Thank you for the interview Chloe, can you tell us about your musical background - where we might have heard your work before and how would you describe your style?
Sure. I’ve always been into singing and song writing since I was tiny. I used to get told off in nursery for singing the books when I was learning to read. I made a girl band in primary school too and used to write songs for us to perform to the class and then they’d kick me out the band if I got a solo in choir and say it was them that wrote my songs 😂. I think it was because of this that I was encouraged to learn the guitar, so I started that when I was about 9 I think. Miles Clark taught me, who I ended up interning for at I’m Not From London when I was a bit older and they put me forward to compete in Notts Factor in 2016. I won the competition and it really helped me get a foothold in the Notts music scene. I was in a rock band in secondary school which my voice didn’t suit at all! I finally found the foundations of my writing style when I was about 15 I think. I usually write very emotively, and my songs tend to be produced as a mixture of folk and electronic pop, but I’m hoping to explore more avenues along the way. If you’re familiar with the Nottingham music scene you may have seen me around as I was always gigging back when gigs were allowed. Feels like forever ago now.
What challenges do you think females in the music industry have that males do not experience?
I think women experience a lot more pressure to get out there sooner, as it feels like we sort of have an “expiry date” once we start to age. Society seems to care way too much about how we look and it affects our likelihood of success. I guess this can be true for men too, but not to the same extent. Especially with aging. People seem to think older men are cool, but that women can’t pull it off once we start to wrinkle. There is also the sexual harassment that can happen at shows that I think women suffer much more than men. There have been too many gigs where I’ve been heckled and asked to do private gigs without the clothes, etc. Gross.
Has lockdown impacted you creatively at all, and how have you found the past few months?
I was unwell for months at the start of the first lockdown, so that impacted me a lot. Upon reflection I think it may have been Covid, but I’m not sure. It started as a swollen face and tonsillitis, but then became a sort of flu where I was constantly coughing and you could hear my chest rattle as I tried to breathe normally. I was so drained too. This lasted around 4 months, and my voice hasn’t been the same since. I couldn’t sing the entire time apart from the odd day here or there where it would temporarily ease up a bit. I’ve had to transpose all my songs down considerably and I find it much harder to sing accurately now, which is so upsetting. It has limited the melodies I am able to sing. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it back on form with practice. I don’t think Covid is meant to last that long in the body, but even when I catch a common cold it usually lasts around 6 weeks for me. The last few months have been better, I’m feeling much better now but still suffering the after affects of it. I’ve written a few songs here and there but nowhere near as much as I should have done with all the extra free time I had.
Your latest release is the single The Algea (which imo is your best release so far), can you tell us the idea or theme behind the project and who's worked with you on the single?
I wrote the song when I was 18 about being used by older dudes with only one thing on their minds. I didn’t add the last verse about my worth until much later, once I had found myself a bit more and my sadness about the whole thing turned into anger instead; I deserved better. I worked with my producer, Anders Källmark on the production and our session musicians, Giovanni Velez on drums and Edoardo Bombace on the bass. The music video was a team effort from myself, Mannie James, Kate Lomas and Anna Tiani from Autonomy, and Jack Davies from Friction Collective.
Where can folks get to listen to the single?
It’s everywhere! Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Deezer, Amazon, the lot I believe.
What's next for you?
I will be releasing some more singles in the not too distant future that are fairly different from the ones I've released so far. I’m really hoping to work on an album of some sort too but I think my label want to keep doing singles so we’ll see.
Anything else you'd like to add about the project, or a message for the readers?
Hmm I think I’m all out of words to be fair. I’m currently curled up in bed trying not to fall back to sleep so I can actually be productive! I hope everyone is doing okay in this surreal time to be alive, sending out love n hugs.
See/hear Chloe on the links below;