Artist Profile: Chloe Berry

Chloe Berry, the indie pop artist from NYC, has spent years refining her sound, prancing between the cinematic stylisms of coming-of-age films and the pounding, glittery rhythms of ‘90s rock, and, now, as she anticipates the release of her debut album, she has solidified her creative approach around her production to such an extent that the album’s release will certainly serve as a victorious arrival on the burgeoning scene of her creative niche.

As a child, Chloe never considered herself a musician; she was a visual artist first and foremost. She grew up obsessed with Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola films, and she spent extensive time drawing and doodling, formulating a dream of becoming a graphic designer.

Yet, music was present in her life as well from the very beginning. She was in piano lessons from a young age, and, as her obsession with film grew, so did her enchantment with the soundtracks that accompanied her favorite movies. 

When she attended a performing arts high school, it was there that she first encountered musicians who took their craft seriously, and, slowly and somewhat disorientingly, music slowly began to creep more and more into the manifestations of her creative energy.

“I think it was honestly a little confusing for me at first because I was always kind of set on the path [of] visual arts…But then I just very much fell in love with making music and was like ‘I'll work a day job, but I don't want to do really anything else.’... So, I think in high school I got to get the first glimpse, and it was definitely hard because I struggled with not having the years of technical skills that a lot of my friends had.”

Yet, as she entered college, she decided to pursue a course of studies in music business at Berklee, all the while taking as many songwriting classes as she could and spending essentially all of her free time pursuing her newest creative passion. While she still does all of her cover art and branding, visual arts became more of a viable career path while music steadily became what she considered to be her true passion.

Her first tracks, including her EP “Blueberry Jams” that was released with Spirit Goth Records, took on a heavily-set bedroom-pop sound, playing into the prevalence of artists like Mac Demarco and Clairo while granting Chloe a space to continue to develop her immersive storytelling and blossoming instrumental skills.

Yet, as time has gone on, her ear has inclined itself more and more toward the twangy sounds of bands like Fleetwood Mac, the glitzy growls of the Riot grrl movement, and the glam rock of David Bowie. She marks her 2022 song “Unbecoming” as the unofficial start of a new creative era, in which her focus shifted more towards building out her sonic landscape through her production, using her songwriting and lyricism as a buoy in the turbulent seas of her maturing sound.

“I definitely think that drawing on a very specific theme for me has been super helpful for my production. I [began to focus] on what the song is about and what story I am trying to convey, and it's almost like I imagine myself in a scene and the song is playing… I think [“Unbecoming’] was kind of  a turning point for me to kind of switch up the feel of some of my stuff.”

Now, with almost three years since the release of that track, Chloe has had ample time to let her new creative approach wash over her, and, as she sits midway through the production process of her new album, she knows that it is time to fully unleash this sound to the world, allowing her expansive storytelling and unique vision to take the reigns once and for all.