Having already had a large chart success and a highly anticipated debut album due for release next month, it’s no wonder that Chloe Roberts is the ultimate acoustic artist. After winning best new comer at the folk awards, Chloe’s success is growing day by day. Pre-interview, we expect a loud, confident young woman with her head in the clouds, however when we meet her in a small cafe in East London she couldn’t be more down to earth. There’s no way you could tell that this girl, from a small village on the outskirts of Brighton, is currently on a tour across the country and has an ever growing online following. It’s truly incredible how level headed she is…
Fairly shy, we order. I take a moment to check her outfit and to my surprise, it’s very casual. I don’t know what I was expecting but for someone doing so well I thought it would be a bit more out there, however she wears a pair of slim fit jeans which she has paired with a t shirt and chunky knitted cardigan. The laid back style reflects her music and also her personality as I later find out.
After various compliments I give her about her music, we get talking about the tour she is currently doing around the country. “Life on tour is so much fun!” she tells me as I ask her if she enjoys being on the road. Although Chloe is a new comer to the folk scene, she has a large fan base who loves to watch her perform. “The fans are amazing, they make performing such a joy.” For someone who is doing so well so early in the industry, Chloe seems to be concentrating on her music rather than her success. When I ask if this is true, she smiles. “Yeah, this doesn’t feel like a job. It’s more of a dream”.
She sweeps her hair from her face and takes a sip of her drink. Working for ‘IF’ magazine, I have interviewed a fair amount of musicians, but I don’t think that any of them have ever been as sweet as Chloe, she is probably the only person to ever leap up to get me a spoon for my drink- completely forgetting that she is the star! I ask what made her want a career in music and instantly see a glimmer in her eye. Memories flood back from her childhood as she explains; “Music has always been a huge part of my life,” and from this she is off, telling me all about how her love for music grew after receiving a guitar for her seventh birthday and her brother wanting to be in a band. I sit and smile, listening about how she would sit for hours playing and writing songs. When I ask if she misses home, I automatically feel guilty. She looks down. “Yeah, I miss home a lot. I think I kid myself that I don’t but in my heart I miss seeing my mum and dad every day but I try not to think about it too much.”
It’s strange to hear that Chloe didn’t like school very much. “I never got bullied, I just really struggled to learn and remember things” she says. After receiving several bad school reports criticizing her learning skills, Chloe decided that music was the direction that she wanted to take in life and began planning her career. “My family were so supportive, my mum knew for a long time that I wasn’t going to go to college or anything after sixth form and so she helped me to get to where I am today.” Coming from a similar background myself, I can relate to Chloe and her family. She tells me how her mum drove her to gigs at ridiculous times in the morning, reminiscing “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be able to do the thing that I love and I can’t thank her enough for that.” It is clear that Chloe is very grateful for everything that she has and is obvious that she has worked hard to get it!
From that I can’t help but ask her about winning best newcomer at the folk awards; “WOW! It was crazy to be nominated!” she laughs, still seemingly surprised at the fact. “I can’t believe that I won! It’s an honour to be considered the best out of the five of us that were nominated. I still can’t believe it.” Spending the small amount of time that I have done with Chloe, I can see in the way she talks about her career that music is her passion.
Smiling, Chloe tells me all about the album that she has been working desperately hard on. “The freedom I had when writing was brilliant fun and it made the process of making the album really adventurous which I loved.” Watching and listening to Chloe is lovely and she makes everyone around her feel so relaxed. The IF team were expecting her to be fairly tense due to all of the tour stress and promotional work but its alluring to see her take it all in her stride.
“I grew up listening to country and folk and in the past few years’ indie music has worked its way into my life. The two genres were a huge influence when I was writing the album, they define me and I wanted the album to reflect that and I think it does.” Chloe has a very specific style of music associated with her which we would expect adds a huge amount of pressure to the release of the debut album. “I don’t know if its pressure of doing the genre justice or wanting to make fans proud. There is anticipation for whether the album will be good enough regardless of genre! Dave Grohl and I couldn’t be more different but I’m sure we share the same worry about wanting to please the fans!” She laughs and sips her drink. I love Chloes attitude towards the music industry and life in general, she is new and refreshing which is something that we have needed for a long time.
With a huge online following, I take the time to ask Chloe about the fans; “The recognition I have received from people all over the country has been phenomenal! I never dreamt that my music would reach so many people. Sometimes at gigs, people come up to me and say that my music has inspired them.” In awe, I ask her what that feels like; “It’s the ultimate compliment.” It is clear that Chloes career is growing day by day and that she is so happy with the way things are turning out. “The tour selling out was amazing, I know that the venues are only small but the fact one person wants to see me play is enough to fulfil my dream, let alone thousands!” Previously, Chloe supported Ben Howard on the UK part of his 2012 tour which she loved. “Thrilling, it gave me an insight into how I wanted my career to be. I’ll never forget it. Playing to all those people, just me and my guitar was a beautiful experience."
Chloe loves music, but she also loves fashion. “I remember getting my first job as a waitress on Saturdays and just thinking of all of the clothes I was going to buy with my money!” she laughs. “I would spend all of my money on either CDs or clothes; they were the two things in my life which made me so incredibly happy.” Like many celebrities (Chloe winces at the word, “I hate it, it’s just so tacky!”) Chloe has received freebies from designers and countless retailers; a dream come true. “I like having nice clothes to wear and I always make an effort with the way I look, it makes me feel good about myself. Fashion and music are the best ways to express yourself.”
So what is Chloe Roberts going to be doing in the spring/summer of 2013? “The album comes out in May so non-stop touring and promotional work until then!” I can’t help but think it must become a bit of a drag, I know that I have enjoyed this interview but this is just another magazine feature for Chloe. “It doesn’t become a drag at all, the last three years have been a bit of a blur really; I got signed then began writing the album straight away before quickly starting the tour and now all of the promotional work. It sounds like a lot but without working hard I wouldn’t be where I am today.” Chloe is in the middle of a sold out tour and after our interview comes to an end, she has another two lined up for today. “I’m a grafter; I’ve always worked really hard because it always pays off in the end!”
Once the album has been released and the tour is complete, Chloe is going to take some time to relax a bit. “I still haven’t completely got my head around this!” she admits, “So much has happened so quickly and I need to have some time to chill.” Smiling, she tell me; “I’ll take a few weeks off to go home and see mum and dad which will be great because I haven’t been home properly for a while and I miss it! But after that it’s back to work! I have a few festivals lined up in the summer which is really exciting and then there is always the question of when to begin writing the next album!”
“Thank you so much!” she says as I congratulate her on all of her success and wish her well in the future. After giving each IF team member a hug, she returns to the busy east end streets of London and flags down a taxi. I can’t help but love Chloe. She is one of the most charming people that I have interviewed and it was great to get to know her better. Her success is due to all of her hard work and I know everything will pay off in the future.
