|
A French Mauritian singer songwriter, multi instrumentalist and filmmaker based in Paris. Drawing from indie pop, folk and progressive influences, his music combines intimate songwriting with acoustic and electric guitars, piano, bass and live looping, carried by a distinctive and expressive voice. Raised between French, Mauritian and Tunisian cultures, Ched’s work often explores identity, belonging, memory and the search for home. These themes are at the heart of his latest project, Towards Ether, whose music video was filmed in Mauritius and blends fiction with documentary footage of his own family. After performing to an audience of 5,000 at Svarg Festival and regularly playing across Paris, Ched founded his independent label Light Chaser Production in 2025 and continues to develop his music and filmmaking in parallel. |
—
3 words to describe you:
Poet searching within
Describe your sound:
I sound as if Ed Sheeran joined Pink Floyd: strong indie pop melodies carried by progressive influences, interesting song structures & sweet instrumental breaks.
Tell us about you early music memories and when you knew you wanted to pursue music:
I started playing the piano when I was three. And later on in life, I did everything I could not to be a musician, because I thought you couldn't make a living from it. But the more I ran away, the least I could escape it. So I took the hint, embraced my musical journey and haven't looked back since.
How does your heritage impact your art?
Growing up between French, Mauritian and Tunisian cultures has had a major impact on the way I write. I have often felt connected to several places without fully belonging to just one, so themes of identity, memory, roots and the search for home naturally appear in my music. My latest music video, Towards Ether, explores this directly. I returned to Mauritius, one of my ancestral homelands, and used my own family, a real Barkhi ceremony and the landscapes of the island to tell a story about reconnecting with an inherited culture that can sometimes feel distant.
What moment are you most proud of in your music journey so far?
Performing at Svarg Festival, which had an attendance of 5.000+ people, in 2024 is probably the moment I am most proud of so far. I perform alone using my guitars, vocals and live looping, so being able to build that whole musical world by myself on stage and connect with such a large audience was a very special experience. More broadly, I am proud that I have continued developing my music independently while gradually expanding into filmmaking and creating projects that feel increasingly personal to me.
Your next music goal:
My immediate goal is to release the music video for Towards Ether on 17 September and help it reach an international audience, particularly people who connect with its themes of diaspora, identity and cultural inheritance. Beyond that, I want to keep developing a body of work where music and filmmaking exist together, while growing my live audience outside France and connecting with listeners across Mauritius, South Asia and the wider diaspora.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who and why?
I think I'd get a lot from collaborating with Milky Chance, I love their ease for strong melodies as well as the idiosyncratic production choices that carry their songs.
A song that has shaped you:
I'm a sucker for a sad sad song, so I would say 'I don't wanna move' by Oracle Sisters. WIth very limited tools (basically just a piano, guitar and 2 harmonizing voices) they take you to a completely different world for a few minutes. Since I complicate everything in my songwriting, I feel like I still have a lot to learn in that department.
3 songs you're listening to right now:
Honeybee - Olivia Rodrigo
Sue me - Audrey Hobert
I had a dream she took my hand - James Blake
Your community shout out:
I'm a huge fan of Sungha Jung (@theofficialsunghajung)'s fingerstyle playing, especially in his songs Rise and Bicycle. He helped me take my playing to a whole different level. Many thanks Sungha!
Anything else you'd like to share:
Well, I'm all about the Towards Ether music video release these days. It is my most personal visual project so far, and since I trained in movie making, it feels good to go back to my roots, figurately and literally. I really hope people who grew up elsewhere than where their culture is from will get something out of it. As for the fun fact, I speak mauritian créole, although not that well since I'm out of practice. I'm looking to get better soon!
