Rising Stars: Meet Chris “CA” Anthems

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris “CA” Anthems.

Hi Chris “CA”, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
When I was leaving high school, I knew I wanted to be in some form of art industry. I was thinking maybe Film or Music but nothing more in depth than those ideas. I went to Long Beach City College and took a random Pro Tools and Audio class because I heard about it through the grapevine. I fell in love with the profession of Audio after I found out what it was. I didn’t know it existed but I found my calling after one class. But LBCC were having budget cuts and dropped a lot of nongeneral education classes and I had to find another school to complete my journey. I went to Los Film School in Jan 2013 and obtained my Associates in Recording Arts in May of 2014. I started off in audiobooks for about a year and then I had enough experience to get some internships. I interned at various spots from THC Studios, Record Plant, and Windmark, just to name a few. 2020 was the 1st time I felt I had enough clients to successfully go freelance and be financially fit as well. I gained the bulk of my knowledge in the studio. Schooling was great but “on the job training” was the perfect practice I needed. Since then, I made records with Young Thug, 6lack, Drakeo, and Kalan FrFr. I find myself constantly in the studio with the LA rap seen “All Stars”. From BlueBucksClan all the way to Bino. My work week are never routine boring mundane work weeks. I get paid to make music with stars.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Some of the obstacles I face are mental related. I am extremely serious about mental health. My Mom and I both suffer from bipolar depression. We both have two totally different experiences with it but I understand the importance of the mind meditation and therapy. I went thru many depressive periods in my life but none like the one I faced in 2020. Last year made me really lock in and focus on self. Since then, my life has been crazy to say the least…But Ina a good way. Books like The Secret, Think and Grow Rich, Your Wish is Your Command, and The Way of the Superior Man all helped me and changed my thinking and gave me tons of confidence and determination to keep this marathon going.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an audio engineer, which means I have the responsibility of following a song from its birth all the way to its release and everything in between. It’s a lot of things that go into writing, recording, mixing and mastering a song. Engineers have the responsibility of making that song sound good when it’s released to the public. I specialize in creating. I have the ability to “create” while I am in the studio. When I say create, I mean multiple things. I can create a songs structure by rearranging reference tracks. I can create an intro from the beat stems and various vocal tracks left from previous sessions. I can create the perfect vocal mix with the various reverbs and delays I have in Pro Tools. I’m sure I’m saying a lot of terms many aren’t familiar with but long story short, I specialize in helping an artist create the exact song they heard in the head begin with. I would say I am most known for taking a rough mix and adding emotion, character, and in some cases adding a vivid image to a song. Most artist I mix for trust me to do whatever want sonically. They trust my ear and my opinions. It’s truly an honor. These artists are taking their inner thoughts and most dearest memories and are allowing me to sculpt it into an audible motion picture.

What’s next?
As crazy as it sounds, I don’t have any specific plans for the future. I am having the time of my life taking it day to day. I have been growing in this industry so fast and I finally noticed my growth after I stopped looking at my failed plans. It amazes me because I know I put in so many hours towards perfecting my craft but when I mentally reset myself I started to catch W after W. I am going to continue to meet and work with new artists I have on my daily playlist. I am going to continue to cultivate relationships with my friends, my clients, my industry associates, and anyone else who are in my life currently. I am going to continue my five years plan of going with the flow. It sounds funny but I honestly love the mystery that my life is right now. I work very hard on every record. I don’t shortcut any artists because they aren’t signed. People who work as hard as me see a million dollars while they’re young.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: MixedbyCA.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixedbyca/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MixedByCA

Image Credits:
Photographers Instagram: @Coldhotwings