Channel Tres Makes House Music About the Black Experience

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Much like mothers sneaking vegetable purée into their children’s mac and cheese, the 28-year-old musician Channel Tres is hiding some serious messages within his infectious house music. With his signature, soothing baritone voice reminiscent of Barry White, he references themes of race and body empowerment over catchy dance beats. “I don’t think people want to be preached to,” he says. “I think we get enough of that in our regular lives, so I just try to have fun.”

It’s difficult to describe Channel’s sound because there isn’t anyone creating music that sounds quite like him (Channel himself describes it as “kind of like gumbo—it’s a bunch of things that don’t go together, but you put it in a big pot and it makes gumbo”). Influences of Barry White, Marvin Gaye, and Moodyman are evident in the way he sings, but the melodies of his tracks are a clear indication of his electronic background. While looking for ways to be able to support himself as a musician in college, Channel discovered dance music and toyed with the idea of becoming an EDM DJ before achieving recognition after layering his deep voice over his tracks. “I’m just showing people that my sound is not just particularly house music,” he says. “There’s an energy to my sound and that’s what makes it Channel Tres.”

His latest EP, Black Moses, indeed includes more of the same smooth beats that initially drew fans to his eponymous début EP, but offers more insight into Channel’s own personality. His experiences are evident in his first single, “Sexy Black Timberlake,” as he speaks to his frustrations with the disparity in the ways he’s treated in his day-to-day life as a successful black man. “Either someone objectifies me or they vilify me. A lot of times I’m walking down the street and then I could see maybe someone try to bang on me, ask me where I’m from, or I see sometimes people hold their purse mad close or something like that or cross the street because they don’t want to walk past me, something like that. Then I’m the same dude but I could be at a show or with people who know who I am, now I got fucking white women coming up to me and kissing me on the cheek and, what the fuck, this is crazy to see,” he laughs. “Then I’ve had situations where it’ll be the same person and they’ll treat me certain ways and then they see me in my job or whatever and now they act a whole nother way.”

Black Moses is as much about Channel’s own perspective as it is about the impact he’s hoping to encourage. The title was inspired by one of his influences, Isaac Hayes, and the nickname, ‘Black Moses,’ Hayes earned for his effortless, confident leadership and the power he exuded. With tracks titled “Raw Power” and “Brilliant N*gga,” in which he sings, “They tried to put shackles on you girl just be yourself,” Channel is looking to follow suit. “Moses led the people to the Promised Land and it was so big for me right now because that’s where I’m at,” he says. “In my family and dealing with the things I’m dealing with, I just feel like I broke past a lot in my life and when you break past something, you help other people break past that too. I was doing a lot of shows and I was traveling the world, things I would never have thought I would do so it just makes sense because I’m an example for a lot of people of how you can make it out. Just where I’m from and my community, a lot of people always tell me they’re proud or it shocks them that I made it out.”

It was because of his community and his childhood that Channel was able to discover his musical focus. Born and raised by his great-grandparents between Lynwood and Compton in Los Angeles, his first exposure to music came from his family’s devotion to church. “They used to force us to go to church damn near every day,” he recalls, “and church was kind of boring but the thing that really stuck out to me was the music. I was around a lot of great musical things growing up just being around my environment and just growing up in LA.” After studying music theory at Oral Roberts University, Channel worked a variety of jobs in the music industry doing “whatever I had to do,” including working as a music director as well as songwriting for artists such as Kehlani and DUCKWRTH, before connecting with the label Godmode and their founders, Talya Elizter and Nick Sylvester, the latter of whom now often produces Channel’s tracks. “They hit me up about my EPs I was dropping on SoundCloud and then we got together and I started doing my vocal stuff with them,” he says. “Once I opened up vocally and then started performing, it just opened up from there.”

His career progressed quickly thanks to his unique sound—in 2018, Channel’s first single ”Controller” soared in plays, earning him such praise as being dubbed one of Elton John’s “favorite new artists” as well as landing on the NME 100 list of essential new artists. “It scared the shit out of me,” he says of his initial success. “Truthfully, I didn’t think it was real, I thought it was a joke. But it lit a fire in me, it made my expectations get higher and I’m just thankful that I can create. All that stuff happened to confirm to me that I do have a place in music and that I have something to say and my vibe is special, it’s good.”

Since “Controller,” Channel continues to experiment with the messages he’s looking to address, saying every song is always different. “The stuff I’ve been sending now, it’s like, be yourself and have high self-esteem, don’t let nobody try to control you, and then challenge the stereotypes,” he elaborates. “I had a huge difficulty with the color of my skin growing up and that’s because of the messages I was getting from TV or people. It wasn’t enough telling me that how I am is good because this is the person I’m going to be for the rest of my life, so a lot of that is in my music. I kind of conquered that. I think that with my struggle, even if you’re not black, you can still relate to it with your own struggle in your life so that’s what’s behind it, that’s my intention.”

As personal as his recorded music is, Channel’s point-of-view is felt strongest in his live show. Accompanied by two backup dancers, every song is punched up by choreographed dance moves that pull the audience further into the music. Inspired by his background in krumping, the movement is highly unique and energetic, allowing him to express his music not just vocally, but through his entire body. “The live show, it’s just an extension of my personality,” he says. “I don’t think the live show should sound exactly like the record. It should be an extension of you, the artist. Every show could be different, based on what’s happening that day or whatever. That’s why I love the concept of performance art because you’re literally just living the art and you’re open.” Watching Channel feels spiritual—taken by the moment, he often eschews his euphonious baritone voice for vibrant yells as he bounds across the stage. “I blackout usually. I practice and once you practice and do it so much flow takes over, the spirit I guess, so a lot of times I just blackout,” he says. “I don’t allow myself to limit myself and just let whatever the art wants to express through me just let it be expressed.”

With a full tour schedule this fall, Channel jokes that the only challenge he will face moving forward is getting sleep, and says he’s just grateful for all the work he sees in his future. “I haven’t made an album yet so I’m excited to make an album and dive into more ways I could create different types of content for people to enjoy and just give people an escape from this crazy world,” he says. “I’m open to whatever the universe has. I love music and still feel like I have a lot to do in music. I’m just getting started and everything in my foundation is music, that’s why I’m here.”

Black Moses is out now. Channel Tres performs tonight and tomorrow at Brooklyn Steel.