June 26, 2026 |
Hit play on New York-based trio Chanpan’s latest EP Autogratis and you’ll be schooled on what it’s like to have range. The release, which came out yesterday, feels akin to 7-track demonstration of their musical talent, as well as being stuffed with catchy, repeatable tracks. Kicking off with Jesus In China (Overflow), a song spiced with an early aughts, pop-punk sensibility, the work moves through the stripped back indie stylings of Romantic and the euphoric escapism, balanced by a drum and bass backbone, of Driving Away, before arriving at the high frequency, broken beat finale Buzzin. The tracks slotted in between – Confessions Part III, I Got A Gun and Los Angeles – are equally strong, each occupying its own space, yet seamlessly sliding together to create a cohesive body of work.
Starting their journey as buskers on the streets of the Big Apple, Grace Dumdaw and brothers Lance and Matthew Tran have been honing their craft year on year. After dropping their debut EP Air Ride + Heart Attack in 2024, they went on to tour with Japanese singer-songwriter Haru Nemuri in 2024, before releasing their sophomore offering Endlessly in 2025. Now, in the lead up to the release of Autogratis, the trio have made their Colors debut with Buzzin, performed at the Governors Ball and are gearing up for their North American headline tour, which kicks off in September. Here, we chat with Chanpan about the inspiration behind Autogratis, what’s on their rider and their dream collaborators.
1. Describe Chanpan’s sound in three words.
LT: Deny, Defend, Defrost.
GD: Attention Deficit Disorder.
MT: Derivative alt slop.
2. Where will you likely be found pre-performance in London?
LT: Sitting with my eyes closed, meditating.
GD: In bed!
MT: Eating fruit and our recent discovery: pâté on crackers from Sainsbury’s. (I know it’s kind of nasty, but we love it.)
3. Your second EP, Autogratis, came out yesterday. Tell us about a fond memory from working on it.
LT: Putting my voice so prominently on a demo for the first time ever, then being asked to perform that demo on Colors (Buzzin).
GD: We wrote Jesus in China (Overflow) and Confessions Part III during a trip to LA last year, which always feels a bit like a calm vacation. That was also the trip where we discovered our favorite Thai spot, Amphai.
MT: Hitting the bell on Jesus in China (Overflow) for the “ding dings.”
4. What inspired Autogratis?
LT: The feeling of musical freedom and exploration birthed our favorite songs on this record.
GD: Honestly… my dating life.
MT: Musically speaking, so much. Electronic music, Britpop, dance grooves – a lot of the things we grew up with in the early 2000s that we discovered on YouTube or through an older sibling. We pulled heavily from the musical vocabulary Lance and I used to rock out to as kids in our basement, playing a cheap drum set and practice amp.
5. Who is your dream collaboration?
LT: Pink Pantheress, Justice, Damon Albarn.
GD: Pink Pantheress, Bruno Mars, Damon Albarn, Lady Gaga.
MT: I’d love to work with Danger Mouse, Pharrell, Nile Rodgers, Justice, and Damon Albarn. I also want to help Sufjan Stevens finish the rest of his state-themed albums.
6. What’s your ideal location to shoot a music video?
LT: A European castle.
GD: A swamp in Louisiana.
MT: I’d love to travel throughout Asia or Brazil, or shoot somewhere in the mountains.
7. If you had to save one track off Autogratis from a burning building, what would it be?
LT: Buzzin.
GD: I Got a Gun.
MT: Romantic. Not because it’s my favorite, but because there are no drums on it. I feel like it would need a little extra support to be strong on its own.
8. What’s your ideal Saturday night?
LT: I buy great ingredients, cook a beautiful meal from scratch, and then sit back and enjoy it in my apartment with nobody bothering me.
GD: Date night with my lil’ thang: 75°F, good food, music, a film, and getting home at a reasonable time.
MT: It’s a summer night where you can walk outside in a T-shirt after sundown and it still feels beautiful. I’m riding a Citi Bike around with my friends, with no destination in mind, feeling the air on my skin, and we stop for ice cream.
9. What’s on your rider?
LT: Pocari Sweat! And I bring chia seeds.
GD: Coconut water, fruits and vegetables, and I’d like to add a new addition: sativa-dominant joints!
MT: Things high in fiber and nutrients.
10. What’s next for Chanpan? What can fans look forward to?
LT: You can look forward to seeing a lot more of my beautiful face.
GD: More music, more touring!
MT: So much. We’re always excited because, while we’re still promoting the current releases, we’re already thinking about what comes next – which includes some of the best music we’ve ever written and recorded, even though no one has a clue about it yet. We’re making Music 2.0.
Top image courtesy of Colors.
Photography by Bishop Elegino
