Chilly Gonzales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chilly Gonzales
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Gonzales at a concert with Socalled at Théâtre National in Montreal, 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jason Charles Beck |
| Also known as | Gonzales |
| Born | 20 March 1972 |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | Gentle Threat |
| Associated acts |
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Jason Charles Beck (born March 20, 1972), known as Chilly Gonzales or just Gonzales, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer. He is currently based in Cologne, Germany. Before that, he lived in Paris and Berlin for many years.
Gonzales is known for playing many different types of music. He has made rap albums and classical piano music, including his famous Solo Piano series. He has also worked with many popular artists like Feist, Drake, and Daft Punk. In 2022, he worked with Plastikman and Tiga to create a piano version of an electronic music album called Consumed in Key.
Chilly Gonzales also shares his knowledge of music through different shows. He has a web series called Pop Music Masterclass and has hosted radio shows like Music's Cool with Chilly Gonzales on Apple Music. He has also written articles for newspapers and magazines. He is the younger brother of film composer Christophe Beck. Gonzales won a Grammy Award for his work on Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories in 2013.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Start in Music
Jason Charles Beck was born in Canada. He started learning piano by himself at age three. This happened when his older brother, Christophe, began taking piano lessons. Jason went to Crescent School in Toronto. He also studied classical piano at McGill University. There, he started writing music and performing as a jazz pianist.
In the 1990s, he began a pop music career. He was the leader of an alternative rock band called Son. The band signed a deal with Warner Music Canada in 1995. Their first album, Thriller, was quite successful. It had a popular song called "Pick up the Phone" and they even opened shows for the Barenaked Ladies. The band's second album, Wolfstein, was more complex. However, the record label felt it was too different and did not have songs suitable for radio. Because of this, the band was dropped by the label.
Moving to Berlin and New Music Style
In 1999, Gonzales found the Canadian music industry challenging. He decided to move to Berlin, even though he didn't speak German. He started using the stage name Chilly Gonzales. He even called himself "The President of the Berlin Underground."
With this new name, Gonzales also changed his music style. His first four albums released in Germany were mostly rap records. However, they also showed off his amazing piano skills with instrumental songs. People in Europe liked his unique and experimental music more. His song "Let's Groove Again" became a dance hit in 1999. Gonzales often performed at nightclubs and music festivals.
Solo Piano and Classical Music
In 2004, Gonzales released an album called Solo Piano. This album only featured instrumental piano music. It was highly praised by both the public and music critics. Many compared his work to the famous composer Erik Satie. Solo Piano helped Gonzales gain new fans around the world and is still his best-selling album.
Nine years later, he released Solo Piano II. This album was also very popular. In 2015, he released Chambers. This album featured piano and chamber music, recorded with the Kaiser Quartett from Hamburg. The third album in the series, Solo Piano III, was released on September 7, 2018.
Working with Other Artists
Gonzales also became a successful producer and songwriter for other musicians. He worked with artists like Peaches, Jane Birkin, and Leslie Feist. His collaboration on Feist's 2003 album, Let It Die, became a huge success. It won many awards and was very popular. Gonzales also helped with Feist's 2007 album, The Reminder, which received several Grammy Award nominations.
Besides his solo work, Gonzales is also part of a hip-hop band from Berlin called Puppetmastaz.
He played keyboards and piano on two songs, "Give Life Back to Music" and "Within," from Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories. This album won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In June 2013, his album Solo Piano II was considered for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.
Gonzales also worked with Jhené Aiko on the song "From Time" from Drake's album Nothing Was the Same. They decided to work together after Gonzales found out that Drake had used his song "The Tourist" in his mixtape So Far Gone.
In 2016, Gonzales hosted a radio show called Music's Cool on Apple Music's Beats 1. In this show, he explained the musical ideas behind songs by different artists.
Soft Power and Ivory Tower
In 2008, Gonzales signed with Mercury Records and released his album Soft Power. This album was a pop record with a sound similar to the Bee Gees and Billy Joel. Gonzales chose to sing on this album.
His album Ivory Tower, produced by Boys Noize, was released in 2010. One of his most famous songs, "Never Stop," came from this album. The piano part from the beginning of "Never Stop" was used in Apple Inc.'s worldwide advertising campaign for the iPad 2.
Grammy Award
In 2014, Chilly Gonzales won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. This award was for his work on Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories.
Guinness World Record
On May 18, 2009, Gonzales set a world record in Paris. He performed as a solo artist for 27 hours, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds. This was the longest solo-artist performance ever recorded at that time. During this amazing performance, he played over 300 songs!
Room 29
On March 17, 2017, Gonzales released an album called Room 29 with Jarvis Cocker. This album tells a story through songs about events happening in a hotel room in Hollywood. They performed the album's first concert in Hamburg, Germany, on the day it was released.
The Gonzervatory
In 2018, Chilly Gonzales started his own music school called "The Gonzervatory." Seven musicians from around the world were chosen to study there. It was an eight-day workshop in Paris where all expenses were paid. Gonzales coached the musicians himself. His friends and collaborators, like Peaches and Jarvis Cocker, also gave special classes. The workshop ended with a big concert at the Trianon Theater.
Discography
- Let's Groove Again – Single, 1999 (under the name "Gonzales")
- O.P. Original Prankster – (EP), 1999 (under the name "Gonzales")
- Gonzales Über Alles – Kitty-Yo, 2000 (under the name "Gonzales")
- The Entertainist – Kitty-Yo, 2000
- Presidential Suite – Kitty-Yo, 2002 (under the name "Gonzales")
- Z – Kitty-Yo, 2003 (under the name "Gonzales")
- Daft Punk – "Too Long" from Daft Club (2003)
- Solo Piano – No Format!, 2004 (under the name "Gonzales")
- Soft Power – Mercury/Universal, 2008 (under the name "Gonzales")
- Le Guinness World Record 'The Works', 2009
- Ivory Tower – Gentle Threat, 2010
- The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales – Gentle Threat, 2011
- Solo Piano II – Gentle Threat, 2012
- Daft Punk – "Give Life Back to Music" and "Within" from Random Access Memories – 2013
- Octave Minds (Chilly Gonzales and Boys Noize) – 2014
- Chambers – Gentle Threat, 2015
- Room 29 (Chilly Gonzales and Jarvis Cocker) – 2017
- Live at Massey Hall – Gentle Threat, 2018
- Other People's Pieces – Gentle Threat, 2018
- Solo Piano III – Gentle Threat, 2018
- A Very Chilly Christmas – 2020
- Consumed in Key (Plastikman & Chilly Gonzales) – 2022
- He Thinks That I'm An Angel (Goldie Boutilier & Chilly Gonzales) from Cowboy Gangster Politician EP - 2022
- Daft Punk - "GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)" from Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) - 2023
- French Kiss - Gentle Threat, 2023
- F*CK WAGNER - Single, 2024
- Gonzo - Gentle Threat, 2024
DVD content
- From Major to Minor – 2006 – No Format!
- The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales Live with Orchestra – May 2012 – Gentle Threat
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ivory Tower | Hershell | Independent film co-written with Céline Sciamma, and co-starring Peaches, Feist and Tiga |
Books
In 2020, Gonzales published a book called Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures. In the book, Gonzales talked about how he enjoyed the music of Enya when he was a child. He explained that sometimes we like music just because we do, not because of what others think or what's popular.
See also
In Spanish: Chilly Gonzales para niños
