Rapper/producer Quelle Chris is an underground fixture who never does things the way that he’s supposed to do things, and that extends to the release of his new EP. Quelle Chris’ last album was the 2023 Cavalier collab Black Cottonwood. His new EP Happy Place is a YouTube exclusive. Rather than selling it or putting it up on the usual streaming services, Quelle Chris is throwing the whole thing up on YouTube and asking for donations.
Presumably, the Happy Place EP has too many obvious samples to get a proper release. But even if the business made sense, Happy Place makes sense as an internet exclusive rather than a proper label release. It’s a heavy, murky, internal record. The production, mostly from Quelle Chris himself, is hazy and meditative. The vocals are lo-fi mutters. The lyrics are full of anxiety and self-doubt. On Instagram, Quelle Chris calls it “a sincere search for a slice of sanity in somber times.” Listen below.
