On Monday, June 5, 2023, I got to sit down with Chris Minielly, the musician behind indie pop band Jaguar Sun, for an interview on my show “Wrinkled Page Radio” aired by WXCI 91.7. After seeing the band perform live at the State House in April, I was immediately captivated by their sound and the vibe that they provided on stage.

The band originates from Ontario, Canada, and began as the solo project of Chris Minielly. The project has gone on to pick up traction, spanning two albums, a new live Audiotree session, two EPs, and over fifteen singles.

Jaguar’s Sun has a distinct sound of experimental indie pop with a focus on the instrumentals that conveys a feeling of reminiscence and tenderness. The music proves easy to lose yourself in and allows any listener to immerse themselves in the dreamy atmosphere that Minielly creates through his production.

Right from the start of the interview, I could tell that Chris was someone who’s dedicated to his craft while simultaneously being down to earth and easy to discuss his passion for music with.

When asked about how the name Jaguar Sun came to be, he revealed that it was “two totally random words thrown together.” Although Jaguar did come first after looking through magazines and other resources to find the right fit of words. 

I first asked who Jaguar Sun is, the artist described the journey of starting the project around 2017–2018 after graduating college. “I kind of just did it as sort of a passion project while I was working full time as a graphic designer, and I guess lo and behold, it took off enough that I could just continue taking it more and more seriously. The ball kept rolling to the point where I left my full time work, went down to part-time work, and just kept pushing the project.” It’s clear that the progression was very self-made for the project. 

When asked if there was more creative freedom once he graduated from school, he explained that his creative freedom felt like it had always been there. “In school for graphic design, a lot of the work is your creative vision, but it’s surrounded by very specific parameters. A client needs this work done, so the work that you create has to like fit the client’s needs. Whereas with music, it was just my one place where I had full creative control over everything, I could make whatever music I wanted. I could sound however I wanted.” 

Minielly went on to explain that the music is also made right in his bedroom. When asked about what inspired this passion project, he talked about how the interest stemmed from being a music fan in general for his whole life and having grown up playing piano, guitar, and bass. The artist’s interest began by playing each instrument separately before even beginning to focus on producing and what that could look like.

It’s clear Chris feels as though he has the same amount of creative control now, but he definitely sits on songs longer than he did in the beginning. However, “more care is put into it as the project continues to grow and more people are listening to it.” The amount of time that Minielly takes to produce the songs can take anywhere from months to even a year before he feels ready to release them to the public.

Vocals, lyrics, and mixing are what come last and take the longest to be happy with for Jaguar Sun. The instrumentals remain the focus for the beginning phases of the production process. In regard to the mixing, Chris explained, “After a song is fully recorded and I’m in the mixing phase, I usually like to take my time with it and really make sure that I’m doing the song justice after it’s all been recorded and I’m fine-tuning everything.”

“I used to hate mixing because I was so scared that I would end up ruining my song.” But he’s definitely gotten more comfortable and said that All We’ve Ever Known as a whole was the most smooth process so far in terms of producing, and it has only gotten better over time.

Youth Lagoon is a huge inspiration for Jaguar Sun; the artist is known for having a minimal sound and being very self-produced. Minielly, when asked about collaborative work, said that this band would be his dream collaboration if that ever became a possibility. Upon listening to Youth Lagoon, you’ll understand exactly why this makes sense, with the band also having light vocals with a focus on the instrumentals.

Other artists mentioned were Panda Bear and Real Estate, among others with a similar indie sound. Especially when in creative ruts, listening to music was attributed to helping get out of those ruts and create more music.

In terms of being in a rut, which happens to the best of every creative, don’t force things; accept where you’re at and understand that it’s a period of time that will definitely pass. He advised listening to music, consuming more content, and going outside.

When asked about what advice he would give to other people wanting to get into music but not being really sure where to start, Minielly had this to say: “Just keep experimenting and keep finishing songs and releasing things or wrapping them up and putting them out there. I think that helped the time just to be able to learn how to continue to try a bunch of new stuff, learn how to like finish it and put it out in the world to not dwell on it, and then just continue to grow up the next thing.” He also mentioned not being worried if what you’re creating isn’t the next big thing for you because it can lead you into something that you would never expect.

Solo artists with self-produced music are really what sparked his confidence to begin his own project. “There’s no reason I can’t get recording gear and start putting these instruments that I’ve been learning together.” He revealed that it was a lot of trial and error playing around with beats, even to the point of releasing the beats on the exact same day that they were created on SoundCloud.

It took over a year for the singer to get comfortable putting vocals on the tracks for Jaguar Sun. The musician said that singing in the car and just getting comfortable with his voice were really what helped him overcome that barrier and create the music that you can hear today. 

Since starting the project, though, the artist has branched out into collaboration, including songs that were made with Husbands. He mentioned that the band was one that he enjoyed in college before he even created Jaguar Sun. 

