Biography

Introduction

Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian musician and artist from Calgary, Alberta.

Career

Infiniheart

Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released Infiniheart (2004) on Canadian independent label Flemish Eye. Infiniheart, a collection of songs selected from recordings made in his bedroom/makeshift studio, was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. In late 2005, the album was re-released with a bonus six-song EP entitled Green Beans.

Skelliconnection

On August 22, 2006, VanGaalen's second album, Skelliconnection, was released in the U.S. on Sub Pop and in Canada on Flemish Eye. The album is composed of new songs as well as tracks previously released on his earlier independent recordings and features exclusive artwork and videos made by VanGaalen.

On January 17, 2007, ChartAttack reported that Skelliconnection was #31 and had been on the chart for 19 weeks.

On July 10, 2007, Skelliconnection was revealed as being on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. The winner was announced at a gala ceremony on September 24, 2007, with the prize going to the band Patrick Watson.

VanGaalen is also an illustrator and animator, and has made his own album artwork and animated music videos to accompany several of his songs, including "Clinically Dead", "Flower Gardens", "Red Hot Drops", and "Molten Light", as well as the Love as Laughter song "Dirty Lives". He has also designed album covers for other artists, including Shout Out Out Out Out's Not Saying/Just Saying. VanGaalen's video for Molten Light was featured on Aux.tv

Soft Airplane

VanGaalen's third studio album, Soft Airplane, was released on September 9, 2008.

Other releases

On August 11, 2009, VanGaalen released a full-length album Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz under the alias Black Mold. The album features an instrumental and electronica-oriented sound compared to his other releases.