In our latest interview, French artist Chloé talks to us about art, the Parisian queer scene, BBX, and more.
For 20 years, Parisian musician Chloé has existed between dance, film, and experimental music. She became exposed to electronic music in the 90s as an avid participant in the queer scene in Paris. Clubs such as Le Pulp played a pivotal role in developing the popular lesbian-led scene in the city that ultimately gave birth to talents such as Jennifer Cardini, Léonie Pernet, and Chloé herself, among others.
Since then, a whole host of collectives have popped up to carry on Le Pulp’s spirit, one of which is Barbi(e)turix whose VA features a recent release from Chloé. Additionally, Chloe has released on BPitch, Correspondent, and Kill the DJ. She also regularly releases on her own imprint Lumiere Noire which launched back in the early 2000s.
Discontent with simply existing within the electronic music space however, her love of film music and composition has seen her involvement in several multidisciplinary projects. From scoring AV installations and films, to working with The French Institute for Music and Sound Science (Ircam), Chloé is constantly exploring various sonic territories, constantly pushing her art in new directions.
Hey Chloé. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk. I hope you and your family are safe during these troublesome times.
I’m doing fine thank you. I’m happy to chat with you guys. I feel privileged to make music and talk with you about what I’m doing at a time we need to deal with the critical global crisis, energy, war…
The TATE Modern is hosting the outdoor event ANIMA which you created the soundtrack. Can you tell us how you became involved in the project?
I met Noémie Goudal in 2016 as I knew her work and her landscape photos. I got in touch with her and proposed to do the image for my ‘Endless Revisions’ album, released in 2017 on my label Lumière Noire Records. I was very happy about this first collaboration. I’m touched by Noémie’s poetic approach to climate change, and the way she creates fiction while thinking about disasters to come. When we met, we spoke a lot about ecology, anthropology, geological, climatic history, scientific discoveries …
We kept in touch and often saw one another with the idea of going further on a future project. This is how she proposed to collaborate on the transversal project ANIMA which reunites Noémie, director Maelle Poesy, suspensive artist Chloé Moglia, and me.
ANIMA is an immersive artistic experiment based on her work Post Atlantica. Its point of departure is the fascination for extreme transformations of landscapes that are slow and invisible to our eyes and question our spatial and temporal needs.
ANIMA isn’t the only project outside of electronic music that you have been involved in. You also collaborated with Vassilena Serafimova for your project Sequenza. How did your relationship come about and what inspired you to create this work together?
Originally, the collaboration was intended to be ephemeral, as we were introduced for one live performance in 2017 to be filmed for a tribute to Steve Reich’s iconic composition Music for 18 Musicians. Reich is the most obvious link between electronic music and art music, it was a good starting point to go elsewhere. After this, we decided to extend our collaboration and create our own music as a duo.
We had the opportunity to develop our collaboration as part of a residency at contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan’s Studio Venezia (the French pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale). Vassilena is quite open to experimentation. She always has a lot of ideas and energy. Her way of playing is very inspiring.
We’ve created our music around organised and unorganised structures. I am constantly sampling Vassilena and processing the takes live, with loops, effects… We then play off a constantly coming and-going improvisational game that allows us to settle into repetitive, driving music. This is how we ended up with an album called Sequenza that we played a lot.
This collaboration changed me from a performance perspective. I draw my musical materials from Vassilena’s playing, adding loops, and effects. I must be constantly listening and reinterpreting. In that sense, electronic music is no longer just a genre, it is a tool which allows you to open up to other universes.
Where do you draw your inspiration from when working on these projects and how do you navigate your way to a finished piece?
As an electronic music producer and a DJ, it is it’s easy to quickly shut yourself away and do everything on your own. I feel I need to also be open and create exchanges, I need excuses (sometimes) to have new approaches and angles to my music. I find it challenging and inspiring to have a constant flow of discussions and exchanges. It’s also the key to finishing a piece.
I understand that you are a self-taught musician. Do you find it difficult to communicate or interpret your (and your collaborators) vision when working within other disciplines?
I’m not classically trained in the sense that I didn’t go to a classical conservatory where I learned music theory. However, I did learn some basics myself on the guitar when I was a teenager. It certainly helped me develop my compositions, but I also had to learn the technical basics of using gears, making my studio … and I’m still learning today.
That said, for collaboration, there are lots of ways to talk about music, it can be tricky, as we all have our own wording, and our own terminology, and that’s what’s complicated at the start of a collaboration. With Vassilena Serafimova, we’ve been working together for a few years now and I think we’ve found our common language.
Your roots stem back to the 90s LGBT scene in Paris. Can you tell us about the vibe back then? How would you compare to attitudes present nowadays within the dance music/club scene?
I started to be involved in the electronic music world in the mid-90s in Paris, the city where I was born, grew up, and still live. I started at a time when electronic music was underground. It was mainly happenings at rave parties and gay parties in Paris. We kind of all knew each other as that music was unknown, but we felt something powerful was going on.
It was a good mix of genres and styles. A place of tolerance and a safe space for marginalised communities. Safe spaces have been in underground circles for decades. Today, some harassment is happening at times. It’s important that the new generation of promoters, DJs, artists, and clubbers remember to continue to keep those protected places from violence and harassment, and it is important to continue to educate people.
You have recently released a track on Barbi(e)turix’s latest compilation EP – BBX#2. Can you tell us how you became involved with the collective?
Barbi(e)turix is a bit like today’s Riot Grrrl: an alternative, musical, feminist movement, involved in art and action. And as there’s always this idea of federating and inventing oneself. They are now on their second compilation.
I remember the first Barbi(e)turix collective parties in Paris happened around 2004-2005. I used to go to these parties. I played regularly at Barbi(e)turix and I’ve always been proud of that. It’s always been a bit of a special night for me. The collective has never stopped offering parties for girls beyond the small clubs and cellars in a quality clubbing format, playing queer artists, for girls, but not only.
Today, Barbi(e)turix has become THE girls’ night out in Paris, taking place in big clubs like La Machine du Moulin Rouge, or at the Cabaret Sauvage for XXL editions. It was normal for me to give a track called ‘Warm Gun’ for their second compilation, featuring 18 talented artists from the queer scene.
You are someone who has never shied away from collaboration even when it throws you into new sonic territories. If you could work with anyone in the world, who would it be?
I would have loved to have worked with artists who are dead today, like Marcel Proust or photographer Lee Miller! Both of them were visionaries, I’m sure we could have tried our hand at immersive projects together. We can dream 😊
What’s next for Chloé?
I just released an album in April titled ‘The Call’ with my friend Ben Shemie under our duo’s alias High Season which is out on Permanent Vacation. We have a few gigs we play live together. Besides this, I am touring as DJ in clubs and making music.
Image credit: @Alexandre Guirkinger