photography by Logan Zane Hunt
Chloe Kat, a singer-songwriter and citizen of the world, whose ethos is the fluxing state of travel and wandering in that deep spiritual sense of seeking out the unknown/unfound, always three-steps-ahead-of-us mysteries of life. The music is poetic and true, whatever truth is, it's mostly something that's felt, and this is a music that makes you feel. Here Chloe talks inspirations, poetry and guidance, giving a glimpse into her creative world and the ever evolving journey that is a life in motion. AHC: What has this journey, this life in music been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? Chloe: This musical journey has been one of self-exploration and spiritual discovery. My passion for writing began in me as a child when my grandfather passed away and I realized a life's impermanence. My mother and I placed golden roses on his casket and I remember crying silently as the verses flew from spirit to mind, pen to paper. The poem was entitled Golden Rose. Weeks later my mother and I stumbled across a single golden rose growing from our barren yard of wood chips and cacti. For me, it has been a synchronistic symbol of divine connection ever since. As I grew older, I kept writing poetry to resolve emotions. I was highly sensitive and an open-channel for empathy so I felt everyone's pain as if it were my own. Writing poetry and music was like converting people's pain into something free-flowing and beautiful. I wrote to heal. At 15 I was urged to pick up a guitar and started singing poems I had written over open chord progressions. The healing messages could now hold vibrations and that's when I began to realize- the gift I had used to heal myself was affecting the mental health, compassion, and morality of those around me. I discovered that the songs were helping to heal humanity's wounded heart. As my consciousness grew, my fascination with jazz, blues, folk, and rock n' roll history led me through all kinds of inspiration. I began to recognize the synchronicity more which showed me the cosmic inter-connectedness of all things. I have felt guided and protected through the ups and downs of my musical career thus far. It has become a play of forces between light and darkness, feminine and masculine, sun and moon. In all of creation, one cannot exist without the other. One discovers itself by understanding the mystery of the other. My greatest teachers have been fellow artists who follow their own creative paths and also feel as though some unifying force is guiding them to new places and revelations. My other greatest teachers along my musical journey have come in the form of words that carry meaning such as Forgiveness, Humility, Compassion, and Gratitude. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? Chloe: I believe that the first songs to really floor me were Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan and Let it Be by The Beatles. I vividly remember my experiences hearing both of those songs for the first time. They have stuck with me. I also couldn't fall asleep unless I listened to soft emotional piano pieces such as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. When I got older and joined my schools jazz band, I was absolutely blown away by the Delta Blues guitar players and big Jazz bands led by Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. I wanted to learn from these singing, dancing, joyful leaders. What became even more inspiring was understanding all the oppression and heaviness these artists dealt with and then somehow turned all of it on its head to find release and manic happiness. Their music and motions spread joy, they made people move and flow and gave people access to their personal freedom. I also found home in Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and Funkadelic in my adolescent years. AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote? Chloe: The first song I ever wrote was called Hate. If I remember correctly, I was frustrated by the young boys around me who always tried to break eachother down with words and dominant violence. My pride wanted me to hate them, but my nature made me want to love them, and so I did, deeply. AHC: Who are some of your musical inspirations? Are there certain albums or songs you couldn't live without? Chloe: I kind of answered this in question 2, but the biggest inspirations on my own musical style have been poetic songwriters such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Stevie Nicks and The Tallest Man on Earth. I also love the poetry of Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver. I am most inspired by my close friends in the music scene of Nashville, Tennessee. Honestly, I have seen so much live music here that has healed me and given me light of hope for the dreamers. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? Chloe: A good song, to me, carries a message and emotion that reaches for the truth. I do not have the answers- but I believe a good song should make you feel and/ or think really hard about existence. AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture, hope lost and regained? As a listener of music I have this impression, I wonder, as the artist, the creator, do you have this feeling about the transformative power of song? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener? Chloe: Yes, I touched upon this earlier as well. I certainly consider poetry and music to be a healing art. It has saved the sacred creative self and I've received countless confirmation that it does the same for others. It liberates our souls, our bodies, and our minds. The human condition connects us through common emotions that urge us to find freedom and real love. AHC: When you set out to write an album of songs, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell? Chloe: I recently watched an interview with Nina Simone in which she spoke of the artist's duty as a responsibility to "reflect the times and situations in which you find yourself" I agree with her on this responsibility as a creator who seeks evolutionary progress. In order to channel the emotional energy and dig for words from the inner-self, I must educate myself, travel often, and be aware of the current state of the world around me, so I can feel it all and hurt from it. Without this hurt, there comes no yearning for change and no creative action towards the healing light. Everything in this life must be a lesson that leads to a blessing. AHC: What are your favorite on-tour, on-the-road memories? Chloe: Ooh I've been playing these Lantern Festivals allover the country this year. It's usually just me and my guitar, Koko, flying out for the weekend to play for 3-6k people in giant race car tracks or open fields with fire pits and tiki torches. The sight of the fire laterns launching to the skies in unison carrying written prayers, messages to loved ones, dreams, and gratitude of the people always recharges my spiritual batteries. My favorite memory from those journeys was when I got to play an original song called "Now I See The Light" while everyone launched their lanterns. This experience allowed me to open and guide the spiritual energy up as a unified offering. I remember feeling surrounded by white and blue light and to be honest, in those moments I lost my self identity and had become One with the All. My favorite tour memory with my band, Kat Milk Blu, was our road-trip to Maryland and through Washington, DC. We played at a kaleidoscope exhibit at The Strathmore Mansion and got to visit the Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorials. We have become a musical family inspired by the idea of unity and blending within cultures and genres. We play blues, jazz, soul, funk, folk, rock n' roll. AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are trying to find their voice and their way in this world? Chloe: My words of encouragement to other musicians and writers out there would be to search for the balance between all forces. In the middle, there is peace and clarity. Also I would say that a lot of life is letting go of incredible, wondrous, beautiful things if you are lucky enough to find them in the first place. Every moment is a new beginning and the only constant is change itself. Be aware and open to following the signs and synchronicity. Trust the wind's guidance. AHC: Do you have any new projects in motion you'd like to tell people about? Chloe: New projects, yes! I've been singing in this Funkadelic cover band called The Free Mind Church of Funkadelia with some insanely well-seasoned players.Some real heavy hitters. Its such a learning privilege and honor to rehearse and perform with these musicians. I love it. Also, my manager and I have patented a publishing company/art collective called 27 Apples Entertainment. Some dear friends of mine came together within this collective to run a DIY underground music venue/art space called Meal Ticket for the past year. We were recently shut down, along with a string of local DIY venues, by the Fire Marshall. It is sad to see it go, but there are a few meetings in the works to combine visions and efforts to keep our music- loving community alive and dancing! It's DIY, not DIE folks. This year, I'm going to publish the poetry of local artists under 27 Apples Entertainment, so send me your best stuff if you will! Thanks for your time. For more visit chloekat.bandcamp.com/ Facebook www.facebook.com/CHLOEKATOFFICIAL/
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