by Giliann Karon (@lethalrejection)
Fold Paper frontman Chell Osuntade toyed with different genres before landing on twitchy, boundless post-punk. Born in Nigeria, raised in Michigan, and now embedded in Winnipeg’s local scene, his music and lyrics push the expectations of the nebulous and ever-expanding genre. The band’s ripping new EP, 4TO, condenses Osuntade’s limitless creativity and hope for a new generation of artists into a tight eighteen minutes.
photo credit: Julio Assis
GILIANN KARON: Can you tell me about your upbringing and how it influences the music that you make?
CHELL OSUNTADE: I grew up on country music, which is so funny because it kind of works against itself. I grew up in Berrien Springs, Michigan, which is a small rural farming town with lots of corn, cows, and country music.
Country gave me the building blocks for writing music. It’s four chords that are structured well. They know how to write a good intro, verse, chorus, and bridge. I retained that knowledge and then learned how to dismember it to create what I write now.
After country, I moved on to a lot of indie rock and some metal. I began thinking about what could bridge these two genres, and then post-punk entered the picture, which to me is punk plus indie.
GK: What about post-punk specifically stuck out to you?
CO: The freedom you have with it. There are so many bands that label themselves as post-punk right now, and they're all so different in their own ways. Some really stick to the groovy side and have great drums, and then there are some that are super melodic. Some can be super somber, but there’s also a lot of post-punk that mash those dichotomies together and others that are everything in between. It's always interesting to see what people call post-punk.
GK: How would you describe your music to someone who's never heard it before?
CO: I need to get better at answering this question. I use the word “groovy” so much I'm starting to hate it. It’s quite groovy, though. It makes you bob your head. I don’t like having straight drums in my songs. I prefer them to be more off-kilter.
GK: Tell me about the Winnipeg music scene.
CO: The Winnipeg music scene is fantastic. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am today. It’s helped to foster me and my idea for a band. It’s helped me figure out who to talk to and where to play shows. For me, it’s a very easy scene to navigate.
Everyone's so helpful. People show up to your shows, people talk to you. That’s how I got where I am now, just meeting people and they connect me with other people in bands and who work at labels.
GK: What did you watch and listen to while writing your EP?
CO: Not that it affected the EP writing in any way, but I watched a lot of anime. I watched a lot of Naruto. I finished all 500 or so episodes. I also watched some Attack on the Titan and World War Z.
I listened to a lot of post-punk, or whatever anyone calls post-punk. I listened to Stuck, who I’m a huge fan of. I actually got to play with them. Wombo, who I’m also a big fan of. Black Midi was a huge influence on this album. And, of course, I can't forget Unschooling.
GK: What song challenged you the most?
CO: In the first song, “End Zone,” the first and last parts are very different from the middle part. I wrote those two parts separately and felt like the first one needed to be longer. It took me a while to stumble upon the concept of smashing them together, but I’m thankful I figured that out.
I started to struggle with the idea that it was too weird to stick one song into a different song. I had to become comfortable with the fact that they’re both really good parts that complement each other in some way, so I'll just let it be and send it off into the world
GK: That’s awesome. In post-punk especially, that discordance is very normal. You can get away with a lot more. What’s next for you as a band?
CO: We have a few shows coming up. We’re playing Breakout West, a showcase festival that takes place in a different city in Canada each year. This year, it’s in Saskatoon and we’re trying to play more shows around that festival.
Other than that, Fold Paper is just going to start writing again and work on some collaborations. We’re trying to prepare for next year, where we’ll hopefully drop a single, drop an album, drop whatever.
GK: What do you want listeners to take away from this album?
CO: Whatever the fuck they want. I don’t want to impose anything on them. Let them feel happy, let them feel sad, as long as it’s beneficial.
4TO is out now on Royal Mountain Records.