A Chat with Chloe & The Brainwaves (22.06.23)
Having played in various bands since their teens, UK-based Chloe, Alex, Michael and Lewis came together to form Chloe & The Brainwaves. From Led Zeppelin to Radiohead and Taylor Swift, the foursome bring their own brand of alternative rock to the masses. We speak with vocalist and guitarist Chloe about their debut single ‘Expensive Things’, what music means to her, future plans, and more.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Chloe: It sounds so cliche but it is my life, it’s the one thing that’s kept me here and gave me a purpose. There’s something special about being able to sing about your life experiences and have other people relate to you on that level or start a conversation about stuff you wouldn’t usually be able to talk about without music.
OSR: What can you tell us about your single ‘Expensive Things’? Is there a theme or backstory to the track?
Chloe: YES! It’s a song that calls out the psychological conditioning that is inextricably linked to our consumerist culture. When I wrote it I was seeing a lot of people on Instagram flaunting how much material s*** they had and I could see straight through it at times, how fake all of it is and how miserable they are behind closed doors just like the rest of us. Life isn’t all shiny nice things and I think so many people are lying to themselves by being so identified with the stuff they own. They have an internal world that has no substance because corporations condition us into thinking that makes us feel truly happy. It’s all a lie.
OSR: If you could change anything about the single, what would it be and why?
Chloe: I don’t feel that there’s anything I would change, everyone put their all into this one and we are all elated about how it turned out.
OSR: I see you filmed a music video for ‘Expensive Things’. What can you tell us about the production and recording of the video?
Chloe: The whole idea for the video came from me talking with Ryan at gadabout films and our lovely manager, Nina. Verse one is written in the first person (as the consumer) and the second verse is from the corporation’s perspective. Then we thought it would be mint to dress the boys up as corporate blokes in their fancy suits (from the charity shop) and they can be the soulless robots of the video while I struggle to avoid being sucked in by them. The day of the shoot was a very fun day but pre-production consisted of us running around like blue-arse flies trying to find gold wrapping paper and expensive-looking items but Poundland saved the day. 😎
OSR: What was the best and the worst thing about creating ‘Expensive Things’ – both the track and the video?
Chloe: The best thing about creating ‘Expensive Things’ was seeing it come to life. It really blossomed once we had Steve’s ears on it, our producer added another layer of life that we never thought of adding to the final mix. The worst thing about it has to be the fear of letting it go out into the world and hoping people enjoy it. But you can’t please everyone and I’m ok with that. The worst thing about the video had to be the running around at the last minute as no one sells gold wrapping paper, only Amazon – Lewis saved the day with his Amazon Prime account. Big shout out to our bass player.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Chloe: I hope it helps them feel that little bit less alone in this s**t show that we are now living in.
OSR: If you could remove something that exists in this world forever, what would it be?
Chloe: Greed, because all bad things stem from it. That’s how we’re in a climate crisis.
OSR: If you were to listen to one album for the rest of your life, which artist and album would that be?
Chloe: It would have to be Grace by Jeff Buckley. I have it on repeat and I just keep noticing more and more clever stuff. The session musicians on the album are sublime as well. Ridiculously good.
OSR: Do you have future plans as a musician?
Chloe: Plenty of dreams. We’d love to play Jools Holland and hopefully get a Glastonbury spot at some point!
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Chloe: Be nice to animals because they are very cute.
Many thanks to Chloe for speaking with us. For more from Chloe & The Brainwaves, check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
