Chanda & The Passengers began in 2016 when Zander Masser (guitar) published an online ad seeking funk/soul musicians for a new band. The process worked flawlessly: a few weeks later, the seven members of Chanda & The Passengers began meeting on a weekly basis to write and to develop their sound.
Chanda Holmes (vocals), who is from Montréal, pushed the band in a soul and R&B direction. She is the one who takes over the stage at every show and conquers the audience. Pierre Emond (saxophone) studied jazz at McGill before going to live and play in Europe for 15 years. Carlos Casique (piano) immigrated to Canada from Venezuela to become a musician; he handles the jazz harmonies and Latino rhythms in the pieces. Zander Masser (guitar), from New York, played in numerous groups in the United States and now seeks to bring groove to life in Canada. Laurent Massie (bass) has spent his life in Québec in funk, prog and pop groups; he anchors and pushes the band’s pieces. Gonzalo Camelo (trumpet) comes from Colombia and brings the classic salsa sound that he developed over the course of a long international musical career. Finally, Romain Peynichou (drums), from Paris, mixes his passion for funk and for jazz drumming in the pieces of Chanda & The Passengers.
After two years’ existence and more than 30 shows, the group was pushed into recording Medicinal Love, released on February 14, 2019. Since then, Chanda & The Passengers continues to explore composition and will be returning to the studio to record a new EP in the fall of 2019. Before that, shows are where Chanda & The Passengers assume their full meaning. This is where the group’s members show their individualities, the group cohesion they have developed and, above all, their deep love for funk music.