Photo Credit: Nathan Chan
For guitarist and composer Nathan Chan, the journey of music has always been a bridge between worlds. From his early days as a classical guitar prodigy in Taiwan to becoming a sought-after voice in the Los Angeles commercial and contemporary scenes, Chan has spent his career dismantling the idea that a musician must choose between the stage and the studio.
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By blending Western, Japanese, and Korean influences with a deep mastery of music theory, Nathan Chan has created a compositional voice that is as technically sophisticated as it is emotionally accessible.
Chan’s musical identity was forged in a culture of intense artistic absorption. Beginning with classical guitar at age ten, he displayed an early discipline that eventually led him to the Taoyuan Arena in 2012, where he performed for over 10,000 people alongside Golden Melody Award winner Huang Yu-Siang. This experience, coupled with a residency at Lihpao Land where he mastered over 500 songs, laid the groundwork for his first original album, Pink Party.
The project caught the attention of senior hosts at Radio Taiwan International (RTI), marking Chan’s first foray into broadcast media, a milestone that validated his burgeoning dual role as both a performer and a producer.
In 2016, Chan’s conceptual vision crystallized with the release of his Rock EP, Twilight. The album served as a masterclass in genre-blending, weaving together elements of Rock, Pop, and Jazz to portray distinct human archetypes.
The industry took notice when tracks like “Jester” and “Welcome to the Hood” were selected for KLOS FM 95.5’s “Stay or Go” segment in Los Angeles. “Jester” notably showcased Chan’s technical prowess, utilizing six different time signatures and intentional dissonance in the guitar solos to mirror the character’s internal tension. For Chan, this success proved that high-level production could be achieved within the intimate confines of a home studio, a philosophy he continues to champion today.
After a period of quiet refinement, 2025 marked a triumphant return to the public eye with several high-profile collaborations.
For the Long Beach Art x Walk, Nathan Chan collaborated with Intertrend Communications and artist Jeff Ma on City Pulse, an immersive audio-visual installation. Drawing inspiration from Long Beach’s industrial roots, Chan utilized PVC pipes as instruments, creating a sonic dialogue between the city’s literal infrastructure and the rhythmic “conversation” of car horns and female choirs.
The piece transformed the urban landscape into a playable instrument, inviting the public to interact with the city’s own “heartbeat.”
That same year, Chan’s ability to capture specific identities through sound was tapped by Toyota USA for their “3 Personalities” commercial campaign. Within a 30-second window, Chan used a palette of funk guitar, Auto-Tune, and synthesizer arpeggios to distinguish three unique drivers—ranging from the technological stability of a Prius owner to the vibrant, energetic spirit of a young EV driver.
This project highlighted his growth as a commercial composer capable of using modern production techniques to tell a brand’s story with precision.
Chan’s most recent project, the Mandarin pop EP The Other Side of the Story (2025/2026), represents his most personal work to date. Handling every stage of production from songwriting to final mastering, he utilized modal interchange—a technique less common in traditional Mandarin pop—to create “shifting emotional landscapes” that defy simple major-minor categorization.
The album’s resonance has been far-reaching, leading to featured interviews and airplay on AM 1300 Los Angeles in late 2025 and M-Radio Taiwan in early 2026.
Reflecting on a decade in the United States, Nathan Chan has moved past the traditional pressure to choose a single path.
Today, he stands at the intersection of concert performance and commercial scoring, a versatile artist who views music not as a set of rules, but as an evolving expression of human emotion. Whether he is tuning a car horn for an art installation or layering intricate guitar solos for a radio hit, Nathan Chan remains focused on the same goal he had as a teenager: finding the clarity of the next note.
