Chelsea Crawford's debut CD, The Masquerade, (2006) showcases an exciting and talented young singer-songwriter and pianist. From humble beginnings and an instinctual love of music, Chelsea shows great potential in a soothing fusion of Jazz, Soul and Pop. She composes, writes, and performs all of her own music. Her compositions are both nostalgic and contemporary. Her music is mature, appeals to a diverse audience, and covers a wide range of styles and influences. Crawford's powerful, soothing, catchy and often sultry voice has been compared to, Eva Cassidy, Tori Amos and Norah Jones. Chelsea's inspiration for her CD came from many different influences. "I felt like it was the place that made the most sense for me to move to musically. I needed a new challenge and I also had/have a desire to share music with others." Inspired early in her youth by Joni Mitchell, Chopin and early Motown R&B, Chelsea has a growing appreciation for other sounds, including jazz and blues stimulated by classics like Billie Holiday and Etta James and inspired by new contemporaries such as Hawksley Workman, Bjork, Martin Sexton and Regina Spektor. "I have always wanted to do this (be a musician). I felt ready to record probably two years before we actually did it. One of the hardest challenges was choosing which songs to put on the CD. We had to sort through a list of about 30 songs that were ready for the studio." The Masquerade was mainly a grass roots effort, produced and recorded "after hours" at Granthom Records, a home grown studio in Jeff Lukin's attic, and later his basement. "Jeff made it possible to record the CD that I wanted at a time when I would normally only be able to do a simple Ep. (Thanks Jeff!!)"

"Some debuts sound exactly like debuts, while others are fully realized compositions that skillfully introduce an artist. The Masquerade, the first offering from singer/pianist Chelsea Crawford, is of the latter variety, which is a credit to Crawford."

- Uptown Magazine

The CD offers an eclectic range of sounds from jazzy tracks like the Masquerade and sultry Casual Me to earthy blues tunes on Oochy Koochy Man and Listen complemented by more contemporary pop songs Take Me Home and Wonderland and the emotional introspective Soft White Pillows. Chelsea's hauntingly beautiful voice may be best heard in the moving ballad The Real Woman, written for a close friend. All song on the CD are original scores and lyrics. In response to hearing the CD a Winnipeg music writer commented,

 "Chelsea's music is lush and rich. She's taken all that's good about older jazz standards and somehow updated it for a new listening audience. I kept thinking this sounds 'new' to me."

 – Nigel Moore

And now…

Presently Chelsea focuses most of her time on her music. She does find that balancing that with her day job to pay the "man" a bit tense at times, but she says that it is all worth it, "…anything to be able to be doing what I love". She can be seen live with her band, The Styles, at venues on the Sunshine Coast of BC and soon in the Vancouver area. Chelsea is in the studio again and has just begun working on her next CD with the talented producer/recording engineer/musician, Andy Amanovich at Oceanview Studios. Andy has become a close friend and mentor to Chelsea and has guided her in finding a more personal and definitive sound. With Andy's help she has discovered an appreciation of bebop and soul influences in her writing and vocal style. This CD will be a much more professional production and will aid in introducing this deeply talented musician to a broader music community. Look for new tracks and show dates here, on ilike.com, myspace.com/seachelmusic and at her facebook group Chelsea Crawford Music.