Before Malaysian-born, UK-based alt-pop artist Chloe Qisha was writing existential pop bangers, she was training to be a therapist because, of course, life is funny like that. She could have spent her days guiding people through their crises, but instead, she’s now sound tracking them. Case in point: Her latest single "Sex, Drugs, & Existential Dread" which has a roll call of mundane human activity (people kissing, playing and a sonic spiralling into late-night overthinking that every introvert knows too well.)
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Chloe Qisha one of alt-pop’s fastest-rising names today, turning big feelings into sax-filled earworms. Her 2024 debut EP, Chloe Qisha, was a diary disguised as an album, cataloguing every musical obsession, lyrical spiral, and sonic experiment she’s chased since day one. And in this interview, she sits down to discuss "Sex, Drugs, & Existential Dread", the perfect balance between fun and depth in her music, and how she’s carving out her own lane in pop.
Congrats on your latest single! We heard you started with a joke when it came to crafting "Sex, Drugs, & Existential Dread" but when did you realise it could be a full song?
Thank you! I think it was as soon as my producer Rob Milton said the title "Sex, Drugs and Existential Dread". Mary Weitz and I started chanting it in the room while Rob was playing the bass line, and we sort of knew very quickly that it could be a chorus to a great song. By the end of that day, we had a full track with a saxophone solo and all!
The song blends upbeat, almost glittery pop with funk and disco. What’s the secret to getting that balance across genres just right?
Honestly, the balance comes quite naturally and I don’t think we think about it too much when we were creating the track. We usually have pretty strong sonic references going into writing any song, but once we have a good groove going we sort of forget about everything and embellish as we go by adding any bits of arrangement that feels right or we think could elevate the song!
The music video feels super intimate, almost like a home movie. Why did you choose that POV style, and how much of it was inspired by your own homebody tendencies?
When my creative director and I were spit-balling ideas for this song, we were talking about how it’s particularly interesting in videos when the camera is moving alongside the talent like they’re their own character. We had achieved this once before with a video for one of my other songs "Lied, I’m Sorry" where the camera is from the perspective of a fly watching me dance. We then had a look at some pretty iconic POV-inspired music videos that had been done in the past, and quickly realised it was a route we wanted to pursue.
It also tied in well with the lyrics of the song as we wanted it to have a weird liminal feeling of waking up and not quite knowing where you are and having someone try and convince you to stay inside with them.
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Your songs always have that sharp observational edge. Do you think your background in psychology and communications gives you a different lens as a songwriter?
I'd like to say it does, but in all honesty I don’t remember very much from my degrees! I think I’ve just always been quiet, introspective and an observer of sorts, which is probably where my writing stems from. What I will say though, is that doing those courses did instill a strong work ethic in me that I think translates really well into the world of music and what I do now.
‘21st Century Cool Girl’ made a huge splash when it dropped. Do you feel like that track introduced Chloe Qisha to the world, or do you see ‘Sex, Drugs, & Existential Dread’ as the real “this is me” moment?
I think I see them both playing an equal part in building out the Chloe Qisha world. I think ‘21st Century’ plays just as much of an integral role as ‘Sex, Drugs and Existential Dread’ does in terms of setting the bounds of where we can push things sonically, but also lyrically too!
You’ve only been releasing music for about a year, but you’ve already landed on BBC Radio 1, British Vogue, ELLE, and NME. Has any part of this journey felt surreal?
Yes definitely! It’s all moved so fast, so it's been hard to sit and soak it in sometimes. But I’ve been so incredibly grateful for the love we’ve gotten for the music so far, I feel so lucky.
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Malaysian-born, UK-based—you’ve lived and worked in such different cultural spaces. How has that shaped your style, both musically and in your day-to-day life?
I think my experiences inform both my creativity and work ethic and that has always been the backbone to whatever I do. I wouldn’t say I actively think about how it’s shaped my style or day-to-day, but I think just moving at such a formative age of 16 to the UK definitely made me grow up a lot faster and that independence and drive has really helped with my journey as an artist.
Your sound has been called "perfect pop with a dark underbelly" Do you think that duality reflects your own personality?
Yes, most definitely! I think it’s reflective of the kind of music I love listening to. I always think the best songs are the ones that are super catchy but have a darker, deeper meaning to them lyrically. Also just generally in life, I think of myself as quite a serious person inside but day-to-day, I’m just a basic pop girly who just wants a great song to dance to.
What’s the most unexpected thing about Chloe Qisha that people wouldn’t guess?
That she took a hot minute to get to where she is now. I think people would be surprised how long it took for me to develop as a musician and hone songwriting as a craft, before I finally had songs that I was proud enough to release.
As a self taught multi-instrumentalist, what was the first instrument you ever picked up, and which one feels most like home now?
The first instrument I picked up (my own volition was the guitar! Although, like any Malaysian-Chinese family, I was put into piano lessons from an early age (and didn’t pick up a thing!). But I taught myself how to play basic chords on the guitar when I was 16, and through that I slowly learnt how to play the piano a bit.
Weirdly, right now I feel like my voice is the only instrument that feels most like home. I made an active decision not to play guitar in live shows as I didn’t want to hide behind it. So she comes out every once in a while for one song in the set, but other than that I’m mainly singing right now!
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Your debut EP pulled in over 5.5 million streams which is number a lot of indie artists can only dream of. Does that kind of success change how you approach your next move, or is it still instinct over strategy?
I think it’s a bit of both. It’s still super surreal to me that the songs have resonated with so many people so quickly. I count myself very lucky that I am surrounded by a very tiny, bespoke team of A* individuals who together with me, have made some strategic but mainly instinctive decisions together based on how we’re feeling, what songs we had, and when felt like the right time to roll out new music!
Finally, what’s on your existential dread playlist right now?
Djo, Tate McRae, and me!
"Sex, Drugs, & Existential Dread" by Chloe Qisha is now on streaming platforms worldwide.