for over 14 years and started releasing music under my current artist project in 2020. Before that, I collaborated with various artists in the EDM scene, including the up-and-coming dubstep artist Chassi. My musical influences are heavily drawn from Y2K and late 2000s artists such as Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, P!nk, and Timbaland, among others. You may notice hints of my Middle Eastern influences in my music, I mean almost all my songs are in harmonic minor haha. After years of avoiding performing because of my crippling stage fright, I’ve recently started doing shows around LA and have one coming up on June 13th at Bar Lubitsch!

Aside from being a musician, I also work as a freelance content strategist for artists and brands. I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredibly talented people like AIIDA and the LA-based Middle Eastern collective, The MJLS. If you need help getting your content together, feel free to shoot me a message!

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’ve recently started learning how to DJ! All my friends have been pushing me to do it since I’ll play songs in the car and sing completely different songs over the beat sometimes. So hopefully once i really pick it up I can do some lil gigs on the side!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c_sabzz?igsh=MmVlMjlkMTBhMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@c_sabz?_t=8mYGatqllV5&_r=1

Image Credits
Assad Shaloub @tracksuitshooter
Alissa Wyle @holysmokephotography
Jocelyn Campbell @campbell.pdf