INTERVIEW W/ Chloe Foy: "I was writing things that I hadn't quite processed myself"!

Indie Folk songwriter Chloe Foy is gearing up for the release of her new album ‘Complete Fool’, due to drop on June 6th. 

Infusing strings, guitar and elegant vocals, a few tracks from the album including first release ‘Drifting’ are already receiving high praise. Focusing on every topic from love to loss, Chloe’s alluring voice lies at the heart of every song, providing entrancing tones that elevate the rich emotive impact of every song.  Following the release of ‘Complete Fool’ Chloe will be heading on a UK in-store tour as well as taking to stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival. 

We had a chat to speak about the upcoming album, what inspires her music and what can be expected at her live shows. 

Photo Credit: Matilda Hill Jenkins

Q. What would you say is the thematic focus of the new album? 

A: “It's hard to overview but I think it's generally an album about the navigation of a long-term relationship. I spent the whole of my 20s in a relationship with someone who was also my musical collaborator who I've worked with on all my music. In hindsight I realise that it was my way of communicating my frustrations and unhappiness in the relationship because they weren't somehow being heard in other ways. It's a bit about that and a bit about questioning my own place in the world and exploring my struggles with mental health”.

Q. Do you still find that music is a good way of self-therapising and expressing your emotions in ways you can’t otherwise? 

A: “Definitely, sometimes without realising it at the time. With ‘Complete Fool’ I was writing things that I hadn't quite processed myself yet and yeah this one was an album where the words very much came out and then afterwards, I was like okay wow this needed to come out”.

Q. ‘Drifting’ was the first track that you released from the upcoming album. Why did you feel that it was the perfect entry point to the album?

A: “It just hits quite quickly, it's got this really gorgeous string line. I love music that makes you feel and I just feel like the melody in that one is sweeping and moves you. It just felt like a nice ‘hey I'm back in the music world’ kind of thing and it encapsulates the themes of the album well.”

Q. Do you think this album pulls together a wide range of your sonic influences?

A: “Definitely, at my core I'll always be most comfortable sitting down with a guitar and writing a song, something in that Folk realm. I really admire artists like Sharon Van Etten who have experimented over the years. Generally, she’s always been with a band but a couple of albums ago she went into a synthy world and I think it's great”.

Q. You’ve said before that you have a focus on authenticity over perfection which is something that a lot of artists seem to be reaching for recently. Why do you think audiences connect so much to this approach?

A: “I think you're so right with artists leaning towards authenticity. It's a reaction to the music world being quite saturated where so many songs get uploaded on Spotify and so many of them can be made so quickly and perfected through various software. I've noticed with the songs that are less overly produced there's less for people to dig through to get to the actual meaning or to the feeling of it. It ultimately does resonate with human beings more in a world where AI is starting to make things and copy things and we're all searching for that authenticity. On ‘Complete Fool’ it feels that I was loose with it and had fun”.

Q. You've got an in-store tour coming up, what can fans expect from you at those shows?

A: “It will just be the songs as they were born, which is me and a guitar. The album is a full sounding record, there's a lot of layers. There's drums, there's electric guitars, there's a lot of strings which I love but I also love to be able to tour it as it was written”.

Q. After that you’re playing Glastonbury Festival, that must be a surreal feeling?

A: “Yeah it's a mad festival, it's overwhelming. I've dreamed of playing there since I was a kid and I know every musician says that but I'm from the southwest so I went there for the first time when I was 13 and it opened my eyes to the world of big stage performances”.

Q. Is there any song in particular you would say you're most excited to debut live from ‘Complete Fool’?

A: There's a song at the end of the album that’s a bit of a ballad with a piano. It's a love song called ‘Empires of Dust’ and it encapsulates the whole album and the sentiment behind it and the feeling of loving someone greatly and having to let them go but knowing you'll love them forever. I don't know whether I'll even be able to play that live or whether it'll be too emotional”.