Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Madhouse (Niko Chan) was raised by his single mother who was a music teacher and, as expected, this would play a big part in his musical growth with the artist in tenth grade having a deep understanding of music that was way beyond his peer group. Since 2019 he’s been coming out with expertly mixed tracks that fuse thumping hip hop beats, classic pop hooks and emotional R&B sensibilities to create his innovative and addictive sound.
He recently unveiled his debut project titled Dawn On Me where he has had a hand in every aspect of the production and writing which helps him maintain his signature raw and authentic sound. Speaking about the project Madhouse had this to say, “Dawn represents the quiet after the storm, the numb stillness after the chaos. Dawn On Me is about realization, about acceptance, about love and loss. I had to learn how to love myself again after shit hit the fan. I decided to improve every aspect of my life because things just weren’t working out. So of course I wrote songs about that. While I learnt that timing and patience is everything, so is the hard work that you invest into yourself.”
“This project is the materialization of all of this: learning to be uncomfortable after being comfortable for so long, overcoming and fighting the ego, walking away and letting go of old ways, toxic people and toxic habits. I had to learn that it’s ok to lose sometimes, and there’s always more to learn. In those losses were lessons and I implemented those in all areas of my life, including the music. This is the first project I’ve released in three years, and it’s been a long road. But I’m happy to be where I am now, and can’t wait for the world to hear what three years of wins, losses and lessons sounds like.”
This is a coming of age EP, it’s about the lessons we learn along the way and how, as he said himself, we need to be uncomfortable to grow within ourselves. Nervous is a brooding alternative R&B track that has this air of the Weeknd about it that allows his lusciously toned vocals to shine, as it does in other tracks like Darkside and Personal. Then we’ve got latin flavoured tracks like Whatever U Need and Something Sweet, showing off the many layers to his soundscape as well as the more somber number No Complications.
Overall this is only the beginning of Madhouse and I have no doubt that this won’t be the last time we see his name on this site before he blows up onto the scene.