The Lighthouse

Bursting onto the scene right now is 18-year old KLOË, Scotland’s latest electro-pop product to follow in the mould of Chvrches and Prides.

KLOË, aka Chloe Latimer, dropped her first single ‘Grip’ last December and created plenty of buzz in the process. The track, produced by Prides’ drummer Lewis Gardiner, raced to 60,000 hits on Soundcloud (where it debuted) and scored radio plays from the likes of Zane Lowe.

Having also now made her first live appearance at The Garage in Glasgow, its been announced that KLOË will join Prides on the Lighthouse Late lineup at Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, Fri 29 May.

With an EP due out later this year and big plans afoot, we caught up with the singer-songwriter to find out more …

You played your first gig as KLOË at Glasgow Garage in February. How was the show?

It was great. I loved it. It was so fun to finally get out in front of a crowd and play the music for the first time. Playing a set of completely unknown songs to an audience can be pretty weird for any artist but the reaction I got was great. I’m excited to play more shows!

‘Grip’ was released on Soundcloud in early December and as well as 68,000 plays it’s had a very good response online. How confident were you that you had something people would respond to and that would get picked up?

I didn’t really know what to expect. ‘Grip’ is the first song I put out and I didn’t know what it would do. I guess the response was down to people finding something in the song and, of course, the power of the internet. It completely took me by surprise and I’m very grateful. I think ‘Grip’ was a really good introduction to KLOË.

How did the production come together and what was it like working with Lewis Gardiner?

I met Lewis through some mutual friends last year and the writing process was very organic. I took my time figuring out what I wanted to do musically and Lewis has been instrumental in shaping my sound. He’s great!

I’m sure you’ve got a long list of influences, but whose music and what tunes are inspiring you to get writing, recording and performing right now?

I actually grew up listening to a lot of folk music, primarily female singer-songwriters. For the KLOË project I was inspired by a lot of blatantly honest and conversational writing. For example, The 1975 stick out to me. I also got really into artists like The Weeknd, Drake, St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey who say exactly what they want to say – but every lyric still sounds beautiful and poetic. The earliest influences for me were probably Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morissette, Taylor Swift and Joni Mitchell. Their music is still very important to me. Especially Alanis, in terms of lyricism. There’s also this great new artist from America called Halsey who I’m obsessed with right now. She’s really exciting!

Have you finalised plans for the EP? How many tracks are ready to go and what’s on your slate for the coming months?

Yes! It’s pretty much done, we’re just finalising the mixes. The EP is 4 tracks and every song shows a different side to me. It tells a story too, which was really important to me, covering everything I’ve gone through in my life age 16-18. The plan for the next few months is to release the EP, play more gigs and maybe a few surprises along the way.

It’s great to have you in the lineup for Lighthouse Late alongside Prides. What kind of set can we expect?

Thank you! It will be so great to play. I’m really looking forward to it. You can expect quite a different show from my actual live show, as we’re playing a really stripped back set. It’ll be all about the vocals and really chilled.

Source: The List
Date: 11 March 2015
Written by: Scott Henderson 

Curated by The List and supported by Innis & Gunn and Brugal Rum, Lighthouse Late takes place Fri 29 May at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture.

The Lighthouse Late

A fabulous celebration of fashion, design, music and cinema sprawling across all five floors of the Lighthouse. Hotly tipped Scottish trio Prides perform a stripped-back set, with up-and-coming popster KLOË providing the upbeat sounds. Curated by The List and supported by Innis & Gunn and Brugal Rum.

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