There’s an awful lot to get riled up about these days. A one-second glimpse at the latest news headlines is enough to stoke a fire in many of us, with little sign of it dying out any time soon. Often, we turn to music as a distraction, an escape, a place to find comfort. Chloe Slater offers something completely different – she throws fuel on the fire and dials that anger up to the absolute maximum, and rightly so. Her music is somewhere you can be interrogative and justifiably annoyed without feeling the need to stifle any of it.
She may have only released her first single last year, but Chloe has already created a storm with her incisive, incendiary tracks. Her debut EP, ‘You Can’t Put A Price On Fun’, saw her wittily criticise everyone from influencers doing endless unboxings to the uber-rich unaware of their privilege, pretending all is well. She’s mastered the art of a track that stirs something in you, equally explosive lyrically and sonically.
“A lot of the main stuff people write songs about is love,” Chloe says. “I still write songs about that, but there are so many other things in my brain and in my life that I want to express. When I write a song, it’s usually because I’m angry. That’s the motivating factor, and the stuff I’m angry about is all that weird societal stuff that we experience.”
From crooked landlords to the gulf between the classes to the capricious beast that is internet fame, they’re the kind of discussions that wouldn’t be amiss in any group of mates, delivered in the pub with an exasperated tone and an eye roll. Granted, Chloe writes them much more eloquently than most, but that sense of frustration is shared.
“I really struggle to write about stuff that isn’t real or stuff that I haven’t felt,” Chloe explains. “It’s always been about my life, and I like to make it fairly obvious. It’s not always super poetic, but I think the truthfulness of it connects with people.”
Whether it’s a conversation that is already being had or a new one being sparked, the unendingly catchy nature of tracks like ’24 Hours’ makes these everyday experiences and injustices that bit easier to swallow. Chloe provides solidarity and space to let your fury rise to the surface, be it at the government or an out-of-touch video on your For You page. Within those few minutes, emotions are validated, and the need to speak up and contribute is more keenly felt.
“Women are socialised to be really agreeable, and nice, and not too angry,” Chloe reflects. “If you are angry, then you’re a bitch. I definitely feel that in my everyday life. I’m quite anxious about speaking out about stuff. I’ve got a lot better, but my music is a place where I feel the freedom to express all of those feelings. It’s helped me become more like that in real life, which is really nice.”
“When I write a song, it’s usually because I’m angry”
What began as an alter ego of sorts acting as a vehicle for Chloe to express these feelings has become more and more entangled with who she is – her music has been an act of empowerment – for her listeners, too. Having this environment to find yourself in the throes of anger despite being consistently to suppress it is vital, and Chloe encourages that for the young women listening to her. It’s hard not to feel incensed when closely listening to her lyrics, but there is some release in there, too. With each new track, things become heavier and more anthemic – the songs lend themselves increasingly to jumping around and unleashing those emotions in full force rather than bottling them up.
“It’s a good mix of wanting to spread awareness about certain issues and make people feel seen that are struggling with these things, but I want them to come to my show and let it all out in the chorus and know that everything is going to be okay. That’s the kind of vibe.”
She’s already begun curating that atmosphere in her live shows. Across festival season and impressive support slots with the likes of Kings of Leon and The Beaches, the last year has seen Chloe really begin to find her feet onstage and continue to communicate her message. Watching those artists further ahead in their careers perform in front of a crowd has seemingly been a huge source of inspiration for Chloe, too.
“Especially with The Beaches, their show is just so much fun,” Chloe recalls. “They’re all jumping up and down and running around. I think they were even crowd-surfing. I might try and crowdsurf… who knows? I’ve learnt to just have fun and connect with the audience.”
Her music is increasingly written with the crowds in mind. The huge choruses of tracks like ‘Price On Fun’ truly lend themselves to being passionately sung as part of a crowd of similarly-minded people – Chloe has become more and more adept at crafting an infectious but incredibly relevant hook.
“When I’m writing, I always think about how I want a song to be massive in a live setting,” says Chloe. “I love the big choruses and instrumentals. That’s my aim with everything I release, just to be a bigger version of what it was before.”
Her latest single, ‘Tiny Screens’, is exactly that. A formidable look at internet fame with smirking references to “Marilyn Monroe with Turkey teeth”, it’s bold and sardonic, the guitars wilder and more irate than any of her previous releases. It’s a thrilling taste of what’s to come, perfectly at home in a riotous festival set.
Chloe’s origins couldn’t be further from the packed-in crowd of a tent in a field, though, where the masses start to merge together. Moving from Bournemouth to Manchester a few years ago was a major catalyst for Chloe’s foray into music properly, as she crucially found like-minded music lovers and threw herself into the gig-going culture of the city. Even more vital was her experience in Manchester’s open-mic scene.
“It’s been so important,” Chloe explains. “I had never really sang my songs in front of anyone ever, before I moved. Everyone is so welcoming and just sits and watches each other, and you make friends there. It’s a really nice way to build up your confidence in performing in front of people. Performing in those small rooms where everyone is looking straight at you is more scary than playing a gig. I went back and did an open mic a couple of months ago after doing the Kings of Leon show, and found it more scary. Everyone is so focused on you; you can see everyone and look in their eyes. It is almost awkwardly intimate, but I think that’s really good for building my confidence live.”
“My life changed so much in the space of six months”
As things continue to grow for Chloe, those skills will no doubt prove useful. It’s already been a gigantic year for Chloe, one in which she feels her “entire life has changed”. With a record label signed, Glastonbury played, and new music very much on the horizon, all roads point to things getting crazier from here on out for Chloe. She calls in from a much-needed writing retreat in the countryside – having been in the city for the last three years, the fresh country air has offered her the opportunity to pause and take stock.
“Now that I’ve taken this week, it’s making sense to me now. While everything was happening, I don’t think I processed it. It’s so insane. My life changed so much in the space of six months, so it’s bound to be a little bit crazy, but it’s honestly been the best time ever. I feel really, really lucky and grateful for everyone who has supported me. It’s so mental. It’s crazy – I actually have days off now!”
It’s a lot to take in, and much of this year has been a learning curve. There’s a myriad of signs, however, suggesting that Chloe is on the right path. Above all else, her very first meme page is a pretty big milestone. “That was a big moment,” Chloe laughs. “Shoutout to sinkingfeelingmemes.”
With her first headline shows rapidly approaching, Chloe is undoubtedly on the verge of welcoming a whole new cohort of listeners into her world. Her music is all about connection – it is acknowledgement and encouragement to perceive, to not let anyone tell you to be quiet or diminish your feelings. It’s a call to arms to speak up and let Chloe’s candid stylings inspire you to be as upfront about your own truth. There’s room for these conversations in Chloe’s sonic world, and there’s room to unbridle yourself from keeping them locked within.
There’s a resounding sense that Chloe has tapped into something really special here – something that has already begun and will continue to resonate with the masses, one gloriously scornful indie-pop anthem at a time. Chloe Slater has hit the ground running now, and it’s full sprint ahead.
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