It is clear that having the band around on stage also helps the artist come out of his shell; he mentioned that having friends around him during live shows is helpful.

Throughout the interview, it was apparent that he has been incredibly grateful for the opportunities that the band has provided him and that it grew from a very self made idea. 

His collaboration didn’t stop there; however, despite liking to work alone on a lot of the production elements, Minielly would slowly go on to try to form a band to perform with. Despite Jaguar Sun’s first album being released in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when asked about how that affected the release, the artist had positive things to say. 

He found that the release was able to support people during the difficult time with new music to listen to and relate to. The success of the album is a testament to the impact that it was able to have on the audience, with Jaguar Sun now having over 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

 However, that isn’t to say that there weren’t downsides to the release when it came to the effects that the pandemic had. The interaction that Chris was able to have within the live space because of the limitations of performing was felt during the process.

The artist was only able to get two practice sessions with a band before they had to completely stop and change directions because of quarantining. The positive is that a friend invited him on to a live music stream to perform, and it was through that friend that he met the current band he performs with today. 

The bond was built slowly over time as each person joined individually at different times, starting with the guitarist, Jesse. The pair performed as a duo for a little bit before anybody else came on board with the project.

The band would go onto consist of lead Chris Minielly, guitarist Jesse Maranger, bassist and trumpeter Laura Sones, synthesizer player James Reesor, drummer Dave Klassen, and percussionist Amit Mehta according to Audiotree.

When asked if he has a different relationship with any of the songs due to now performing live with a band, Minielly said, “I love both equally.” He explained that he loves both in different ways and sees them as separate entities that can be enjoyed for their own reasons. “If someone goes back home and listens to recordings after the show, they get something different out of it.”

When talking about the dynamics on stage and what it’s like to perform to different crowds, the artist also explains how difficult it is to maintain a balance between the bigger and smaller shows and the different energy they can carry. Although he did mention that he and the band are getting better at navigating that space, he also discussed the importance of making sure that no matter how small the crowd, there are always going to be big fans at every show, and they deserve the same level of energy as bigger venues.

When asked about the experience of touring in America, he talked about how he really enjoyed his time on the West Coast, the first time that he ever toured in America with Feng Suave. Specifically, San Francisco and Joshua Tree, with the added experience of the desert for the first time, are notable memories.

Bigger shows in Chicago stuck out to the artist as well, as did smaller shows in Ohio. He mentioned how the travel is a lot easier because the United States feels more condensed between states and cities compared to that of Canada, although the artist mentioned that it’s rare for them to play home shows, and he loves being able to play for friends and family. 

The connection that he has with the band in terms of musicality and the energy that they carry on stage is palpable. “It feels like a live experience is different from a recorded experience in the best way.” Chris talked about how it inspires him to see these musicians take on his music in a whole new light, and when he’s writing and producing now, he thinks about what parts could be put in for them as he creates new music.

That’s right, Jaguar Sun is getting more music coming at some point, with the first being a single called “Boris” dropping Friday. Minielly also mentioned that a new EP is in the works but didn’t mention any specifics about the time that this will be released, but one thing is for sure: fans can get excited. 

When talking about whether the music will have a new style, he mentioned that it will be different “to a degree.” But it will be in the same vein as it has always been and have a dream pop feel. The band has also grown melodically in making this new EP.

“I’ve never had that moment of, is this song too different or too obscure?” The artist explained when asked about the balance between what fans are looking for and his creative process. It seems as though both are on the same wavelength at the moment, and he’s never had an issue balancing the two.  

Jaguar Sun also has a lot of gratitude for fans and talked about how they have traveled long distances in the past, even going all the way from Los Angeles, California, to Canada, just to see a show. Minielly described it as a very special thing. 

When talking about touring and keeping energy up during that time, he mentioned that it can get very tiring both physically and emotionally and that he’s still learning how to do it in the most healthy way possible for himself, but he’s only had a two-week run at the longest thus far.

In the end, Chris still described the experience as very rewarding, worth the time, and something that comes with the process. The positives of the experience also clearly appear to outweigh the negatives when it comes to the toll that it can have on him.

Jaguar Sun has an upcoming tour in August with Paul Cherry and The Mattson 2. When asked why you should see them come perform on tour, Minielly said, “We’ve crafted a fun and unique show that I think people would really enjoy watching like I’m really proud of the band and everything that they have done and added to music, and I think it’s worth coming out to some of these shows.”

He followed up by saying, “If you like the music, you’ll get something new from it too, seeing the live band perform in a way that you might not expect.” I know that personally, it was true for me when listening to the music live for the first time, and I highly recommend going to see them.

You can find the music on all streaming platforms, and the artist revealed that he is only really active on Instagram in terms of social media, you can check him out there and everything that he has going on moving forward.

To hear more details that were touched upon in the interview and even more questions, you can check out the full audio of the interview on WXCI 91.7 on Monday at 12 PM EST or at this link.