Curtis Waters

Curtis Waters

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About Curtis Waters

Amid the gruelling pandemic lockdown of 2020, the Canadian-Nepali artist known as Curtis Waters let a little sunshine into the world with “Stunnin’”, a whip-cracking bubblegum-synth jam that went viral soon after he self-released it online. Curtis Waters is the stage name of Abhinav Bastakoti—it’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to Bastakoti’s two favourite artists, Ian Curtis and Frank Ocean. Born in December 1999, he grew up in Germany and Canada and spent his teen years recording music in his bedroom. He was working at a smoothie shop in North Carolina and attending college classes when he dropped “Stunnin’”, and its sudden success allowed him to quit his job and sign a deal with BMG. But he was eager to show other sides of himself on his follow-up, and his full-length debut album, 2020’s Pity Party, takes a note from artists like Tyler, The Creator with its genre-bending electronic beats and raw, introspective lyrics. Though he has a gift for penning bright hooks, Curtis Waters also aims to dig deep and explore personal and political struggles. “It’s just hard not to be open,” he said in an interview with Apple Music. “I think too many people are hiding what they’re going through.” 

HOMETOWN
Nepal
BORN
20 December 1999
GENRE
Alternative

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