Pedro Damian Sandoval Chanel hadn’t planned on becoming a budding artist for a majority of his life.
Despite his original dream of becoming a producer, the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine turned his life around.
Now, he goes by the name Damian CH and plans to release his new EP, SEA, by the end of the year.
“I wanted just to be a producer at first. I just like to be behind the computer and just create beats and create melodies and rhythms, but I had too much freedom and too much time over Covid when I had nothing else to do,” Damian said.
With ample time on his hands, Damian began to discover his passion for creating his own latin music, and by the time he began attending Loyola in 2022, he was officially on the path towards becoming an artist.
“That’s when the stuff started to be really serious for me and I was like, ‘Okay, this is definitely gonna be the stuff that I want to do in my life,’” he said.
According to Damian, Loyola’s program immediately sent him towards success by providing various opportunities, including songwriting and production camps as well as chances to work with professional artists.
With all of these tools presented and the expectation of success high, Damian could feel the stress his major came with, especially when taking his classmates at face value.
“I remember being afraid as shit because the people who were with me when I started the school were really talented, and to this day I still admire them because they’re amazing,” Damian said. “Their production is crazy, and I felt like I didn’t have anything to compete with them.”
In addition to working alongside numerous talented musicians, Damian also felt the pressure of being one of the only musicians focusing on Latin music in his school, most of the students focusing on Hip-Hop, R&B, or soul.
“There was literally no Latin scene or Latin music in here, so it felt rough for me,” he said.
Despite his anxiety in the scene, Damian continued to try developing his music and eventually showed his work to Benji, the first artist to be invited to a Loyola Hip Hop and R&B camp and has been nominated for the grammy four times.
After hearing Damian’s songs, Benji asked to do a feature with him.
“That was crazy for me. Because in the moment, we were in front of 50 people and I was a freshman. Everybody had their eyes on me when I put the aux on, and I was uncomfortable as hell,” Damian said.
The feature went incredibly well, according to Damian, and after his big success alongside Benji, he knew that songwriting was something he wanted to pursue.
“In that moment, I knew I could write songs, and I could definitely take this more seriously,” he said.
Throughout his time at Loyola, Damian has made multiple achievements, including performing at events like the Hispanic Heritage Festival at the University of Holy Cross and at Beanlandia to raise money for a foundation called Puentes.
His most notable achievement, according to him, was performing at Jazz Fest last semester.
Additionally, Damian also made it onto Remezcla’s “21 New Songs to Listen to This Week From Delilah to Kobi Cantillo,” where Rolling Stone writer Juan J. Arroyo recommended his newly released song “OULALA.”
Damian expressed his gratitude regarding all of the opportunities he’s had, but he emphasized that it would not have been possible without the people working alongside him.
This includes his co-managers, Joshua Geske, a Loyola alumn, and Axel Rosa, an artist manager and the founder of South 25 Entertainment, a New Orleans record label “dedicated to empowering and educating indie music artists in both English and Spanish,” according to Rosa.
“I’ll always be blessed by the people that I’m surrounded by. I don’t think anything that I’ve achieved is by myself,” Damian said. “Of course the work I put in is also the reward of nights of being here in the studios and stuff like that, but the people who trust in my vision are the people who are really pushing me harder to go in.”
Geske knew Damian before becoming his manager, and even before the title, he could recognize Damian’s potential as an artist.
“I saw something in him that a lot of people are finally seeing now. It was easy to believe in him and his vision, so I offered to help him out and to simply represent him. The manager title came into play later on,” Geske said.
Geske has been able to witness Damian’s development throughout their partnership, including his big achievements like performing at Jazz fest and booking hour-long performances.
“It’s been an incredible experience. We’ve been able to build this from nothing, and doing it together has been the best part. We keep taking steps forward and there is so much ahead of us,” Geske said. “I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had being on Damian’s team and being a part of his achievements.” Geske explained.
“Damian has no cracks in his foundation. There’s a lot more to build, but we are building on something solid. He has great values, insane drive, and a vision that is so easy to believe in.” Geske raved.
I’ve been a fan since day one and pretty soon that’s going to mean something,” Geske said.
Rosa, on the other hand, met Damian through a referral by two of his colleagues, and while coordinating Latin Music panels for NOLA MUSICON last year, he reached out to Damian, starting their professional relationship.
“Working with Damian has been great. He’s not only learning from me, but I’m also learning from him. I’m a business and sales-oriented person, and when it comes to the studio, the lingo, and production, I sometimes get lost. It’s an exciting and educational partnership that just feels like a natural hobby,” Rosa said.
While working with Damian, Rosa noticed the impact he has made on the New Orleans Hispanic community, especially with the depth of his songs like “OULALA” and “NO HABLO INGLÉS.”
To Rosa, Damian’s music has become so much more than the Latin music usually played at clubs since it now acts as a symbol of the development of original Latin music in the New Orleans region.
“The future of the New Orleans Hispanic community, the Latin music and hip-hop scene, and the overall music industry around the world is about to evolve in a tremendous way,” Rosa said. “Damian leading the charge may seem like a small contribution, but it’s definitely a big commitment.”
Damian and his team have been hard at work releasing singles that will make it into his upcoming EP, which will feature two tracks: track A and track B. According to Damian, track A will be released by early December.
“At this moment, it just needs to be out. Everything is just ready to be out and I cannot wait to do it,” Damian said.
The most recent single from Damian’s EP, Presiòn, was released on Nov. 14, and features Zipporah Israel, a Loyola freshman and developing artist.
“It’s insane. The music video is insane. Presiòn shows the diversity of his upcoming EP,” Geske said. “I geek just thinking about it.
The first time Damian played me the intro, I knew it was gonna be a project on another level. It’s beautiful, fun, and timeless.”
With all of the work Damian has put into becoming the artist he is today, he has learned the value in believing in oneself despite the criticism of others who are different.
“Don’t be afraid of being different. Being different is something that really can be your strength and it can be your core that can be the thing that makes you stand out from everybody else,” Damian said. “You have to have trust in yourself, and that comes with time; that comes with working and being consistent.”
