Get to Know CHRISTOS: Brisbane’s Genre-Bending Artist

If you haven’t heard of CHRISTOS yet, that’s about to change. This up and coming artist from Brisbane, Australia is one to watch. We caught up to talk about his music and upcoming plans for 2025.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before? 

“I’d say it’s really like a little bit of everything. I tend to blend a lot of different eras of music, a lot of different genres of music, and I try and blend it into one big mix that I like to call my own style. I guess that really comes from influences of older music, like alternative rock and punk bands, and then mixed with the newer era of rap. I like to say this stuff I’m releasing lately is very much punk, rap, rock, rap, that type of thing. It really depends what day you ask me, because it’s always changing. It’s always developing, evolving, moving with the time.”

You draw from a lot of really personal experiences in your music, is it difficult to take those experiences and like share them, knowing that it’s out there for the whole world to see?

“Yeah, you know, always. It’s always one of those things where it’s like, oh, I’m literally putting a piece of me out into the world, and I don’t know how people are going to react, are they going to judge it, are they going to like it? I think you’ve just got to stay real to yourself and, you know, for me, music’s always been like a form of therapy, it’s an outlet. For me, that is sometimes the only way that I can put those things out there is through music. It’s always helped me in that way. I guess it’s very much like it’s a journal entry type of thing.”

You said before that you wanted to “turn pain into power” through your music. Do you have a specific moment or a specific song that really feels like this for you? 

“I think a song in particular would be ‘medicine (4 u).’ That song is written about some of my lowest moments, and it’s about me kind of switching that around, looking at the more positive side and also, I guess, confiding in a person and finding that person who makes me feel supported and like I can open up about those things. It’s like turning the bad into the good a little bit and yeah, pain into power, like absolutely. I try to do that with a lot of my songs.”

What are some artists or genres that influenced your music, even if they’re a bit out there or surprising? 

“100% number one influence for me would be Nirvana, that was my favorite band as a kid. It was like one of the first bands that I properly remember hearing. I think that’s when the whole rock star thing started for me. I wanted to be a rock star. I saw all these cool videos on MTV, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, a lot of those older rock bands. That was my childhood. That’s the old stuff, and the new stuff influence would be like the SoundCloud rap era. XXXTentacion, Juice World, Little Peep, kind of the emo rap guys who started that whole era.”

You’ve recently signed with Cage Riot. Congratulations! What can we expect from 2025? Is anything coming that you can tell us about? 

“I always like to look at every year as a stepping stone. I want to level up every year. I like to keep things like low key under wraps. But, a few things that I really want to happen this year is putting out a first full length project. So a mixtape or an album, and with that, I’d like to tour. I want to tour around Australia. Really just kind of moving up to that next level now with my music and just showing everybody what I’ve kind of been building these last couple years in particular. I’m always, always creating music, it’s just a matter of how am I going to put it out to the world and what’s the new strategy.”

What’s your dream venue to play?

“Short term, The Fortitude Music Hall. Shooting for the stars? Suncorp Stadium one day. I want to do a stadium show eventually. That’s my goal.”

If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive, who would it be? 

“Going back to the influences again, I would love to collaborate with someone like Kurt Cobain. Another artist would be XXXTentacion, a legend of the newer era. I would love to collaborate with someone like him. I also really like Dominic Fike. He’s a really cool artist and I feel like the music I make and he makes you know would sound really cool together.”

And do you have three Aussie or even Brisbane artists that you think people should get behind? 

“Jazz (Brisbane) – We also have a song together called ‘F.A.M.E’ and it’s one of my favourite collabs. It’s a bar heavy song over some old school boom bap production, my favourite part of the track is when Jazz and I go back and forth on the last verse. absolute top quality guy as well one of my good friends!”

“Imagine The Rapper (Sydney) –  Imagine is another artist I’ve had the pleasure of working with and performing with on a couple occasions. Another one of my favourite collab releases ‘Skeleton’ was made with him. He has the most insane energy, such a real and down to earth person and a lot of our music is hella similar. This guy is a true rockstar and a great friend of mine!”

Banjo (Perth, currently based in Melbourne) – “I met this legend while I was over in Perth last year for a show, it was my first time in the city and he was super welcoming and we became good friends while I was over there. We cooked up a beautiful acoustic track together in Banjo’s home studio and making that song from start to finish with such a talented artist like Banjo was a dope experience! I can’t wait till we get to put that one out into the world.”

For someone who’s just getting into your music, what’s a song or a few songs that they should listen to first?

“People should definitely check ‘Wrote u a letter’ it features one of my favorite artists Paris Shadows. That’s a song you should check out from me if you like a kind of upbeat rock song with a little bit of emo vibes about it. If you like that more slow kind of acoustic but still a little bit upbeat and fast you should check out ‘empty space.’ ‘stranger’ is another one off my latest EP and I’ve had a few people tell me it feels like a movie soundtrack type of thing. You can also check out ‘tear it down’ because I like that song and that’s like a nostalgic pop punk vibe.”

What is the best way people can support you? 

“Follow me on social media, that’s where I pretty much put everything that I’m doing and things coming up. Instagram is a great platform to follow me on. Come to a show if you’re in the area or if I’m in your city come out to a show! Another huge one would be to buy my merch. I’ve got a few merch designs on my website. In terms of money that is the best way you could support me because that goes straight to me. Just really any way you choose to support me whether it’s listening to one of my songs or it’s buying a shirt, or coming to show I appreciate it. Any support for me is good support.”

Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, aron! was introduced to classic rock by his parents but found his true passion through Guitar Hero, which led him to pick up a real guitar at eight. A chance mentorship with a jazz guitarist at Sam Ash sparked a love for jazz, while early gigs playing Nat King Cole and Sinatra at retirement homes honed his performance chops. He studied classical composition at UNC School of the Arts, then earned a full scholarship to the University of Miami, majoring in jazz voice and film scoring. Through it all, he fronted the indie pop band Sunny Side Up!, built a loyal following online, and in 2023, signed with Verve to debut his signature “cozy pop”—a nostalgic blend of jazz, vintage pop, and heartfelt storytelling.