EXCLUSIVE: One musician’s take on fake news

GENERALLY speaking, Euro Weekly News tends to interview musicians and other artists who have a direct link with Spain and wherever possible the areas where we publish.

In the case of American musician and lawyer, Alan Chapell, it was the topic of one of his most recent compositions that caught our attention.

With Spin, he sings about the way in which the media, especially cable news in America simply seems to be powerful enough to have people believe whatever Spin they put on the news.

Speaking exclusively to EWN Alan explained “I was in Florida and started watching Fox News and it suddenly dawned on me that this type of station no longer report news but was intent on changing people’s perceptions in an incredible way.

“That’s a lot of power and its frightening as cable news moves so far away from what we were used to viewing.”

The chorus of the song appears influenced by Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles and as

Alan acknowledged this, he said “Maybe without realising it, I have transplanted and updated the concept of change within the music scene to reflect the change in news reporting.”

With the growth of social media of all types and the way in which story headlines are often aimed at luring readers in (known as clickbait) even if the story is different to what it appears, however at EWN we are always trying to improve the way in which our headlines encourage views honestly.

Alan currently fronts a five­piece band in which he sings and plays keyboards and it includes violinist extraordinaire Lorenza Ponce who has played with such rock luminaries as Bon Jovi, Hall & Oates, Sheryl Crow and many more.

Alan Chapell is a unique character, the product of years of travelling the world, honing his craft and moving seamlessly through musical genres, Chapell’s lush sonic pallet falls somewhere between the progressive pop rock of Bryan Ferry and the jangle rock nuance of 10,000 Maniacs.

During the pandemic and lockdown, he was a prolific writer and composer with a catalogue of some 120 songs, many of which are yet to be released.

Earlier in his career, he became disillusioned with music and after returning from a retreat in India, he took time out to qualify as an Attor­ ney specialising in Human Rights and European Union Law but whilst he still practices, he couldn’t keep away from performing.

Indeed, after America started to emerge from lockdown, he was able to perform to small audiences on a solo basis which he says was “A real tonic which is why I have started playing keyboards in the band again instead of simply being the singer at the front.”

The first Chapell album The Redhead’s Allegations, produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads fame was released in 2017 with a further five following, the latest Two Fishes compares the fact that he has two children, one who grew up in the aftermath of 9/11 and the second much younger daughter growing up now in the digital age.

There’s a new double album on the way and Alan hopes that one day he will be able to perform in Spain, especially as his partner is Latina.

To enjoy the music visit https://thisischapell.com/.