A Chat with Corban Chapple (15.04.26)
Corban Chapple is an Australian-born, New York-based artist whose debut EP, Maybe We’ll Make It, showcases a strikingly self-realised creative vision. A producer-turned-performer, he crafts emotionally precise neo-soul and alternative R&B that explores intimacy, masculinity, and vulnerability with measured restraint. With meticulous control and conceptual ambition, Chapple emerges as a compelling new voice who already knows exactly how he wants to be heard. We chat with Corban Chapple below.
OSR: Maybe We’ll Make It is a deeply personal debut. What inspired you to tell this story at this moment in your life?
Chapple: To be honest, it started more as an exercise to practice songwriting, but became a tool for reflection and dealing with what I was going through at the time; the result was half personal, half fiction. I think the reason why lyrically I wanted to be conversational and raw is the same reason I put my face on the cover art — to debut not just the artist but the person.
OSR: How did your move from Australia to New York City shape the emotional and sonic direction of the EP?
Chapple: Well, moving meant leaving behind a lot of my gear in my studio at home, so in a very real way, it affected the tools I used to make it; a lot of those limitations affected the sound of the record. But also, moving to the literal other side of the planet will shake things up for anyone, and the constant novelty and bouts of homesickness definitely worked its way into the writing I was doing. I’m feeling much better now.
OSR: You handled nearly every aspect of the project yourself. What did you gain creatively from such a hands-on approach?
Chapple: Really, it comes down to control. You have so much control when you feel empowered to take on different roles yourself. What was new with this project is that I took on the mixing and mastering myself for the first time, at least for my own music, and I found that opened a new dimension for intentionality. I became really passionate and diligent about making the production and ‘sound’ of the music really play with the lyrical meaning, both constructively and destructively, so that everything was working to the benefit of the song.
OSR: The EP is structured as a prologue, three acts, and an epilogue. When did you realise the project needed a narrative arc?
Chapple: It just came together organically, I think, as a product of it all being written around the same time, turning over the same life events in my head. I think I had initially written the first four songs in no particular order, and then the story sort of emerged for me after the fact; that was what really guided the theme of the last song, which became the title track and thematic backbone of the record. It was just very compelling to me; the larger story was what I needed to see all of the songs as part of a larger work.
OSR: Your work spans alternative R&B, soul, hip hop, pop, and jazz. How do you balance genre influences while maintaining a cohesive sound?
Chapple: Honestly, I don’t think about that at all, and I’m almost certain that most people don’t, at least for artistic endeavours where there isn’t a brief like there would be for an ad or something. The reason why it appears I reach into different genres is because I grew up listening to Jazz legends like Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock; I grew up listening to the Neptunes, A Tribe Called Quest, Madlib, Dilla; I’m deeply influenced by D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Wonder. I take the things I like, that electrify me, and the output is something that seems new, but is really all homage. In terms of cohesion, I think that comes from writing about similar themes, using the same tools, and having the same collaborators for a project, which, for me, all happened as a product of being written within the same few months. Like I said, I don’t think about it at all.
OSR: Having spent years producing for other artists, what was the biggest challenge in stepping into the spotlight as a solo performer?
Chapple: It’s been in seeing and thinking of myself as an artist, as the main event. I think I had too much stock in being a technician and facilitator; too much of my identity was in that, and it makes it hard to put myself out there.
OSR: Which track on the EP felt the most vulnerable for you to write and record, and why?
Chapple: I think in reality, it was ‘Porcelain’. That song roughly outlines the beginning of the breakup that inspired a lot of the EP. It’s the closest to me actually being vulnerable. But in terms of the writing and recording, I think ‘Greener’ felt like a bigger deal for me; I slaved over the lyric for that song, making every chord match each word, and the backing vocal arrangement. I really poured my heart into that one, even if it’s not strictly true. That song still makes me feel things.
OSR: How did your studies at Berklee NYC influence your songwriting and production process?
Chapple: It definitely provided a structure, the assignments helped me get it together, and in the end, I met all the collaborators on the EP through them.
OSR: Collaboration plays a key role on the project. What did your featured contributors bring to the record?
Chapple: I typically make records by myself (the control freak that I am), so this marked a beginning to let that perfectionist tendency go a little and actually make art with others, which might actually be the point of it all. I think I used collaboration to help me pick up the slack where I felt weakest, mainly with songwriting. But a huge part of the sound of this record came from Andrew Riezebeek, who recorded guitars on most of the EP; he was amazing for all that very detailed ‘part’ work that’s typical of neo-soul style guitars, and was incredible at taking direction from me, but most of the tone and timbre choices were his own. I think he smashed it. Likewise with Igor, who featured on ‘Porcelain’, I had a concept and knew the direction I wanted to take it, and we just iterated together until it was done; he actually came up with one of my favourite lines of the song, “the truth is like porcelain, you shouldn’t try to bend it.”
OSR: As your debut EP, what do you hope listeners take away from Maybe We’ll Make It?
Chapple: What I hope is for listeners to get a sort of tragic consolation. I think that’s all I have to offer. I hope that the symbols that I have used conjure up images for them that are meaningful and real and cathartic and soothing, and ultimately lead to them feeling a little more seen and on their path. I don’t know, what does any artist hope for? What’s the point of all this?
Many thanks to Corban Chapple for speaking with us. Find out more about Corban Chapple on his official website, Instagram, TikTok, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
